Scottish Womens Elite Champ - Dagmar Borrowman |
With Ruth McGavigan (Gary Fisher/XcRacer.com) on continental soil racing a SwissPower Cup, the Scottish Champs title was all to race for. Having been born in England and brought up in Wales, I had no claim to competing for the title but was looking forward to a race on a notoriously technical course and I wasn't disappointed! Emma Guy and Tracy Brunger, both top level MTBers now running the Hub in the Forest at Glentress, had put together one of the best MTB courses I have ever raced on.
Straight out of the start riders took on a 3km climb on a mixture of singletrack and open fire trail before heading back onto the singletrack to gain more height winding up a series of tight hairpins to reach the summit of the course. Helen Finlay (Bicycleworks.com) got a storming start pushing the pace early on but by the summit I was out front and well aware that Dagmar Borrowman (HIMBA/Square Wheels) was not far behind.
Having gained all that height the remaining 5km of the course was largely descending with a few smaller climbs and efforts. The downhill opened up into fast flowing bermed corners with the occassional tabletop providing a cheeky opportunity for air before dropping into the woods for some more technical singletrack and steep drop offs. The descent was so much fun that you almost forgot the effort of the climb to get there! At long last I'm starting to feel that some of my MTB skills are beginning to return, having really boosted my confidence racing the World Cup at Fort William this year, and was loving riding the technical sections.
The race remained much the same for the following three laps with Dagmar and myself within sight of each other. A quick mention goes out to the Rockhard MBC rider (one of many in force) who provided encouragement and distraction from the headwind on the final fire trail ascent! Entering the last descent I was well aware that all I had to do was get back quickly but safely! Unfortunately, I stacked on a tight corner with the bike wiping out from underneath me. Luckily, the only injury from the crash was a bruised hip (and even more bruised ego) but after faffing about dusting myself off and replacing the chain I was sure it would cost me the race. Exiting the woodland Dagmar was right with me and it went down to a final sprint for the line which the spectators and commentator loved! Dagmar clinched it and took the SXC Series win and the Scottish Champs title. It was a great battle.
Dagmar who is in her 3rd season of racing and flies the flag for Squarewheels in Strathpeffer said, "I thought the course was excellent. Hard climbs with great sections of technical descent, not sure about the jumpy sections though?! We worked hard together to push the pace up at the front and it paid off!"
Masters, Vets and Youth cats
In the other women's races, Caroline Wallace (Raleigh ERV) took the Masters title ahead of Hazel Sutherland (Edinburgh RC) and Joanne Henderson (votwo.co.uk), while Mary Rose Cross (Kingdom RT) beat Colleen Foggo (West Highland Wheelers) for the Veterans title. Lee Craigie (HIMBA/Square Wheels) claimed the win in the Sport category and Annabel Simpson (Raleigh ERV) won the Youth category.
The race provided a real showcase of the quality of trails that are available to ride at Glentress and I'd recommend a visit especially if the weather forecast is half decent! For more info about the trails, store and cafe, and even a 5 day weather forecast go to www.thehubintheforest.co.uk.
Having racing 2 Scottish events so far this season, I have to say they are fantastic races and well worth the trip north (or occassionally south in my case!). Not only are the races well organised but they are also run on some of the best courses in the country, so you're guaranteed of fast technical descents to reward those lung busting climbs. If you are interested in racing go to www.sxc.org.uk or www.walkerscycling.co.uk
Kim Hurst in action |
CJ
