The sizzling heat of North Wales played host to the HSBC UK British Downhill Championships, and the top Scots on display did not disappoint.
This classic Downhill track offered something for a range of riders with features such as jumps as well as technical root filled sections before finishing with some big grassy turns. The conditions also proved just as interesting as the unseasonable high temperatures in the Welsh mountains created a spectacular dusty course which provided riders with additional dilemmas.
Coming off the back of her maiden victory in the UCI World Cup in Les Gets, Phoebe Gale (FMD Racing) followed up with victory in the Junior Women’s event. However, it was not plain sailing for the Gale as she suffered a minor crash with a tree on her run but fortunately was able to stay upright and came home to win the British Champs jersey by over 11 seconds. Fellow Scot, Bethany McCully also produced a solid performance to in third place.
Aimi Kenyon (Black Isle MTB) produced one of the rides of the weekend as she won the Youth (U16) Girls event by over 18 seconds. Such was her dominance that only three female riders of any age group were able to beat her time. In the Juvenile (U14) event Heather Wilson also won, with another of the national champions jerseys making its way north. The Juvenile Men’s Event saw Stan Nisbet produce an excellent ride as he finished in the bronze medal position, narrowly beating Creag Muir (Black Isle MTB) who came home in fourth.
The Junior Men’s event also saw a tartan touch to the podium as Scots William Brodie and Ryan Brannen (555 Factory Racing) finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Brodie missed out the national champions jersey by a margin of 0.883 seconds to eventual winner Preston Williams. James Wilson (Scottish Downhill Association) produced a very respectable eighth place finish and Highland’s Douglas Goodwill (555 Factory Racing) came home in a solid 12th.
The Senior Men’s event was a close affair with Scotland’s Jamie Edmondson missing out on the podium by a whisker – finishing 4th only 2.4 seconds behind former World Champion Danny Hart – which just shows the strength in depth of the field. Man of many talents, Ben Cathro (Pinkbike) finished 15th in a very tight fight for the Top 10 positions; whilst Grampian’s Calum McBain (555 Factory Racing) produced a solid ride to finish 16th as he continues his bounce back from an injury sustained in Austria.
In the Veteran Ranks, John Young won the bronze medal in the V45-49 category, to top off a very strong Scottish showing in the HSBC UK National Downhill Championships.
Full results of the weekend's action can be found here.
All eyes now turn to the next round of the HSBC UK National Downhill Series in Innerleithen on the 8th August – details for that event can be found here.
