Midlands Champs DH. (14th July '01) Eastridge, Shropshire.

Results Below, click pickures for bigger better examples and explanations.

The course followed roughly the same route as the '99 National Champs, starting on a wooden start ramp it was quite flat at first over rocks and roots before getting tighter and steeper with some very soft berms. Then an even steeper section with lots of large loose rocks into a big tight drop into a hole or a chicken run to the left. More tightness, rockiness and rootieness followed before a nice flowing(ish) section over soft ground with drops, berms and some stupid short-cut jumps through the forks of trees that only those with no brains and very narrow bars were attempting. Out of the woods and into field was the famous Eastridge drop, this is made more difficult by the way the grass rolls down before the cliff becomes obvious so you had to remember where the chicken run was and where to drop so to avoid any unusual rocky outcrops, after this the course snaked its way down through the field (no jumps though, boo hoo) with riders pushing their tyres to the limits. Luckily the weather held apart from a little drizzle towards the end of the final runs. Unfortunately the weather was where my good luck ended, my bad day started when I woke up an hour late and ended on a (very) broken bike wearing a broken helmet falling on the drop and being hit be the rider behind. In between highlights had included my chain constantly coming off, having to be given water at the end of my first run by a nice lady because I was dizzy and disorientated and falling victim of the very strange "SFWS" (Sudden-Front-Wheel-Stopping) phenomenon, something to do with the loose berms and rocks.

Teams like Halfords, Royal, Animal/Orange, Team Skene, Dirt, MBUK and Diamondback provided professional talent. All the usual crowd were ripping as per usual, even more so this time as only the very local people who were allowed in to build the course had actually riden it before.Ponting took Pro but it could just as easyly been anyones race. Marc Beaumont won Juniour men as usual in a time that would have given him a healthy 7th place in Pro Elite

Catagory and place Number Name team time
Pro Elite Men
1 378 Tim Ponting Giant - Toyota 2:01.73
2 382 Stu Hughes Team DH 24-7 2:02.62
3 381 Matt Farmer DiamondBack 2:04.13
Pro Elite Women
394 Helen Mortimer Giant Toyota 2:11.97
395 Jo Leigh Halfords/bikehut 2:38.12
Senior Men
1 299 Mark Weightman   2:06.02
2 346 Philip Port   2:08.23
Senior Woman
1 370 Jules Howell   2:54.69
Junior Men
1 141 Mark Beaumont Royal Orange 2:06.97
2 157 James Pinner Team DH 24-7 2:11.34
17 133 Mark Readyhough bikehub.20m.com 2:29.84
41 164 Mark HEMMINGS bikehub.20m.com 3:34.08
Master Men
1 239 Steven Jones Halfords Bikehut 2:05.80
Vetran Men
1 268 Paul Jacobos Walton Cycles 2:17.26
Youth
1 67 Will Rowlands   2:10.32
34 58 Tom Blakeman bikehub.20m.com 3:14.88
36 71 Dan Pardessi bikehub.20m.com 3:22.30
JUVENILE Men
1 12 Lee Pincher DCS Doors Systems 2:21.66

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