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TransWales Challenge - SR
Great Britain, August 17-23, 2008
Main Page Results Overall standings Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 6 - August 22: Nantyrarian (special stage) & Nantyrarian to Strata Florida (linking stage), 68.5km
The Penultimate Day
By Matt Skinner
The final day of racing sees more drama and close calls
Special Stage Four Team relay time-trial, Nant-y-Arian Total distance: 14km Climbing: 600mFollowed by: Linking Stage Six Nant-y-Arian to Strate Florida Total distance: 72km Climbing: 2100m
The penultimate day of the Merida Bikes TransWales saw the sun creep out from its wet slumber in time to turn the heat up for the final special stage. This would be the decider to seal the overall results and with the racing so close in many categories there was little margin for error or complacency. With the weather finally coming good everything was set for riders to begin the home straight on a high.
The morning's special stage took place on a slightly abridged version of the Summit Trail at Nant-y-Arian: with 14km and 600m of climbing including the infamous Leg Burner climb and fast, swooping singletrack section it would be a test of fitness as well as high speed bike handling. And with the racing so close going into it, there had to be no holding back.
In the USE Men's Solo category, the fight for the overall title intensified with three serious claims to it. Last year's TransScotland Solo winner Andy Barlow (Whyte Bikes) – a very technical and powerful rider – had been struggling to show the form that led him to last year's highly popular win. Admitting during yesterday's linking stage that he was struggling to get in the right mental place for it, he sadly slumped into 5th in the special stage in a time of 39:38. With Andy's challenge for the overall seemingly over, three names emerged head and shoulders above the rest fighting tooth and nail for the top spot.
Previously, both Ryan Bevis (RAM Bikes) and Frans Claes (Connection Granville), the current overall leader prior to this morning's special stage, had both taken special stage wins, but today they had to bow down before the advance of Ewan Thorburn (Fat Tread Bikes). Ewan stormed the special stage to claim a convincing win in a time of 38:04, 17 seconds clear of Frans in second, with Bevis third in 38:51. Ewan has been bubbling under the radar for the duration of the event, but with six days of hard riding and racing in riders' legs, his endurance, power and skill brought him deservedly to the fore. With the final general classification being announced at journey's end tomorrow in Builth Wells, it really is going down to the wire between these three.
In the High5 Mixed category, the top two teams – Meggie Bichard and Ed Kerly (Team Chance), and David Evans and Lily Mathews (Team 8) – had been swapping the top spot in the special stages all week. And today was no exception: after losing out in yesterday's special stage, Meggie Bichard and Ed Kerly (Team Chance) took their chance and went all out for the win. Their hard work paid dividends and they swept David Evans and Lily Mathews' challenge aside by just under a minute.
In the USE Women's Solo category Fi Spotswood cemented her overall lead by producing an emphatic win in a time of 48:48, just under 10 minutes faster than her closest rival Amy Baron-Hall (trio25.blogspot.com). Similarly, the closely fought singlespeed category became a foregone conclusion as Trek 69er Collective's Matt Carr faded at the last with tired, tired legs. Pushing a 32:15 gear all week may have just been too much on the climbs and just blunted the sharpness of the usually fiery singlespeeder. Henry Richard Lansdown (Bike Shed Wales) swept to the win in a time of 43:17 with Carr crossing the line back in 45:42.
Elsewhere, Steve Heading screwed the final nail in the coffin for his competitor's chances for the overall title in the USE Veteran Men's Solo category as he again took another special stage win. This time his winning margin over second placed rider of a minute and forty seconds with a time of 41:31. This makes Steve untouchable in the overall and a deserved and convincing winner of the Merida Bikes TransWales 2008.
But the event wasn't all about the racing: due its unique format of non-competitive linking stages together with rally style special stages, it also attracts riders looking for a challenge and truly memorable weeks mountain biking. One such pair was What Mountain Bike magazine's Merida Bikes TransWales competition winners: Gareth Taylor and Lewis Collins.
