BUCS 2011 - Moelfre

BUCS 2011 - Moelfre Student Championships from Rob Rickman on Vimeo.

I was on camera duty for this years BUCS. It was a great weekend and really nice to be back out in the welsh hills. The weather was a mixed affair but that didnt dampen the mood and there was plenty of excitement both on and off the track. Swansea was well represented, we had 5 riders posting more than respectable times. It is fair to say that thanks to the shear genius of the vibe trolley swansea was also responsible for bringing the party. The XC on the sunday was fantastic, a straight up straight down track, the down being down one of the DH tracks the up being up the uplift track. Bike skills were required along with brutal fitness. The steep showdown section provided endless entertainment as rider after rider were sliding out or getting flicked over the bars. There is a strange beauty about that unavoidable moment when the front end digs in which when combined with an epically high saddle and an extended stem forces the rider into a slow but perfect arc over the bars, the bike following thanks to the carefully engineered clipless pedals. All of us who practice the statistically safer sport of DH had a great time cheering on the XC riders and providing helpful advice and support whilst sitting in the sunshine nursing a hangover. All this action has been crammed into the video above for all the non students out there who want to know what they are missing. Once again BUCS wins the prize for the best atmosphere and all round event, thanks to all the organisers for pulling it off again this year.

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BUCS 2010 - Ae Forest

The Student Champs should be the model for all other DH races. There is nothing quite like an event catering for 800 students. The DH track was really good this year, the level was suitable for all abilities with a few challenging sections to really mix up the results. Friday night saw a load of rain which lubricated the track and made the whole event a lot more interesting. In practice the final section of steep, freshly cut terrain was carnage. Riders were tumbling and crashing at every possibility through this section which lead to a massive alcohol fuelled crowd building through the day. By second runs the atmosphere was totally wired. From the top of the track the crowds could be heard showing their support for fellow riders, banter was flying, claxons and air horns were going off, the atmosphere really was nuts. As a rider it makes the event really something special and the party feeling makes spectating incredibly entertaining. Joe Bowman has put together this awesome video of the DH, check it out:

British Student Champs Downhill 2010 A.e Forest from Joe Bowman on Vimeo.

Swansea, although missing the podium for the first time in a few years posted some respectable results with Will Soffe finishing 4th and incredibly managing to finish first fun in 17th despite having smashed off his rear brake rotor right at the top of the track. Greg Hampton squeezed into the top 20 to finish in 19th place. Jack Malone made 39th after properly, and I mean properly snapping his front wheel in his first run. I got the BFe down in a 2:56 to finish in 81st place overall.



The XC followed an epic party on Saturday night and to be frank the track was a massive disappointment. The hillside had so much potential and yet they chose to route the track along fireroads and a man made tow path type thing. There was no tech climbs or descents and worst of all there was no comedy crash section to provide comedy for the DH boys. Despite this some really imaginative heckling was carried out on a couple of the switchbacks giving the XC a bit more fear factor for a lot of the riders. An impromptu rock/tyre/ravioli/pot noodle garden was also built on the start straight to keep the riders on their toes each lap. Swansea managed 3 riders in the top 30 but unfortunately that wasnt enough to secure the team podium.

Thanks to Joe Bowman to this great video of the event and James Holt for the pictures. For more info on the picture and fullsize images contact him at jceholt@gmail.com

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UK Bike Park - BUCS 09

A bit of a change for the champs this year the weather was absolutely amazing! Loads of sunshine and a great venue with camping right next the track created a brilliant atmosphere. The champs is always one of the best races of the year. the racing is incredibly chilled out but at the same time a huge amount of pride is at stake as the University teams battle against each other for the top spot.

I missed friday practice after having broken down thursday night, the day was spent frustratingly under the van replacing the alternator and trying to get it all fixed up in time to rejoin the action. Hearing stories of grass slalom races friday night with mass start directed at a line of students who were marking the extents of the track, the weekend was clearly starting well and I had to get my act together.

Still tweaking the van saturday morning, swapping in a new fuel filter and giving her the last bit of love and persuasion she was after. We were finally on the road, rocking up at 10 to find Rob had also only just made it. I cant say I was a huge fan of the track to begin with, it was a short fiddly one, not too technical but most of the corners were over blown and roots hid in strange places and which swiped the wheels away from under you. This was a track that required care and control rather than ballsy off the brakes antics. With a huge range of ability on the track practice was a bit of a traffic jam so no chance to really get into the flow or manage a full run.

Come racing though it was a totally different game. The entire length of the track was lined with loud, excited students dealing out the encouragement and abuse. They were all there for one reason, to see some carnage. It was possible to tell standing at the top how a rider was getting on just from the pitch of the cheering that was making its way down the track. First run I got a little carried away and excited by the audience. Charging the top half of the track I was putting in a good run until some friendly spectators were shouting at me to get on the pedals right before this cheeky steep right hander. A good crowd had developed above this corner as it was the center of the action and I flew in totally forgetting it was coming and had no chance in hell of making the turn. Having smashed into a couple of trees I eventually ran out of momentum half way down the hill. The crowd were clearly well entertained by my cornering abilities. Will Soffe was the only rider on form for Swansea placing 3rd overall with his usual unhurried style that never seems to reflect the incredibly quick times he posts.

After the DH the flood lights were wheeled out (and some even lit up) illuminating the first 3 jumps off the 4X track. A straight knock out was arranged, a drag race with the top 2 going through to the next round. This was so much fun. The track has been changed since I was last there and there is now nothing to slow you down up until the table which consequently is very short for the speed. That combined with not being able to see the landing and flash photography smashing you in the eyes it was a really sketchy, fun, exciting event. First practice down the track and someone ran under my wheels as I was flying up the step-up totally scaring the sh*t out of me and getting the adrenaline pumping ready for the event. A few snaps later and I was knocked out by the french BMX champ who's name I should know and Steve Atkins who went on to take the event and earn himself some easy money.

