Location - Buckfastleigh
Type - Open / Solo
Event Start - 7.00 pm
Fee - £7
Closing Date for entries - 07/07/09
Course - S4/10
Entry Forms - Click HERE to download an Entry Form
Cheques should be made payable to:
Bikinmotion CC
Post to: Stewart Gordon, 41 Somerset Avenue, EXETER, Devon, EX4 1LW
Its that time of year again for the new and improved 2009 British Mountain Bike Series. With Martyn Salt back organising this year’s series, along with some new venues as well as old classics thrown in, and ever improving fields of competitors looks like it’s going to be a good year for British XC racing.
To kick off the new series we made a welcome return to the versatile and historic venue of Sherwood Pines in Nottingham. Sherwood provides an excellent season opener with masses of tight twisty singletrack, with a few technical sections to keep you on your toes. With the 7km loops of flattish terrain and a lack of hills it makes for fast and exhilarating racing with no easy option but to go flat out from the gun. Its what is known on the race scene as Relentless!!
The Mallen crew packed up the motor home and left home at a very early hour to make the 6-hour drive to Sherwood. After sitting in traffic in the usual places on the M5 & M6 we arrived at a very sunny Nottingham, hopefully we would be seeing more of the sun over the weekend! After setting up camp for the weekend and doing the typical British thing of having a ‘cuppa’, it was time to go and sign on.
After getting changed and sorting out the bike, it was time to go and see what this punishing course held in store for tomorrows race. Punishing was defiantly the theme for this weekend race, the course used sections of fire road to link all the narrow twisty single track together with the odd log jump thrown in for good measure. With two practise laps under my belt, it was time to head back for a shower and some food. Upon riding back to the Bikin Motion camp, I came across two Bikin Motion members from Somerset. Luke Egger and Peter Robinson had made the long journey up to try their hand at racing the Nationals. After setting their tents up, food was on the agenda, with Pete eating new types of energy food, photographic evidence will be available at the club dinner! It was soon that time to hit the sack for an early night, as tomorrow was going to be hard.
We woke to Sunday morning with glorious sunshine and clear blue skies. All around the camping area people were busy going through pre-race rituals of eating and warming up. With the mornings racing underway, consisting of all the women’s categories and the younger generation of youths and juvenile setting some blistering times around the course, thoughts of pain dawned upon us. It was getting to that time of pre race nerves.
With the warm up and griding on the front row under our belt, that’s right, FRONT ROW! It was soon 30 seconds to go, no going back now. Bang! The gun had gone and I was off to a flying start, 2nd rider into the first corner and out onto the fire road to take us to the first section of twisting singletrack. All seemed to be going to plan, or so I thought. With Luke just beating me into the narrow gap into the woods I was determined not to let him get away from me. Settling in just behind him and with riders trying to pass to make their way up the field I was somewhere in the top ten. A tree stump soon put pay to that idea, sending me flying through the air, over the barrier tape and ending up tangled with my bike. I was back to my feet in seconds, slightly sore and cut to shreds, but with adrenaline pumping and the thought of loosing sight of Luke, I was back on the bike and chasing down the pack. Completing the first lap in around 20th, things defiantly weren’t going to plan. With no sight of fellow team rider and a leg really hurting, I seemed to be going nowhere fast. After completing the other 3 punishing laps I ended finishing 38th out of 70 riders, not ideal for the season opener! Luke however had a Brilliant race completing the first 2 laps in 2nd place; the third lap in 3rd and finished a very respectable 6th place in a very strong field. Peter Robinson also had a good race over the hard course finishing 17th in a very well turned out junior category.
A great weekend’s racing, with some brilliant results for the Bikin Motion MTB team. Thanks to everyone for all the support, without you it wouldn’t be possible. With the next BMBS race on the 10th May and at a new venue of Dalby Forest in the North East. This is a UCI cat 2-test race for the World Cup in 2010, so expect everything! 
See you all there!!
