Jason Bouttell (XRT-Elmy Cycles) and Isla Short (Novus OMX) were victorious in the elite men’s and women’s race at a thrilling final round of the British Cycling MTB Cross-country Series at Cannock Chase on Sunday.
Elite Men
Jason Bouttell’s win at Cannock Chase was his first in the elite category, and came at the end of a mixed season for the 30-year-old from Newmarket in Suffolk.
The relief was palpable as he crossed the line after a leg-sapping six laps. Phil Pearce (Specialized racing) took second, crossing the line with a blood splattered arm after a crash in the closing laps, but a final last lap saw Pearce pull back some 40 seconds on Dave Fletcher (Sherwood Pines-Felt-Enve) who suffered cramp on the closing lap and had to relinquish his place after duelling with Bouttell from the gun.
The overall Series winner was wrapped up in the previous round by Malvern’s Liam Kileen who didn’t start the final round, but took to the stage to take the plaudits for his first win in the British Cycling MTB Cross-country Series. Fletcher’s third spot and Pearce’s second ensured a final overall of second and third respectively.
Elite Men Gallery
It was Fletcher and Bouttell who made for the early break, the pair riding away from the field as the race headed out of the arena. Alex Welburn (Torq Performance) had a great start, getting into third spot early on and moving away from a chasing Pearce and Gareth McKee (Bainbridge CC).
Ian Paton(100% ME), with a top placing in the race, had the chance to move up to second overall, but was unable to move to the head of the race and would drop down the placings as the race developed.
Tom Bell (Delv), Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Racing) and Giles Drake (Leisure Lakes) all put in solid performances throughout but it would be Bouttell, Pearce and Fletcher who would be the main protagonists of the day.
Fletcher and Boutell kept the pace high for the majority of the race, no one able to make inroads into the lead pair and by the mid-point the two leaders looked settled in.
Pearce and McKee worked their way up to Welburn and in turn Pearce jumped over the pair to claim third place. Paton didn’t look to be having the best day on the bike, losing ground on Oldham and Tom Bell who along with Giles Drake, had quietly worked through towards the front of the race.
With two laps remaining, Fletcher attacked Bouttell and got a small gap, but it wouldn’t last long and the pair were back together before the lap was out. Pearce was still almost a minute down on the pair but the final lap would turn the race on its head.
Fletcher began to slow with cramp, allowing Bouttell to take the advantage from his sparring partner and leave Fletcher rueing his luck. Pearce hit the deck hard but rallied to take some 40 seconds off the leader, passing Fletcher to take second place and third in the Series with the race winner in sight. Fletcher took third and the rest of the positions rolled across the line in single file.
Race winner Jason Bouttell said afterwards: “I had a relaxed start, there was no pressure on me today as I’ve had a bad year.
“Me and Dave got a good first lap, unfortunately he cramped and Phil was coming on strong as the race went on, so I pushed on and won it.
“I had two seconds last year, but I’ve never won a round of the Nationals. I’ve had some bad luck with snapped chains and things out of my control, so it’s nice to come strong at the end.”
Elite Women
It was Isla Short (Novus OMX Pro Team) who took the win and the Series title in the Elite Women’s race at Cannock Chase.
Short, in a comeback year after breaking her back last season, all but dominated the five laps at Cannock after splitting the race up in the early laps.
With Evie Richards riding in Canada, the series was left open for any one of three to claim. Beth Crumpton (Boot out Breast Cancer), Lucy Grant (Bicycle Works RT) and Short knew a win would take the title.
It was Grant who took the race on in the opening lap, pulling out some 30 seconds to the chasing pair of Crumpton and Short. But the lead would be short-lived and strong riding by the chasing pair turned the chase over to a lead of some 20 seconds over Grant.
Elite Women Gallery
Kerry MacPhee (Rock and Road) was alone in fourth spot, the place she would take to the finish line. But just behind was a four-way battle between Ffion James (Abergavenny), Lucy Allen (TORQ Performance) Holly MacMahon (WXC World Racing) and Rebecca Preece (Leisure Lakes). But James would ultimately take the final step on the podium.
