In somewhat challenging conditions, the first ever Nice Price Special was held this weekend around the Tackeroo area of the Chase. The course was designed & built by the industrious hands of Chase Trails & in the dry the 6km loop was fast & flowing, with a couple of tasty drops & contrasting climbs. However, the weather gods got out of the wrong side of the bed, hurling down rain storms of biblical proportions, interspersed with the odd sunny spell, before more yet showers. This on/off/on/more off/a bit of on/loads more off weather pattern slowed the course down, initially making it slippery, then claggy, then it got slimy, all making for a tougher challenge.
Saturday 16th saw two 4 lap seeding races, the top half of each race would go into Sunday’s A Final, the second half making up the B Final. A number of riders decided to keep warm & dry at home but a hardy bunch of 84 riders were defiant in the face of such conditions & undeterred by the torrents got their heads down to contest the seeding races. The speediest guys of the day were the ever-grinning Christian Aucote (Yeti) & Patrick Heron (Plan B Racing) in Seeding Race 1 & coming over the line together in Seeding Race 2 were Jamie Smith & Ian Taylor (Craven Energy).
The day was wrapped up with an entertaining display from the most enthusiastic bunch of under 12’s racers I’ve ever seen. They were out there practicing for an hour before the start, getting their lines through bombholes nailed!
The sun rose on Sunday… yes it did rise, giving a glimmer of hope of a nice day, but then the showers came in again. So, just as the course was drying out nicely for finals day it got a fresh soaking. Hey-ho. But like I said, they’re a double-tough bunch of riders around these parts, some extras even came along just for the day. The corners became treacherous, the drops über-tricky, the super fast singletrack became quicker to run in places & off camber sections threw many to the ground.
However, everyone’s humour stayed intact, relishing in the challenge & in the end the riders won over the course & defeated the conditions. Ian Taylor followed his strong seeding race by taking an impressive win in the A final ahead of a train of three Yeti riders in the Senior Men’s race. A great day for the Yeti team was completed with Ruth Owen-Evans taking 1st place in the Senior Women ahead of Kate Page & Kali Taylor (Craven Energy). The day’s closest race was the Vets A Final; it was tight all the way, eventually Peter Bromwich (WMCCL) took the win just 25 seconds ahead of Dean Drury, who in turn was merely 34 in front of Philip Bromwich (Evesham Wheelers) in 3rd.
The Junior race was dominated by the Mammoth Lifestyle riders, seeing Ross Brinson tackle his two laps in a time of 55minutes 18 seconds with his team mate Nick Greaves finishing seconds ahead of Jacob Simpkins, Harrison Webb & Tom Clougher.
The B final Senior Men’s winner was Numplumz.com’s Stewart Knubley, with Jonathon Perks & Ian Grant in 2nd & 3rd. The B Final Vets winner was Simon Fox who completed his 4 laps before Rob Thomas in 2nd & Dave Lydiard in 3rd. Our open race for entrants on the day was won by Matt Williams, who beat Grand Vet National Champion Ian Wright (Raleigh-Avanti) into 2nd & Singlespeed superstar Martin Silvester (oneFgear.co.uk) into 3rd.
The whole weekend was wrapped up in fitting style, with a bundle of smiling riders huddled together, sheltering from the elements under an ez-up winning loads of prizes by raffle, ability to catch, fondness of drinking tea from a china cup, plus a few spot prizes for worthy achievements including finest facial hair (Dave Exton), oldest looking bike (Marcus Clay), rider with the muddiest child (Matthew Greensill) & the special ‘Sorry, our commentator can’t pronounce Darren Cadwallader’s surname correctly’ prize (awarded to Darren Cadwallader).