Lee Mallen
Each year the members of BikinMotion Cycling club get the opportunity to leave behind the miserable Devon winter weather for 10 days of warm weather training on the island of Mallorca. The end of January saw a full range of club regulars, led by coach Chris Hall, in the enforced absence of main club coach Richard Shepherd, return to the club’s usual base in Cala Millor, on the east coast of the island.
The availability of smooth, quiet roads and a variety of terrain is attractive to cyclists of all abilities. The chance to sample a little winter sun and to work on fitness levels on the various climbs that are on offer is eagerly anticipated throughout the year.
The 2009 trip included members of the club’s racing team, who were intent on working hard in advance of the fast approaching race season. Impressively dedicated to clocking up the miles, and also the vertical feet on the climbs, these younger riders looked well set for a successful season ahead.
The remainder of the riders approached the trip with a slightly more leisurely attitude in keeping with their individual fitness levels. Goals varied between working on base fitness levels to “quality conversation” while out on ride. Notwithstanding this more relaxed approach the more senior riders, in terms of years of age, still recorded a good number of miles and a collection of satisfying climbs.
While Devon shivered in the snow, the trip enjoyed some beautiful Mallorcan sunshine which was occasionally punctuated by heavy showers and brisk wind.
The less favourable conditions had little effect on the overwhelmingly positive experience. As in past years the trip was a real success and an endorsement of the inclusive ethos of the club that riders of all standards were able to enjoy 10 days of good riding and great company.
Wow! What a great start to the 2009 MTB season for the Bikinmotion cycling team at Newnham, Plymouth for the second round of the Soggy Bottom series. We had a great turnout with 8 riders and a few new faces. Surprisingly enough, the rain clouds cleared and held off for the day, but there were still plenty of soggy bottoms!!!!
Peter Robinson had a great start to the race coming across the line to complete his first lap just over 2 minutes in front of the next rider; he held this position until sadly he had repeated punctures. This still didn’t dampen his spirits and he managed to find the energy to run the last lap of the race. The run paid off when he crossed the line in 5th out of 9.
Richard Jansen had a trouble free race and finished with a podium position of 3rd.
Andrew Gordon really well and deserves a lot more credit, as this was only his 4th time on a mountain bike and his second race (with the bike being borrowed from Lee). Sadly he also suffered from mechanical problems with his gears jamming with all the mud and finished 8 from 9 riders.
The biggest surprise of the day goes to our new juvenile rider John Morrison, who is improving greatly with every race. He finished his race with a brilliant result of 4th out of 14 riders.
The second race finally started after computer problems delayed the riders on the start for 10 minutes. Sam, Lee and Luke had good starts with the being the first few riders of the groups round the first bend.
Sam Barley - Had no mechanical but suffered with cramp on the last lap and crossed the line in 4th out of 6.
Lee Mallen – Had a strong ride, also didn’t suffer with mechanicals and finished in a great position of 6th from a field of 46 starters and 31 that managed to complete all 4 hard laps.
Luke Eggar – Had a great start crossing the line on his first lap in 2nd place, and 3rd on his second lap, unfortunately he had to retire early from the race due to the fact that his cleat had completely separated from the bottom of his cycling shoe, and the going was to hard to manage without.
Sunday the 14th December saw the the Bikinmotion team compete in the final Cyclo-x of the year. 
With Junior rider Peter Robinson, Senior riders Lee Mallen and Luke Eggar, it looked to be a promising day, shame about the weather! Friday night’s down-pour had left the course water-logged and, although there were sections of tarmac and gravel, these were still covered in water. After pre-riding around with the boys to try and warm up from the cold wind, it was time to be grided. After missing the last two rounds, Lee mallen was well down the standings and ended up setting off towards the back of the field. No sooner had everyone been grided, the whistle had gone and the riders were off, completing laps in just over seven minutes. After 1 hour the race was over with Bikinmotion achieving some respectable placings; Luke finished 5th, Lee Mallen settled for another 6th place, and Peter Robinson finished 2nd in the Juniors. A great result for the team and looking forward to racing in the New Year.