The bomb hole at the far end of the forest was proving to be a sticking point for the weaker riders, but Crumpton had the measure of it and on lap three got a few bike lengths on Short, getting on the pedals before her sparring partner.
The race for the Series looked to be between the lead pair with Grant slipping back slightly, and it was going to be a big ask to get back in contention with the leaders.
It was on the penultimate lap that Short made her move, banging in a minute on Crumpton. Leaving the forest alone, Grant was now around three minutes down on the leader as she entered. Short appeared from the other trail with Crumpton still to appear from the dark.
Short increased her lead over the chasing Crumpton on the final lap to take a lone victory and the Series title, and the smile said it all. Crumpton took second from Grant and the gaps to the rest of the field showed how tough the long laps had been.
“I didn’t expect this to happen at the start of the year! I’m really happy! It’s a relief!” said Short.
“I had my doubts about coming back to where I was before I got injured, but I’ve proved to myself I can get back to the top.
“It’s a physical course, so twisty and turny. I knew as soon as I got a gap I could get out of sight quickly.”
Other Categories
In the juniors it was Will Gascoyne (Sherwood Pines-Felt -Enve) who continued his recent good form to take his third win of the series but he didn’t have it all his own way.
There was a race-long battle with Chris Rathbone (Ride 24/7) who pushed the winner to the last lap, Gascoyne having the legs for the final couple of kilometres to take the win, while Cameron Orr took third.
The Malvern Cycle Sport pair of Ross Harnden and Stan Pritchard took the series 1-2 respectively whilst for Dave Conroy (Scott/Eurocycles) fifth place ensured third overall in the series.
Ella Connolly (Ben Wyvis CC) took the win in the junior women’s race, finishing her three laps some 90 seconds to the good of Klaudia Bajolek (Scott/Eurocycles). Harriet Dodd (Salisbury Road) finished third to ensure third in the series.
Anna Kay came into the day leading the overall, but only completed the first lap and so drops to second in the final standings, Bajolek’s win ensured her series victory overall.
Other Categories Gallery
Nick Craig (Scott Racing) took the win in the veteran race and the series title after a tough six laps fighting it out with team-mate Stu Bowers and Marc Chamberlain (Cotswold Cycles RT).
The Scott pair were looking for a 1-2 at the finish with Bowers taking his first win of the series and Craig finishing second would take the series title. But Chamberlain, leading the series coming into Cannock, was also looking for maximum points to secure the title.
Bowers set an early pace, stretching the field out in the opening laps with only a handful of riders able to stay with him. Craig, Chamberlain, Paul Lloyd, Sam Humphrey, Matt Barrett (Renvale RT) and Paul Hopkins (Merida Factory) made the early selection but such was the pace it would be left to the trio of Bowers, Craig and Chamberlain to define the race.
All three attacked throughout the race, no one giving an inch, but it was Craig whose experience won the race by a mere six seconds from Chamberlain, the pain etched across his face at the finish, while Bowers took third.
Nick Craig said: “I had to finish in the top three to get the overall, so it’s been close.
"There were six guys at least that could’ve done it. I knew Stu Bowers was in good shape and he wanted a win.
“He was riding so well in the woods he got a gap every time and made me and Mark Chamberlain chase to get back on, which wore us down – but not enough.
“I went quite hard on the final lap and got across to Stu, and at that point he could’ve hung on my wheel and won the race from there, but he didn’t.
“The racing this year has been superb, and is everything I want from it. It’s been a battle to win every race and I’ve enjoyed racing these guys.
“Mark Chamberlain is a strong guy, and it takes a lot of my experience to beat him, which is good fun – that’s what makes me tick!”
It was to be a lap of honour in the Grand Veterans race for winner Tim Gould (Zepnat.com) who secured the series at the previous round at Forest Fields.
“The pressure was on me to get the clean sweep, so it’s great to manage that,” said Gould. “I’ve not felt great all week, but nothing specific. Just a bit under the weather.”