Hailing from Brighton in England's south east, the pair are lifelong bike riders of any persuasion – both dirt, tarmac and BMX. Taking a chance they entered the comp to win the ride of the Merida Bikes TransWales but also walked away with enough schwag to keep them in bike kit, clothing and energy drinks for years courtesy of the events sponsors – Meridsa Bikes, Gore Bike Wear, High5 energy food and drinks, USE and Exposure Lights, Ergon, Niner, and Buff. In total, the prize was worth thousands of pounds. "It was sunny. It was warm. And there were some great natural descents – very steep and rocky, very technical with loose sections and extremely fast," said Gareth on finishing the day's stage. "I'm loving it," he continued, "I've had a fantastic time and am absolutely loving it. I had a sense of humour failure on the first two days but I've recovered now: I've met some really nice people and it's been really inspiring." All the while Lewis is nodding his head in agreement as Gareth is talking: "It's easy to have one good bit of riding that you're good at," Lewis explains, "whether that's climbing, descending or fitness – but here you have to be good at everything all the time and be super fit and mentally hardy as well."
Gareth and Lewis' exploits have been recorded in glorious technicolour and will be featured in a forthcoming issue of What Mountain Bike. For more on the magazine – including what's in the current and next issues – log onto www.bikeradar.com or pick up a copy at your local store.
Tomorrow sees the longest stage of the event that takes the riders the final furlong from Strata Florida to Builth Wells – some 84km and 2500m of climbing (but with 2600m of descending). There the final winners will be announced, the riders will finally kick back and relax over a beverage at the Red Bull finishing party, share stories of mishaps and near misses, of long but rewarding days in the saddle, and finally bring a close to the 2008 Merida Bikes TransWales.
"I'm really excited about tomorrow," said Gareth, "I know it's going to be a long day but I know I can do it so I'm really looking forward to getting out there. After everything it's going to be great to chill out with all the people we've ridden with, have a few drinks although I'm also really sad it's the last day. I'm definitely going to be coming back again."
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Matt Skinner
- The final descent of the day dropped down a stunning mountain valley.
- A snaking, rocky section of trail on the final descent was one to savour.
- Another river crossing to negotiate and one last climb out to bring an end to the penultimate day.
- Stunning scenery has been a major part of the riding experience on the Merida Bikes TransWales.
- Sweeping through the change over area before heading up the Leg Buster climb.
- The final descent at Nant-y-Arian is a peach of flowing singletrack to be savoured.
- More water.
- What Mountain Bike magazine's competition winner Gareth Taylor nails it on a descent.
- What Mountain Bike magazine's competition winner Gareth Taylor grinning and loving it.
- What Mountain Bike magazine's competition winners Gareth Taylor and Lewis Collins and ready for more.
Images by Jon Brooke/www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk
