CCH in National Series Road and Mountain Bike Races

Three Hackney riders lined up in national series events at the weekend.

Weak spring sunshine greeted the start of the National Youth Criterium Series at Yarborough; the race was marked by furious sprints over the straights and sharp braking as the riders negotiated the the narrow bends on the flat twisting circuit. Tao Geoghegan Hart and Alex Peters kept with the leading bunch throughout the 35km race and in the end only Jonathan Dibben was able to break clear leaving the rest to sprint for the line with Alex getting a great 4^th place while Tao at 13^th was the first under 15 year old to cross the line.

The following day Alex Peters and Gary Linguard both competed in the first round of the National Mountain Bike Series at Sherwood Forest, Alex in the youth and Gary in his first year in the Vets. It was never going to be possible to win because the riders were gridded and over the narrow tracks of a mountain bike course there are always slower riders ahead so it was remarkable that Alex came in 6^th (after starting at 45) and Gary came in 12^th (after starting at 58). The course was 8km over some tough terrain with logs, tree roots steep inclines and sharp drops so it was no surprise that Alex had crashed in his race; providing entertainment for the crowd by spectacularly flying over the handlebars after clipping the barriers at the main arena where he was trying to negotiate a long straight bit that was only 10 meters wide!