Another solid ride by Stroud Valley’s Richard Cross took second in the race, securing second in the series. A popular third place from Jimmy Piper gave him his best result of the series whilst Nigel Brown(Westbury Wheelers) took fourth to consolidate his third place overall in the series.
Ray Croswaith (Pedalon) completed his series with his fifth straight win. Roy Hunt took second, 1.15 behind and Nigel Herrod third and with it second in the series. For Phil Stokes (Jewson- MI Racing) fourth place was enough to secure third in the series.
Bolsover and District’s Maddi Smith has all but dominated the Veteran women’s category this year taking her fifth win in fine style.
Securing the overall at the previous round, Smith was again unstoppable in the final outing of the series leaving the rest of the field to scrap for the lower places. Nicky Hughes (Specialized Racing) took second and jumped into second overall in the series whilst Lindsay Nell (Team Jewson MI) took third on the day and in the series too.
Sarah Barnwell (Club Beicio Mynydd Dyffryn) took her fourth win of the series to secure the title overall. Elizabeth Clayton (Stirling Bike Club) took second and Marianne Heffron (Zepnat) third.
Sean Flynn (Edinburgh RC) took his third win of the series in the Under 16s race to claim the series title.
The National Champion set off at a rapid pace in the opening race of the day, the large field strung out before they left the arena for the first time. Flynn made a useful 30 seconds on a chasing Sam Culverwell (Guernsey Velo) and Harry Birchall (Certini), a split that the winner didn’t relinquish for the three-lap race.
Culverwell held on to his second spot in the race and confirmed third in the series overall and a series best ride by Charlie Craig (Scott Racing) who took third. Ben Tulett finished second overall in the series even though he didn’t take to the start line.
Harriet Harnden (T-Mo Racing) made it five out of five in the Under 16s girls race. With the series already won, the National Champion made no mistake with another class ride.
Taking the lead early on the opening lap the Malvern rider soon had a gap that wouldn’t be touched throughout. Megan James (Abergavenny RC) just pipped Patsy Caines (Certini) at the line to take second after a race long battle that saw the pair wheel on wheel throughout.
Poppy Wildman (SRAM Youth Dev), although not taking to the start, had already secured second overall in the series the previous heat. Emily Ashwood (WXC World Racing) took third overall in the series after taking fourth in the race.
Alec Gregory (Leicester Road Club) took his first win of the series in the Under 14s race with a consistent ride over the two laps, Tim Freeman (Dreigiau Coaed Y Brenin) slipped off the pace slightly in the second lap to finish just 18 seconds off the leader, Certini’s Harry Birchall took third.
Anna Flynn (Edinburgh RC) took her fifth win of the series in the Under 14s girls race and the series title with another fine ride from the Scottish girl. The WXC World Racing pair of Charlotte-Louise McGreevy and Megan MacMahon took second and third respectively. McGreevy secured second overall in the series and Maddie Wadsworth finished third overall.
Torq Performance’s Jacob Phelps took his third win in the expert race to claim the series overall. Ben Wadey finished second to claim the same position in the overall standings whilst James Curry (Cycling Ulster) completed the podium. Oliver Lowthorpe, although not taking to the start, finished third overall in the series.
Results:
Elite Men:
1. Jason Bouttell (XRT-Elmy Cycles) 1:40.52
2. Phil Pearce (Specialized Racing) 1:41.13
3. David Fletcher (Pine Cycles Felt Enve) 1:41.50
4. Tom Bell (Delv) 1:43.50
5. Alex Welburn (Torq Performance) 1:44.06
Elite Women:
1. Isla Short (Novus OMX Pro Team) 1:38.40
2. Beth Crumpton (Boot out Breast Cancer) 1:41.05
3. Lucy Grant (Bicycleworks RT) 1:43.43
4. Kerry Macphee (Rock and Road Cycles) 1:44.58
5. Ffion James (Abergavenny RC) 1:46.12
