2010 Halo BDS Rd 3 Llangollen
Llangollen (p: Clan-Gothlen) is a small town in the North East of Wales, steeped in history; it sits on the busy A5 arterial route that links the port of Holyhead and then Ireland, to the rest of mainland Britain.
The BDS first visited this venue in 2009, then known as the NPS, the steep course was contained within the trees, however this year it was routed across open steep farmland just to the side of the old course. Indeed the farmer is one of the instrumental reasons the venue is here…after being approached a few years ago, he has whole heartedly taken to downhill in a big way…just wish all farmers had that kind of thinking.
Emma Wareham
With very little clashing, in the form of World Cups etc. it meant that some of the UK’s top riders where in attendance…most notable of course where the Atherton’s…as we all know they’re almost local to this venue and therefore a good chance to stay at home as well as race some strong competition. Rachel however was off the bike this weekend…resting up after a fall at Leogang, the previous weekend.
The aforementioned competition was not in short supply as the likes of Brendan Fairclough, Ben Reid and the rest of the hot UK elite field, always like to have a win at home. It turned out to be a hotly contested event as promised.
Views from the top of the course where breathtaking, clearly in sight were the ancient castle ruins of Castell Dinas Bran and the Eglwyseg Rocks, an awesome looking limestone escarpment clinging to the far side of the River Dee valley. However time for sightseeing was limited as the course was steep, techy, short and fast.
At a little under 2 minutes long, the course was visible almost for it’s entirety from the finish field below. Cut into a fern covered hillside, the dry conditions made it a loose dust affair. With the feedback from some riders purely being “Just Awesome!”
Fraser McGlone
The section just before the finish was what all the spectators came for, flat out action, with 3 step downs in quick succession…all set within some old ruined farm buildings. This was one of the fastest bits of the course, get it wrong here and you could be in trouble…one Air Ambulance was required, which slowed things down a bit during seeding but other than that most riders got down it safely.
Racing at National level is always close and at Llangollen was no different. Close fought battles in every class but it’s the elites who always steal the show. With Gee Atherton taking the fastest time in seeding it was he who was gunned after in the final. Brendan Fairclough had the biggest guns at the end of the day and pipped Gee into second by 7/10ths of a second…very close.
Check out the full results below (via RootandRain).
Next BDS is Round 4 at Molefre
