SCX Ballater

Only 2 young Clarion Racers made it out of bed on Sunday morning at 6am to travel to Royal Deeside where Deeside Thistle had organised a fantastic event in the sub zero weather. Lots of rock, no mud and a lot of bike carrying.

First up was Cameron in the under 12's race.
The course was incredibly compact and quite technical for some of the young riders. It was fairly short with a lot of twists and turns. There were very few oppertunities to get much space to overtake so the real skill for most riders was in getting cleanly past others. Cameron and Sean Flynn of ERC shot off from the whistle and fought their way through the feild tussling for 1st throughout. They both had a good race lapping 3rd place twice. It was Sean who took the flag on the day with Cameron coming in a very close 2nd. Both boys a bit frustrated at what could have been a more thrilling race but they competed well and showed respect for other racers.

Jamie was off next in the Youth race.

By contrast it was very long with loads of space to pass. There was also no sign of any of the mech mangling mud that wrecked so many bikes in the previous races. The course was on hard packed paths and roads but had a real twist with lots of granite drainage slabs which meant you either had to go very slow or walk over some sections unless you were up to bunny hopping over the features. There was even a small burn crossing over some rocks. We also saw a few steep drops and swoops to test your nerve and the obligatory bike carry up a long steep section of steps.

The real challenge for some was just completing a lap without getting a puncture. As you came back to the arena there was a tight technical section which started with a very steep scooped 4' banking to get up which had a large rock in the middle. If you carried enough speed you could ride it but you had to be on the right line otherwise an almighty thump was followed by a hissing puncture. Jamie and some of the other top Youths rode it well although some got the wrong line and paid the price. Thankfully the pits were just another 100m away and boy were they busy. Some riders (or runners !) had double punctures on the rocky course and changed bikes/wheels several times. Cameron had a great time helping out in the pits as did Jamie later during the Vets race. Watch the price of rubber soar as sales of tubes rocket.

Jamie rode very well the whole race and loved the technical challenge that was presented. He put in another consistent performance and finished in 6th Place on the same number of laps as the overall winner.

Next week is a bit closer to home at Strathclyde Park, Motherwell. Here's hoping for another great showing from the Clarion Kids. There's loads of info on the SCX website with very detailed course maps courtesy of East Kilbride Road Club.