MTB: Beaumont Wins at Schwalbe 4X

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The seventh and final round of the 2011 Schwalbe British Fourcross Series took place on Sunday 18 September at Redhill, Gloucestershire.

Scott Beaumont once again took the top spot in the pro/elite final. With the ladies honours going to Manon Carpenter.

The weather started fine for the day, and the practice runs were quick under tyre with riders getting plenty of air off the jumps on their way down the course. However as the first riders lined up for the first moto, the rain started to fall.

The first straight out of the gate is sheltered by trees, so this never really got wet, meaning that riders could go fast getting a decent amount of speed up into the first berm. This speed coupled with a lot of riders early street tyre choice, meant that once the bikes got onto the exit of the berm which was now wet, chaos, and crashing ensued. Whilst the rain lasted and for a while after the top of the course was the place to be for the spectators. The red clay once wet was treacherous and in most heats one or both of the first two bends took casualties, though none of them serious. The first motos were decided in the main by who stayed on their bike the most, with massive gaps between the first and last riders on the course.

As the afternoon progressed the rain stopped, and the track began to dry out with some faster lines appearing. By the time the finals were upon us the sun was shining brightly and close order racing was again resumed.

Returning to racing fourcross after a few years the Dirt Jumper Ricky J Crompton winner of his final said that he'd really enjoyed the buzz and excitement of the racing at Redhill.

Scott Beaumont, the elite/pro winner said after his win. "This has been the best season ever for British fourcross in all categories. I've been impressed this year by the high level of competition throughout the series in the pro/elite category. I've won five of the series, but have not had it all my way.

!There have been lots of new faces in fourcross many with obvious talent. Today we've had 170 riders enjoying a fun, cheap and enjoyable days racing. The first two motos everyone had problems, with the conditions, it was super slippy, which later in the day transitioned to super tacky, though of course this made it all the more exciting for the riders and the crowd.

"I am now looking forward to getting some more hard training after the final Euro points race in Czechoslovakia [where he's currently third in the standings], and then the start of the next fourcross season in March next year."