Many of our riders and parents made the short trip to Andover where the Wessex co-op team led by Alex Forrester and group of volunteers had laid out a difficult technical course for our youngsters. On offer were hurdles to jump over, a deep muddy puddle, a 180 degree bend on an off-camber climb and a steep zig-zag and slippery downhill. The start and finish were on a tarmac straight and this gave the event a feeling of taking part in an international elite event! The tarmac also meant faster starts and this did mean a few riders had a crash. From our riders Benji came closest to a crash after a (near) touch of wheels but he showed good skill to control his slide and stay upright.
Our under 8 girls keep swapping position every race showing how close they all are. This time Jaya had the upper hand and she finished in second place. Billy is one of our most consistent podium finishers and he once again delivered to finish 2nd U8 boy.
In the under 10 boys race Tom Wilks found himself in a race packed with strong competitors and he had to settle for 5th place this time. Ben Allen is getting more experienced every race and he did well to finish in 15th place.
Izzy had a good race and she showed her usual class to finish 1st U12 girl. As always the Under 12 boys race saw our largest contingent of riders in the field. Monty lead the pack of Sotonia riders this time, coming home in 4th place and not far off 3rd place.
The U14 race riders had to negotiate a much larger course and organiser Alex Forrester used all his Belgium CX knowledge to pack the course with endless off-camber hills, steps, hurdles, mud and an exciting loop over the BMX track. Monty’s sister Ruby had a great start to the U14 girls race and she was well up in the field until a fall and an open elbow saw her drift back. She kept riding though and delayed a visit to the first aider until after the finish.
Max was our lone rider in the U16 race finishing in 13th place and gaining more points for the national rankings.
U8 Girls
Jaya Martingale 2nd, Tilly Wilks 4th, Isabelle Mar-Molinero 5th
U8 Boys
Billy Dyer 2nd
U10 Girls
Eva Mar-Molinero 1st, Marit Davidse 2nd, Hannah Olney 4th
U10 Boys
Tom Wilks 5th, Ben Allen 15th
U12 Girls
Izzy Hall 1st, Ella Ridgment 6th, Skye Martingale 8th
U12 Boys
Monty Flavell 4th, Niclas Olley 8th, Charlie Shepherd 10th, Tom Allen 15th, Benji Pike 16th, George White 18th
U14 Girls
Emma Harrison 9th, Ruby Flavell 12th
U14 Boys
George Connell 12th, Louis Kirk 23th, Samuel Ridgment 24th
U16 Boys
Max Darnton 13th