Well, that’s it for the 2019 Southern XC Season.
17/03/19 Southern XC Round 1 – Matterley Basin, Winchester
Fred raced this one in the u12s at the South Downs venue of Matterley Basin. Flowy singletrack in the woods combined with fast open sections combined to give close racing. Fred started at the back and was immediately held up behind a crash. Pushing hard he fought up to 17th having passed 18 riders. A good ride!
21/04/19 Southern XC Round 2 – Checkendon, Reading
Edith and Fred both raced here in the u12s. This is a very familiar venue after many years of the old Rampage series and frequent Southern XC visits here. Pan flat, but tight and rooty, this course rewards speed through corners and power, lots of power! Edith raced hard and came in 12th. Fred got off to a good start this time and was rewarded with an 11th place. It was also Easter Sunday, so chocolate eggs followed!
19/05/19 Southern XC Round 3 – Crow Hill, New Forest
Edith and Fred returned to the much-loved venue of Crow Hill in the New Forest. The course here is loamy, fast and in contrast to Checkendon is nicely hilly. Loved by Fred, and less so by Edith! Good starts by both saw them racing well up until a ‘racing incident’ between Fred and Edith resulted in Fred through the tape and crashing off the course, right in front of the race commissaire. He wasn’t impressed at the Price sibling antics. Finishing the remainder of the race cleanly saw Fred in 13th and Edith in 9th.
02/06/19 Southern XC Round 4 – Folly Farm, Basingstoke
This is a new woodland venue for Southern XC and featured a fresh cut woodland course with a reasonable climb and fun descent. Edith raced hard for 10th and Fred had a very close race resulting in a sprint finish for a 10th place. Good racing! Good to see new venues and it should develop into a cracking race venue for the future.
14/07/19 Southern XC Round 5 – Pippingford, Ashdown Forest
This one was a full family outing with Fred and Edith in u12s, Karen in vet ladies and me in open men. I reckon this is the best venue on the Southern XC circuit, and every year it gets better! Why? Well it’s a Southern Enduro venue too, giving some cracking descents with berms, jumps and drops abound, all earnt with some stiff rooty climbs too. Get your droppers on for this one and have some fun! Well fun I had and scored a happy 8th placed finish.
Edith and Fred both got 10th placed finishes and then we all cheered Karen on in for her race. Just to make it an endurance day too, Karen rode to the venue and started her race with some 60 something miles in her legs already. Luckily it didn’t slow her down and she scored a 3rd placed finish. Podium!!
Edith finished 7th overall and Fred finished 5th.
Again many thanks to Southern XC for a great series – always well run, fun and on great courses.
The racing is very inclusive so if your child is keen, get along and give it a go.