British Mountain Bike Series Round 5 - Newnham Park, Plymouth

As a long hard season draws to a close there was just one last race remaining for the team, the final race of the National Series! It was back to the good old venue of Newnham Park, home to some of the best World Cup racing of the past and with a host of International riders descending on the venue and the return of the famous pipeline descent it was bound to be a weekend to remember.

For the team it has been an outstanding season full of podiums, great results and lots of fun regardless of the results in Plymouth, you could even forgive the riders if they struggled after such a hard season of racing... they didn't! In actual fact the team produced their best overall results of the year with a fantastic display right across the team.

With a slightly unusual feel the team prepared themselves for a relay on the Friday evening and were privledged to be joined by top Junior, Ruby Miller! With a format of 1 short lap each, Chris, Nat and Ben joined Ruby to make up a strong team and we finished a creditable 4th against some tough opposition from the Great Britain team.

As usual it was Alex who had the early start Saturday morning and prepared himself to perfection as normal with the team cheering him on expectantly around the course. He didn't disappoint with a brilliant display finishing his 3 laps in 4th position and rounding off a fabulous season in only his first year of the Youth category.

The Junior race has been hotly contested between Steve James and Kenta Gallagher all year but a lapse in form saw Kenta drop back and our boys were waiting in the wings to take full advantage and it was Nat who took his opportunity with open arms producing an unbelievable ride to take 3rd place, his first national podium and probably the biggest turn around of form that the team has ever witnessed. Backing him up in 4th place was Ben who also had a great ride leaving us once again with two riders inside the top 5 positions!

Chris Andrews has taken his first year as an Elite in his stride and his improvement has been so great it has seen him break into the top 15 riders in the country and leaves him ranked 10th in Great Britain. Today was another fantastic display as he battled from his position midway through the starting grid to finish in 12th position in a field that included Olympians Liam Killeen and Oli Beckingsale as well as a host of international riders. Paul looked to be leaving his poor form behind running just outside the top 20 before a crash ended his race.

In short, this has been a season to remember but as end of season races go, this one was up there with the best of them, now its back to Jungle HQ to refresh the batteries and get ready for what promises to be a VERY exciting 2010!