Diva Descent

Diva Descent took off with a blast this weekend with 23 women descending to Kinnoull Hill, Perth, to experience the UK’s first all-girls DH event. Women from all over the UK came up for the weekend to enjoy a days coaching with expert advice from 4X/DH rider Katy Curd and D’Hiller Aimee Dix. They then got the chance to put their new found skills into practice with a timed race on Sunday.

For many of the girls the weekend was a chance to experience their first ever race. Saturday started with a track walk and a chance to discuss line choice with the coaches and meet the other entrants.

The track was split into two sections; a technical, rooty, natural top part followed by a fast flowing bermy and jumpy lower section.

Throughout the Saturday the girls got chance to session various parts of the track with coaching on riding roots, effective cornering and tackling jumps and drops. Expert guidance was provided trackside with Katy and Aimee working together with the girls to help them with technique and timesaving tips.  After a long day on the track welcome refreshments were provided by Red Bull and the girls headed off to prepare for the next days racing.

The pits were buzzing with excitement on race day with Red Bull fuelling the energy levels and providing the tunes. Perth City Cycles were on hand to help with any last minute bike adjustments and No Fuss Software provided the timing.

The Scottish weather kept the riders on their toes, with heavy rain during the seeding runs making the top rooty section more slippy and challenging than usual. The weather cleared up for the main run with race nerves quickly being replaced with (friendly) competition. The girls performed well, with many shaving seconds off their seeding time. Sarah Jane Rennie took the winning time with an impressive 1:46, closely followed by Jo Cardwell at 1:47 with third place going to 16yr old Alice Taylor with a 1:52 run. The podium winners walked away with some brand new Loeka kit and a bag of goodies from Perth City Cycles with spot prizes also being given out for best crash, most stoked rider, hardcore hardtail and most improved rider. The success of the day could be easily gauged by the amount of happy faces and stoked riders.

The weekend ran smoothly and without glitch thanks to the brilliant planning from first time events organiser Sarah Muir, the hard work of all the marshals, the help from the coaches and encouragement of the spectators.

Look out for more events coming soon!

Report from GirlMTNbiker

More photos from the day can be found at Torks website