Bikinmotion Cycling Club member 21 year old James Spragg has secured a professional Cycling Team contract for the 2009 season. The ride with International squad Trek Marco Polo is recognition of James’s recent achievements and his future potential. 2 years ago James went to Holland the spend some time racing with the then Discovery Channel Marco Polo cycling team, the feeder team to the Discovery Squad. Since then they have kept an eye on his progress and after a successful 2008 season riding in France he has gained a place in the squad now called Trek Marco Polo for 2009. This is his first fully professional contract and will hopefully open many doors. The first of these will be the Tour de Langkawi, a traditional season opener that is ranked only one level down from the Tour de France.
Riding with Trek Marco Polo is a great opportunity to progress and compete in bigger races. It will also have the benefit of riding with some very experienced riders, Leon Van Bon has won stages in the Tour de France and Fuyu Li rode with Discovery when Armstrong was last riding there. Also, for 2009 the Dave Rayner fund which was set up to support young British riders will be helping James for the first time.
James is really looking forward to the season and intends to repay the faith his new Team has put in him.
Bikinmotion Cycling Club had their first indoor training session of the winter when they visited the Newport Velodrome on Sunday 23 November 2008 . The session was well attended with the regular Bikinmotion Cycling Club Riders being joined by several of the regions BMX talent squad. During the 3-hour session, the club were coached by British Cycling Track Coach Richard Shepherd of Newton Abbott.
The session went well with the less experienced riders quickly gaining in confidence and soon utilising the full range of the track – all despite an early spill involving several riders. A group of the club’s more experienced track riders were put through their paces by the Newport Velodrome’s resident coach and finished the session with an impressive display of synchronised riding. Overall, the visit to Newport was greatly beneficial in developing the cycling skills of all those who attended, particularly the novices whose confidence surged with every lap and left them with an eager anticipation of our next visit in December.
Bikinmotion Cycling Club riders took two podium positions at the first Soggy Bottom Mountain Bike race of the season at Newnham Park, Plymouth. The storms of the preceding week ensured that the course lived up to the billing and it certainly challenged the 300 strong field. Peter Robinson completed the 3 laps of the 5.8km circuit in the fastest time (01:02:05) amongst his peers to take the top spot in the Youth Category. He was closely followed by another Bikinmotion Cycling Club rider, Richard Jansen, who took second place with a time of 01:05:59.
Two other Bikinmotion riders entered in the Elite/Expert Category put in respectable performances in a very competitive category with Sam Barley taking 5th place and Lee Mallen coming in at 17th after having to complete the final lap and a half on foot folowing a mechanical
Bikinmotion Cycling Club’s Lee Mallen and Peter Robinson overcame some atrocious weather conditions to put in a couple of great performances at the South West Cyclo Cross League Race on Sunday 9th November. The course at Central Park in Plymouth was technical enough and, as the weather deteriorated throughout the day, it became even more demanding and many segments of the course had all riders pushing or carrying their machines.
Despite these conditions, the pace was fast amongst the leaders and included in this group was Bikinmotion’s Lee Mallen although an early crash involving a number of riders led to him slipping toward the back of the field. Undeterred, Lee quickly regained his composure and started to work quickly back to his former position. This determined effort eventually left him ranked 6th Senior Rider with an overall position of 10th in the 1 hour plus 1 lap race. Bikinmotion debutant Peter Robinson riding in the Junior Category also rode an outstanding race showing grit and determination on a challenging course and in atrocious weather conditions – a real prospect for the future.
Bikinmotion Cycling Club’s Sam Barley and Lee Mallen have had great results in the South West series recently. Junior Sam Barley finished 1st Junior/8th overall, whilst Lee Mallen was 10th in the Senior field at the 4th round held in Kingsbridge.
Both riders have progressed well through the early Cyclo Cross season with constant performance improvements. Sam had an unusally slow start after getting caught behind slower riders. At the first steep incline he made a strong move into the top 10, not far behind favourite and eventual winner Vin Cox. The course was narrow and overtaking limited but with increasing confidence Sam pushed through for another Junior Win but more importantly 8th place overall.
Lee Mallen continued his best ever run of results in Cyclo Cross with an encouraging 10th place in the senior event - his best result this year.