Then the main event, the party started with Soffe and the torico boys laying down the moves with some break dancing and a few pirouettes. A heated battle of British bull dog, George instigated the coneing of a few unsuspecting characters who had to down large amounts of the contents of his bottle, enough said really.

The XC track was brilliant. A flat loop round the woods then up the 4x track down the dual track into one of the DH runs then up the uplift track to complete a lap. The climb was too steep to really pedal so it was a brisk push to the top, perfect! Me and Soffe went all out to get the holeshot, starting near the back of the pack we shouldered the bikes legged it over the grass leaving the start field we were up with the top 10. This was a lot of effort so I took my first break up in the woods! The DH was fun, some serious overbreaking meant the mega techniques were back out involving some crafty high lines and possibly dodgy overtaking maneuvers, which apparently resulted in a string of fallen riders in my wake. A can of WD40 sprayed at disk height up at the top would have really improved this race! After the climb I figured it was a good chance to sit in the van grab a drink and change my top ready for the next lap, this was a serious race and hydration is always important!! I ended up finishing just behind Rob, Soffe came in in 7th which is really good going, will be entering him for the Champs next year!

Representing Swansea in the champs was Sion the defending champion, Matt and James. James had been shredding the DH and Dual all weekend so big expectations for him despite being the underdog in XC this was a track that really suited his ability. Going for the cheeky start up the grass he made it from the second pack to the front half of the leading pack and was seriously flying the DH only to puncture. Legging it back to the car he was straight back on it and made up a serious number of positions on the descents, really good to see. One corner at the bottom of the descent surrounded by probably over a hundred rowdy downhillers. The look of terror as the less confident riders approached the section was brilliant. Loads of cheering, chants, overtaking, crashing, skidding, Mexican mooning. . . made for some great entertainment. Sion ended up finishing 4th just off the podium.

Another great weekend, a big thanks to everyone involved in organising the Champs, bring on next year!

Anyway Sod all this typing malarkey heres the real story, thanks to all riders involved:

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BUSA MTB 08- CwmCarn washout! - Swansea take the win.

1)Swansea boys on top of the podium. 2)Me and Jack (AKA Hill) 3)Will Mk2 - Just goes to prove where theres a Will theres a way! 4)Will storming his way to the finish line

The Welsh racing gods came out in force for the BUSAs, to ensure an unforgettable weekend of big gusty winds, torrential downpours and hundreds of dirty soggy students. The turn out was awesome with CwmCarn absolutely full to capacity and 290 riders on the start list. Loads of rental vans were rocking about rammed with bikes people, and all the other random stuff required for the student champs such as the air horns, cowbells made from swingarms, cow print pyjamas etc. Its always good to see such solid investment of so many student loans!!

Initial impressions of the track were that it was tame and pedally especially when comparing it to Dunkeld last year, however this changed dramatically come Saturday. The weather really helped liven the racing even if it did scare off the spectators. The final section of the track became fairly hairy with the wind, the last jump was taped in and took a few victims, I watched 3 people in a row get taken by gusts and blown clean off their bikes coming off the bridge before it. Chris Barnard receives trail points for pulling out awesome whips over the last jump while the rest of us were hanging on and hoping. Barnard had some of the best style of the weekend on a bike that very closely resembled a shed, he really needs to get off his lazy trucker arse and get back out riding again, oh and rebuild the hardtail!

1) Barnard whipped. 2) Me over the last double 3) Al showing off the gold. 4) Vanning it.

First run was nuts, no visibility, wet sticky track and loads of blown out corners. It only took one run to remember why we do it and to make all the other shit and hassle that comes with racing worth it, no normal ride will ever be as intense. Alex Roberts was first to set the bar for Swansea and put in one of his best performances yet on a borrowed Solid, One word to describe Al's bikes is bodged, this just goes to show how much potential he has if only he could learn how to tune a bike without making use of the hammer! A few too many mistakes and getting held up by traffic left me back in the rankings. Jack set a decent time, looking incredibly fly in his new SH kit. This left Will Soffe who was seeded 5th and the last Swansea rider on the hill. Will has started this year with so much confidence and determination, and had really set his sights high for this event. He came down absolutely storming leaving him in the hot seat after the first run.

Second runs were very cold and wet, with a lot of drowned looking people at the start hill. The rain had cleaned the track up a bit but it was now resembling a river most the way down. Severe goggle issues left me completely blind 100m off the start hill killing my chances of a decent second run. Alex was able to knock another 3s off his first run and sticking him in 17th. There was some real tension at the finish while we waited for the final riders to come down and see if Will could hang on to the top step of the podium. He showed some great consistency coming in only 2s short of his first run however Ralph Jones and Chris Hutchens just sneaked in front, still 3rd isnt too bad for a fresher! Rob Hinds had a huge grin on his face all weekend and made it into 92nd place which is definately not bad for his first DH race.

Importantly this left Swansea to take the team win, we have all got a bit used to the 3rd step of the podium and there was a moment of doubt where we thought we had missed the podium completely as 3rd and 2nd were called. This was followed up by the XC boys taking the team win on the sunday, leaving Swansea's record of being undefeated in all cycling events this year intact.

The weather meant all but hardened few bailed to warmer places on saturday night so the epic BUSA party never happened. Big thanks to Paddy who pulled off another awesome event with the help of Dragon DH, CwmDown and Extreme Medics. Bring on next year!!

Full results at www.busacycling.biz

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