Scottish SXC - Final Round - Glentress

The Scottish XC series comprised of seven rounds in 2007, beginning in Laggan and, via Dalbeattie, Fort William, Gleniffer Braes, Contin and Drumlanrig, finishing proceedings in Glentress. The series has been hotly contested all season, with the racing for the title going right to the final round. Taking his second 2nd place overall, Whyte Racing UK's Andy Barlow reports:

The final round of the Scottish XC series moved to Glentress - a place that is renowned for its hard-packed, all weather tracks. This time, however, we were in for quite a surprise.

The course was totally different than anything we've been given before. And it rocked. Long fire road climbs and BMX style descents were replaced with steep natural climbs, rooty and off-camber singletrack, with a long rooty muddy descent that twisted its way down over multiple lines. The lap finished with a trip down the new 'Blue Free Ride' section. The best Glentress track I've ever done.


www.colinrobinsonimaging.com (Thanks Colin)

I felt fast on the course in practice, so I just focused on getting a good start. Well rested from my mountain biking holiday to the Alps recently, I blasted away from the gun; confident that I was on good form. The race settled to a comfortable pace (180bpm) and I got in to a rhythm.

The first two laps were fine - apart from having a lucky escape on the long downhill on the back straight - so I thought I'd turn up the pace and drop the guy I could see in second place behind me on the switchback climb. I was in the lead by just under a minute, so I cooled things down a bit so as not to blow up.

And here the problems started. I thought I'd try a new hydration method at this round, as for the last two months I've been training without energy drink or bars. The thought being I could mimic the same benefits from affordable food - such as fruit juice and water in my bottle, oat cakes and muesli bars in my pockets.

It's all been good - so much so, in fact, that I was starting to wonder why I'd been spending so much on all this 'hocus pocus' all these years. So when it came to making my bottles up for the race I just added a squirt of 'Elite' to stop the cramp (the only thing I've found to work), and thought I'd be fine.

Half way round the fourth lap and “BANG!” I hit the wall harder than I've ever experienced before. The guy in second place caught me and passed me with ease. "Oh oh,” I thought, "this is bad". Sure enough, by the time I was at the top of the climb I knew I was in trouble. I was already starting to sway, and my vision was going. Somehow I managed to get round another lap and only got passed by another two competitors. I took some major chances on the downhill's, luckily I never came off. But by the time I finished I could hardly walk.

I crossed the line and could hardly stand. I freewheeled down to my van and, after crawling in to the back, promptly fell asleep - still in all my kit. I woke up twenty minutes later; freezing.

I think I learned a lesson: energy drinks are worth the extra cash. But despite my lack of common sense, I placed second overall in the series. So another year in the number two board.

Once again I'd like to thank everyone that's supported my racing this season. My Dad for being my 'bottle bitch', James at Fine A.D.C for finally solving the riddle to my cramp with 'Elite', and of course Whyte Bikes (ATB Sales) for giving me the sweetest bike to ride. Thanks guys.

Tony Haresign
Mountain Biking Scotland
"Get Out of the Woods!"

Whyte 19 Trail

Whyte's high-end 19 hardtail has already been a cult success with singletrack aficionados and speed demons, but 2007's line-up has had a complete makeover.
The Trail spec takes the tried-and-tested 19 chassis and adds a long travel fork, chunky tyres and a bigger front disc rotor to the mix. It promises pace with a big-hit edge.



A state of the art hardtail platform that mixes sublime handling, beautiful frame detailing, light weight construction and a unique and innovative dropout system that allows geometry adjustment and easy conversion to a singlespeed setup.
Fundamental to the design is the exceptional quality of the frameset - custom fabricated from AN6, an advanced aluminium alloy that helps us create riding characteristics that are reminiscent of a top quality steel frame with its all day comfort and rapid acceleration, but without the weight penalty.
So now you don’t have to decide whether you want a latest generation performance hardtail, or a simple and elegant singlespeed. With the Whyte 19 you get both.
And at £1995 it has all the equipment you'll need, to have fun going downhill and making it easier going up!!!
See WHYTE BIKES WEBSITE for more details.

Tony Haresign
Mountain Biking Scotland
"Get Out of the Woods!"

New Mountain bike Speed World Record

In the time it takes to say “new mountain bike speed world record,” the extreme biker Markus Stöckl can cover 120 meters. His highest speed reached on September 14 on the basic, no-frills mountain bike: 210.4 km/h (130.7 mph)


At a mountain bike downhill world cup race he would be three times as fast as his competition. He would have won the average Tour de France stage with a good four-and-a-half hours’ advantage. And as a Red Bull Air Race pilot he would have already have lifted off with his plane. Ample absurd comparisons one endeavors to make in order to aptly describe Max Stöckl’s mountain bike record trip in La Parva, Chile.

But the facts are quickly listed: On September 13 the Austrian rode his “Intense M6” faster than any person before him on a basic, no-frills mountain bike. On a 1.6 kilometer long ski slope with a decline of up to 45 degrees he reached the speed of 210.4 km/h (130.74 mph) – and thus broke his own eight-year-old record by 23 km/h.



Top speed despite bad preparation

“But the circumstances were anything but ideal,” said the 190 centimeter, 100 kilo giant from Tyrol self-effacingly. Preparation for the event took a modest seven days. The prepared slopes were narrower and softer than he had hoped - and the visor on the aerodynamic helmet fogged up in the practice runs, so that during the 40-second record run Stöckl had to hold his breath. But the speed chase was fun anyway: “I was very calm. At the end of the course I had the feeling that I was watching myself riding.”

Next record in sight

Instead of wet pants Stöckl, came home with his head overflowing with ambitious plans: He now wants to break the Eric Baronès’ 222km/h record for prototypes – with better preparation and top material. The new record try is supposed to take place in 2008 on the same route as the current record was broken.



Tony Haresign
Mountain Biking Scotland
"Get Out of the Woods!"

New Look Site

After much deliberation we have updated the site to allow faster publishing of news, photos, videos and reviews.
There has been a lull in our coverage of the SXC Series due to other commitments, but hope to make it to the final round at Glentress on the 23rd of September.
But for now here are a few pix from Fort William to keep you keen.

Tony Haresign
Mountain Biking Scotland
"Get Out of the Woods!"

UCI World Mountain Biking Championships 2007

Mountain Biking Scotland has been at the BIGGEST Mountain Biking event in the World.......
In FORT WILLIAM! Yes, that's right it is finally here all of he glitz and glamour of the Mountain Biking circuit are upon our shores. As this is THE WORLDS the number of media in attendance is huge. Expecting over 40,000 people to attend this is the 'other' event happening in Scotland other than the national teams playing football and rugby. We will be bringing you the results and photos of the 4X, XCountry and of course the crowd's favourite the Downhill.

USA certainly made their mark in the 4X with Brian Lopes taking 1st place in the Men's and Jill Kintner taking the Gold for the Women. It was certainly an eventful evening with he racing starting at 8.00pm to comply with live TV, the Men's 4X got off to a great start with Gee Atherton setting a blistering start from the gate, taking the lead and jumping with style into the next round.
His luck never held out though and was knocked out in the quarter finals, but Scott Beaumont of Team GB made it through to the Small Final taking 3rd place. Cedric Gracia was not so lucky taking a crash in the bomb hole in the quarter finals, he was led away by emergency crew limping and dusty, but still in one piece. Lets hope he will be ok for the Downhill on Sunday.

In the Elite Men's XC Julin Absalon of France took the win by more than one minute in a field of over 100 riders.

Tony Haresign
Mountain Biking Scotland
"Get Out of the Woods!"