Huge thanks goes out to out event supporters, we think you’re ace!…
Chase Trails – www.chasetrails.co.uk
Yeti Cycles – www.evolutionimports.co.uk
Singletrack Magazine – www.singletrackworld.com
Swinnerton Cycles – www.bikechase.co.uk
OneFgear – www.onegear.co.uk
Forestry Commission – www.forestry.gov.uk
Rob Crayton Photography – www.robcrayton.co.uk
Results
Tackeroo, Cannock Chase. 17th May 2009
Race Results…
Senior Men, NPS A Final
Race Distance: 24.0 km (4laps each 6km)
Position Name Surname Number Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 Total
1 Ian Taylor 37 00:24:17 00:25:16 00:26:02 00:27:01 01:42:36
2 Matt Dennis 51 00:25:15 00:26:33 00:27:00 00:28:09 01:46:57
3 Christian Aucote 53 00:26:12 00:28:47 00:27:10 00:28:54 01:51:03
4 Martyn Brookes 54 00:31:31 00:28:54 00:25:43 00:27:48 01:53:56
5 Matthew Greensill 9 00:26:20 00:28:21 00:29:44 00:31:22 01:55:47
6 Jamie Smith 20 00:26:11 00:27:37 00:28:34 00:36:41 01:59:03
7 Tom Everton 63 00:32:48 00:34:03 00:34:23 00:35:02 02:16:16
8 Ben Colley 11 00:31:29 00:34:13 00:38:04 DNF 01:43:46
9 Daniel Nicklin 88 00:32:20 00:35:07 00:36:43 DNF 01:44:10
10 Mark Williams 7 00:38:12 00:33:33 00:33:26 DNF 01:45:11
11 Paul Jarman 19 00:33:16 00:36:13 00:36:34 DNF 01:46:03
12 Stacey Hubble 44 00:33:39 00:38:03 00:39:51 DNF 01:51:33
13 Andy Burdett 86 00:35:02 00:39:09 00:39:14 DNF 01:53:25
14 Leigh Williams 14 00:36:26 00:38:02 00:40:00 DNF 01:54:28
15 Ellis Dawson 94 00:35:50 00:40:27 00:41:12 DNF 01:57:29
16 Marcus Clay 74 00:37:47 00:43:14 00:42:41 DNF 02:03:42
17 Mark Allport 90 00:33:43 00:36:51 DNF DNF 01:10:50
18 Steven Elwell 31 00:40:28 00:55:14 DNF DNF 01:35:42
19 Patrick Heron 85 00:28:16 DNF DNF DNF 00:28:16
Senior Women, NPS A Final
Race Distance: 24.0 km (4laps each 6km)
Position Name Surname Number Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 Total
1 Ruth Owen-Evans 55 00:39:53 00:40:29 00:42:09 DNF 02:02:31
2 Kate Page 15 DNF DNF DNF DNF 00:00:00
3 Kali Taylor 64 DNF DNF DNF DNF 00:00:00
Vet Men, NPS A Final
Race Distance: 24.0 km (4laps each 6km)
Position Name Surname Number Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 Total
1 Peter Bromwich 71 00:29:36 00:30:54 00:31:42 00:32:06 02:04:18
2 Dean Drury 60 00:29:38 00:30:50 00:31:56 00:32:19 02:04:43
3 Philip Bromwich 76 00:30:13 00:30:44 00:31:58 00:32:21 02:05:16
4 Darren Moore 100 00:30:04 00:31:50 00:33:56 00:34:11 02:10:01
5 Nigel Moorer 101 00:32:57 00:32:43 00:34:36 00:36:06 02:16:22
5 Simon Orme 99 00:32:09 00:33:04 00:36:44 DNF 01:41:57
6 Michael Darby 103 00:32:22 00:33:55 00:36:15 DNF 01:42:32
7 Neil Hingley 46 00:32:16 00:33:20 00:43:01 DNF 01:48:37
8 Neil Peterson 1 00:31:55 00:00:08 DNF DNF 00:32:03
U18’s, NPS A Final
Race Distance: 12.0 km (2laps each 6km)
Position Name Surname Number Lap 1 Lap 2 Total
1 Ross Brinson 96 00:27:00 00:28:18 00:55:18
2 Nick Greaves 42 00:29:30 00:31:34 01:01:04
3 Harrison Webb 80 00:35:15 00:40:15 01:15:30
4 Jacob Simpkins 22 00:35:12 00:38:53 01:14:05
5 Tom Clougher 73 00:42:49 00:43:10 01:25:59
Senior Men, NPS B Final
Race Distance: 24.0 km (4laps each 6km)
Position Name Surname Number Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 Total
1 Stewart Knubley 45 00:29:16 00:31:36 00:32:56 00:33:31 02:07:19
2 Jonathon Perks 47 00:32:06 00:35:04 00:36:40 00:37:04 02:20:54
3 Ian Grant 83 00:33:43 00:35:17 00:35:46 00:37:53 02:22:39
4 David Parry 48 00:33:47 00:35:16 00:38:38 00:39:29 02:27:10
5 Julian Goodwin 78 00:35:20 00:36:16 00:37:17 00:38:42 02:27:35
6 Darren Cadwallader 30 00:34:34 00:35:21 00:38:49 00:44:33 02:33:17
7 Gareth Flavell 82 00:34:28 00:35:58 00:39:20 00:43:32 02:33:18
8 Dave Exton 92 00:36:24 00:39:02 00:39:21 00:42:31 02:37:18
9 Stuart Lynden 2 00:33:18 00:37:39 00:42:22 00:45:37 02:38:56
10 Matt Cartlidge 77 00:35:48 00:39:13 00:46:55 DNF 02:01:56
11 Steve Beck 29 00:37:12 00:43:50 00:44:52 DNF 02:05:54
