British XC Series 
Venue: Dalby Forest, UK
Position: 1st place.

Four weeks have quickly passed since the last round of the British XC Series. This round couldn’t have been much different from the first. Firstly
Sherwood is renowned for being a fast, flat course. Round 2 was to take place at Dalby Forest on possible the UK’s most technically challenging XC course.
Then there’s the weather Sherwood might have been a little chilly but the sun was shinning providing a nice dry dusty circuit. In stark contrast at Dalby I
believe it had rained almost constantly for nearly 2 weeks leading up to the event.

Dalby is a demanding course in the dry but in the wet caution and respect for the course is certainly required.

As if these changes weren’t enough I’d also opted to change bikes since round 1.

I have been very curious as to what a 29er would be like on the British mountain bike race scene. Over recent years I have worked extensively in both
Botswana and South Africa. Practically all new bikes purchased there are now 29ers. At the Cape Epic this year all UCI registered riders were riding 29ers. I
don’t think many people would doubt that this is the correct weapon of choice for their terrain and courses as most are fast, flowing and flat circuits. The
UK courses on the over hand tend to be short and twisty. Surely the opposite of what a 29er would be suitable for (or so I thought).
It was for these reasons up until now I had been reluctant to make the switch.

These concerns were quickly put to bed on my first practice lap however.

I had completely overlooked the benefit the 29er setup brings to descending. By switching to the bigger the wheels simply roll over obstacles that on a 26″
wheel bike you would have to avoid or at least account for. On the 29c (hardtail) I felt like I could ride the downhills in the same manner as I would on a
full suspension bike. I rode all the ‘A’ lines on the circuit with complete confidence.

The circuit features some seriously steep climbs which are hard to ride in the dry but in the wet some become unrideable. Another benefit of the 29er which
quickly became apparent was the increased traction when climbing typically on a 26″ wheel bike you would expect some degree of wheelspin when trying to put
the power down on climbs. This just doesn’t happen with the 29″ wheel, the bike just grips and accelerates.

Practice complete I packed the bike away confident I’d made the correct choice in switching.

The following day we woke to a pleasant morning the sun was out and it wasn’t raining. The damage had already been done to the circuit however one complete
section of the course had to be closed for this reason.

The start/finish arena was completely water logged.

Being gridded from the last round I managed a good start. I deliberately rode the slippy corners in the arena with caution as it was almost like riding on
ice! I could feel the bunch breathing down my neck as I slowed for the first corner.

One rider darted around the outside of me. Down the start finish straight he started slipping every where out of control he clipped a barrier which
catapulted him back into the centre of the track where he fell causing others to have to brake and avoid him. I was thankfully clear of these troubles and
continued gingerly around the arena.

After the first lap I had a gap of around 17secs to the second placed rider and decided to push on. Next time round I had opened up the lead to around 1
minute. I was riding well and was feeling good. The conditions made the racing hard but I knew that would be the same for everyone.

As the race continued I managed to complete the four laps without drama, which is always a concern in such conditions. Mechanical issues are certainly more
likely, as are crashes a small lapse in concentration can easily end in tears.

I finished the race in around 1:30hours with a lead of nearly 3 minutes. Extremely pleased to say the least

Thank you for your continued support.

All the best,

Luke Smith
Whyte Racing UK