Hi all

Well done to all of you who revelled in the rain and mud at Checkendon on Saturday.  It was a great course – courtesy of Southern XC and Banjo Rampage – and we had some fast and furious racing although I think the most hard-fought competition might have been ‘who can get splattered with the most mud’!

Thank you to Matt Carey, who gave up several hours to get this event running, from making sure the landowner was happy and the course fully taped to putting out the road signs, ordering the toilet, and locking up after we all had gone.

Also to the parents who volunteered to marshal out on the course and, particularly, to Mark Stevens, who rode every lap of every race as sweeper making sure that everybody was OK while they were racing.

And finally, thank you to AW Cycles for providing us with the prizes for our race winners.

The results are attached.  Please let us know if there are any queries.

Also attached are the updated Championship standings.

It could barely be tighter at the top of the senior (U16) boys, with just one point separating Angus and Callum – although it might have been slightly different if Callum and Tim hadn’t sportingly ridden slowly and waited for their team-mate after Angus suffered a mechanical problem just after the start of the mtb race yesterday.

In contrast both Euan and Jamie have already wrapped up, respectively, the U14 and U12 boys titles – Jamie with an impressive 100% record to date.

Alex leads the U10 boys, but is only 7 points ahead of Finley so will need a good circuit result if he is to claim his first Club Champion jersey.

Seth, also with a 100% record, has defended his U8 title, and he and Kimi will no doubt be looking forward to having some more team-mates to compete against next year.

A situation which also exists for the U16 girls, where Connie has ridden superbly, but alone, in her category.

Alexa just has the upper hand in the U14 girls, but Emily will be challenging strongly in the circuit race and Alexa needs 3rd or better to stay ahead.

Mia, with a 21 point lead, is favourite to take the U12 girls title, but Becca will no doubt be racing her to the line in the circuit race and ready to capitalise on any mistakes.

Greta takes the U10 girls title with an unbeaten record to date, but this is a category that looks exciting for future years with a number of newer and younger members who will be looking to challenge next year and beyond.

Finally, with new member Ella only having done 4 events so far, Chloe takes the U8 girls title and is another who will be hoping that her 100% record is still intact after the circuit race.

On which note, don’t forget the Circuit Championships are at Hillingdon on the afternoon of Saturday 5 November.  Entry will be in advance only, and via the BC website entry system.  Watch out for emails and social media updates telling you when entries have opened.

Any queries please let us know.

Best wishes

Fiona, and Matt.