12 Karl Bell 56 00:52:30 00:54:33 00:56:31 DNF 02:43:34
13 Neil Towns 12 00:44:19 00:50:43 DNF DNF 01:35:02
14 Matthew Taylor 89 00:44:21 00:50:44 DNF DNF 01:35:05
15 Mike Hayward 28 00:35:11 DNF DNF DNF 00:35:11
16 Daniel Chambers 67 00:35:56 DNF DNF DNF 00:35:56
17 Richard Thomas 27 00:52:50 DNF DNF DNF 00:52:50
18 Daniel Elwell 34 00:52:55 DNF DNF DNF 00:52:55
19 Barry Bell 57 00:55:31 DNF DNF DNF 00:55:31
Vet Men, NPS B Final
Race Distance: 24.0 km (4laps each 6km)
Position Name Surname Number Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 Total
1 Simon Fox 97 00:33:04 00:34:53 00:34:23 00:33:40 02:16:00
2 Rob Thomas 61 00:32:43 00:33:59 00:34:46 00:37:15 02:18:43
3 Dave Lydiard 70 00:33:01 00:34:32 00:35:27 00:38:02 02:21:02
4 Bob Mitchell 18 00:33:31 00:36:31 00:36:49 00:35:39 02:22:30
5 Joe McGhee 32 00:34:32 00:37:09 00:38:07 00:35:53 02:25:41
6 Peter Carman 15 00:33:24 00:36:03 00:37:50 00:39:21 02:26:38
7 Mark Webb 79 00:38:18 00:45:54 DNF DNF 01:24:12
8 Pete O’Callaghan 23 00:45:10 DNF DNF DNF 00:45:10
9 Tim Dale 40 00:18:01 DNF DNF DNF 00:18:01
Open – Sunday Only, NPS B Final
Race Distance: 24.0 km (4laps each 6km)
Position Name Surname Number Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 Total
1 Matt Williams 109 00:27:12 00:28:03 00:28:50 00:29:27 01:53:32
2 Ian Wright 110 00:28:18 00:29:17 00:29:30 00:30:15 01:57:20
3 Martin Silvester 107 00:30:05 00:32:10 00:32:57 00:32:59 02:08:11
4 David Rawlins 108 00:35:54 00:37:59 00:39:50 DNF 01:53:43
5 Martin Mee 106 00:39:21 00:42:37 00:45:03 DNF 02:07:01
Comments (13)
Comments Closed
Lee Quarry attracts some of the toughest & most determined mountain bikers anywhere in the world. 😉
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/brownbacks-race-3-lee-quarry-photographs
sorry no flat trails, mud or trees
someone else is organising something in July, its bound to be slicker, better, and generally less “endearingly shambolic” than our efforts
Have you ever ridden the Cannock course? It’s not “flat” 🙂
‘kin ell I don’t remember it being flat when we flagged it all out ;o)
Top event, kicked in the shins by the weather but everyone who braved it seemed to have a great time (some may not have reaslised it until they got home to a warm bath on Sunday night though!!)
Cannock Every time
Good picture of Snakenibble there. Didn’t he get 2nd in the under 12s?
Yep, Mini Me was 3rd
Just to get things straight,it wasnt Mini”Him”,it was Mini Me.Mini me is my lad & not St`s….Confused yet? ;o)
Top weekend even if the weather was carp.
Big up for Pat & Ag getting the kids involved.
Respect to all those that turned up & stuck it out :o)
There’s me at the very bottom of the A-Final. Rode 1/5th of a lap and gave up. Haha.
Wasn’t that bad to ride on the Saturday (I got 2nd!), but the Sunday was mental and I couldn’t be arsed to run.
Respect to all those who finished on the Sunday, good event, just a shame about that ‘bit’ of rain.
Nice one Pat & Ag!
(Brownbacks – we all know you have a good course and venue up there, but Cannock Chase is great venue which happens to be within reach of most people, so quit with the blatant spamming! I aim to do one of the Lee Quary races when I get the chance…)
sorry no flat trails, mud or trees
so it’s a road race then?
no mud or trees?? that’s just wrong!
Brownbacks and NPS – Done both. Enjoyed both. Nowt like each other.
it was the tag line on the front page that caugt my eye and hence the cheeky post
Lee Quarry is very exposed to the weather and we have to rotate the marshals to make sure they don’t get too cold JXL’s pics do capture the dramatic nature of the place.
I also have to apologise we had mud on parts on the new line.
Support the racing no-matter who organises its all about getting people together to have fun!
Mr Sparkle, we work on being “endearingly shambolic”
Me too! ;0)