- Nant-y-Arian provided the venue for a fitting finale to the competitive part of the Merida Bikes TransWales, with a blend of natural trail, big climbs and swooping singletrack.”
- Woods singletrack on the special stage kept riders on their toes.”
- Windfarms out on the hills keep the riders company.”
Results
Results - Nant-y-Arian Special Stage - Solo USE Solo Category - open female 1 Fiona Spotswood (Ironhorse Extreme) 48.48 2 Katrina Brown (Deeside Total Endurance) 1.23 3 Amy Baron-Hall (trio25.blogspot.com) 8.48 4 Julie Neuhoff (The Newlease) 23.02 USE Solo Category - open male 1 Ewan Thorburn (Fat Tread Bikes) 38.04 2 Frans Claes (Connections Granville) 0.17 3 Ryan Bevies (RAM Bikes) 0.47 4 Ian Mills (10Fifty) 1.22 5 Andy Barlow (White Racing UK) 1.34 6 Ben Lowe (18 Bikes) 2.25 7 Daniel Lewis (Royal Air Force Cycling) 2.38 8 Jean-Claude Van der Veken (Cyclestore.co.uk) 3.03 9 Marcel Esser (Univega) 3.12 10 Josh Ibbett (Extreme Endurance) 3.36 11 Joel Shotton 4.05 12 Paul Whittaker (Shredtopia) 4.16 13 Mike Tomlinson (South Fork Racing) 4.17 14 Charlie Eustace (Ellsworth/Freeborn/Torq) 4.21 15 Andrew Boyd (WKd) 5.00 16 Jim Shaw 5.21 17 Luke Morris (Mynyod Men) 5.52 18 Matthew Zalewski (The Z Machine) 6.04 19 Richard Samuel (Guarana) 6.21 20 Roel Wouters (Connections Granville) 6.29 21 Patrick Hoekstra (Bike Zone) 6.36 22 Chris Herraghty 6.57 23 Ryan Morawski (Team Eagle) 7.16 24 Arnis Cirulis (KTM Latvia) 7.54 25 Donnacha O'Brien 8.13 26 Matthew Atkinson 8.23 27 Graham McConaghy (Army Cycling Union) 8.29 28 Lee Irvine (VC Godalming + Haslemere) 29 Neil Atkinson (Ride On / Buff) 8.37 30 Andrew Hull (Hull Express) 9.25 31 Rhys Ellis-Davies (Cymro yng Nghernyw) 10.16 32 Patrick Meldrum 10.43 33 Davy Vandeput (Connections Granville) 10.45 34 Christian Male (Santas Lone Cruzer) 10.50 35 Huw George (One to One) 10.54 36 Samuel Bennett (Royal Air Force) 11.09 37 Tillman Lambert 11.18 38 Jimmy Grade (Connections Granville) 11.33 39 Nikalas Cook (220 Triathlon) 12.00 40 Marc Meyer 12.56 41 Michael Flanagan 13.03 42 Johan Frooninckx (Connections Granville) 13.31 43 Nigel Thomas 13.59 44 Gavin Brown (Royal Air Force Cycling) 14.10 45 dave Penny (Choc-Chip) 14.19 46 Paul Kelsall 14.36 47 Matt Kitchin 14.55 48 Andrew Stewart 15.03 49 Ben Rees 15.04 50 Simon Loretz (Oxford University CC) 15.29 51 Andrew Pettifer 15.49 52 Dennis Hoogenboom (Hoogenboom Hrs) 53 Simon Holme (Pachy Dream Stalker) 16.55 54 Tim Wolfe-Murray 17.19 55 Mark Blair 17.25 56 Joris Vandebon (Connections Granville) 17.56 57 Ian Bather 18.03 58 Steven Bone (Solo / Johns Bike) 18.07 59 Richard Foster 18.14 60 Anthony Jordan (Cloud 9 Trails) 18.37 61 Joseph O'Flynn 19.04 62 Kevin Leary 63 Simon Ashwell (My name isn't Earl) 19.43 64 James Moyle 19.44 65 Robin Calverley (Royal Air Force) 20.22 66 Richard Querelle (Tempus Fugit) 21.37 67 Matt Wood 21.49 68 Lawrence Walton (Oxford University CC) 22.36 69 Jason Hughes 25.41 70 Tony Berlin 26.28 71 Steve Miller (Steve Miller) 27.21 USE Solo Category - vets female 1 Ros Fish (Dorset Rough Riders) 1.02.07 2 Anne Dickins (Cloud 9 Trails) 0.53 3 Mary-Rose Cross 3.00 USE Solo Category - vets male 1 Steve Heading (White Racing UK) 41.31 2 Kerry Graham (BAD.CC) 1.39 3 Richard Wilson 1.52 4 Jonathan Edwards (Carpe Diem) 3.11 5 Bryan Singleton (Ride On / Buff) 3.56 7 Shaun Pallister (Mammoth Lifestyle) 4.15 8 Robert Koppenhol (WKd) 6.10 9 Antony Gray (Team Milo) 6.12 6 Daryl Cavill 6.18 10 Jim Dickson (SMA) 6.41 11 Graham Hughes (Manx Mountain Bike Club) 6.59 12 Gary Bridgeman (Factory Farth) 8.03 13 Steve Gordon (Dorset Rough Riders) 8.35 14 Gary Hull (Chicken Leg's) 9.14 15 Graham Bull (Family Ties) 11.35 16 Paul Facer (Skid Marks / SMRC) 11.46 17 Steve Whitehouse 12.31 18 Ray Morriss (Mintcake MTB) 14.19 19 Doug Corrie (Swords CC) 14.22 20 Russell Rout 14.58 21 Eric Goris (Connections Granville) 15.23 22 Jack Peterson (Numplumz) 16.03 23 Neil Birch (The Big Adventure) 16.58 24 Russell Miller (Boys from the Fort Stuff / St. Ives CC) 17.37 25 Rafael Ruiz Fuente 17.57 26 Jon Goodman 18.30 27 Angus Robinson (Team AARM) 20.32 28 Mark Flynn 22.27 29 Dave Nichols (Riding for Wayne) 24.34 30 Martin Zepler (Fellowship of the Granny Ring) 24.44 31 Brian Trill 25.36 32 Gordon Sim 32.01 NINER Single Speed Category Position: 1 Henry Richard Lansdo (Bike Shed Wales) 43.17 2 Matt Carr (69er Collective) 2.25 Results - Nant-y-Arian Special Stage - Team High5 Sports Nutrition - Mixed Category 1 Meggie Bichard / Ed Kerly (Team Chance) 42.06 2 David Evans / Lily Mathews 0.58 3 Paul Hoogenboom / Alieke Griffioen (Peptiplus-Bikezone) 7.21 4 Shane Dickenson / Rickie Justine Cotter (Cytek) 9.24 5 Larissa Trussell / David Carr (Team Tracey) 9.47 6 Claire De Jongh / Simon Neuhoff (The Clantons) 12.07 7 Richard Morgan / Joy Bringer (Whitehousecampsite.co.uk) 12.59 8 Anne Waddington / Jay Foad (Lemmings) 15.57 9 David Steel / Abigail Armstrong (London Phoenix Mixed) 16.56 10 Nickolas Ringwood / Hilary Catchpole (Team Hayland) 21.31 BUFF Headward - Female Open Category 1 Irene Lachner / Alice Lund (Wateam) 57.02 Gore Bike Wear - Male Open Category 1 Ifan Richards / Christopher Purt (Revolution -Bikes RT) 41.39 2 Ben Jones / Andy Jones (Clee Cycles / KCNC) 1.18 3 James Cooper / Rick Fielder (Army) 2.09 4 Bruce Philip / James Holness (Beyond 925) 2.39 5 Martin Fisher / Andy Hughes (The Serial Fanniers) 4.10 6 Richard Connor / Steve Torley (Team MK) 5.03 7 Brendan Kay / Karl Povey (Army Cycling) 5.21 8 Kieron Selley / Mark Dix (Team Ubique) 5.54 9 Thomas Ward / Richard Eldson (Team Cheese String World Endurance Racing Ltd) 6.17 10 Paul Crowley / Mairtin Savage (Lakeside Wheelers) 6.52 11 Robert Graveley / Jeremy Baker (Fubar) 7.16 12 Peter Rimmer / Charlie Sheridan (Rimram / Tirconaill Abu) 7.37 13 Ricky Dickenson / Huw Davies (Cytek) 7.47 14 Keith Flory / Andrew Gillott (G of the Bang ) 8.00 15 Gregory May / Richard Wagstaff (Greg and Wag's most excellent advanture) 10.20 16 Knut Harald Smette / Jeremy Giddens (Team Oslo Sportslager) 10.54 17 William Milne / Paul Smith (The B Team) 11.37 18 Andy Guerin / Julian Jordan (Berks on Bikes / Purple Bike Shed) 12.19 19 Nick Scott / Ben Dean (Not Mobile / High Peak Cycles) 12.42 20 Matthew Cummins / Mark Wright (The Blackdogs) 14.02 21 Johan Nell / Sarel Hiemstra (Pofadder) 14.20 22 Rudolf Coetzee / Eric Marshall (Stofstreep) 14.35 23 Andrew Smith / Geoff Styles (Team Peanut Head) 15.21 24 Andy Prince / Jonathan Eggett (Team Al Fresco) 17.34 25 Neil Walters / Andy Lillicrap (TSTWKT) 23.34 ERGON - Vets Category 1 Carl Hutchings / Stuart Lockyear (London Phoenix Vets) 46.37 2 Simon Jepheart / Gary Cousins (phasenineclothing.co.uk) 3.12 3 David Wood / Tom Jones (Team Dysynni) 4.58 4 Richard James / Paul Shackleford (Snetterton Frog Riders) 7.49 5 Enrico Pizzorni / Marco Zanetta (Ruotequadre Italy) 7.55
