Mud Sweat and Gears descended on Langdon hills for the 8th and final round of the series. This was important for lots of riders as it was the final chance to gain points toward the overall series standing. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a field of mud and this gave us some idea as to what the course was going to be like. At around 9am myself and a few other Hadleigh riders went out on a warmup lap and it soon became apparent just how treacherous the course was. The hills were covered in thick mud that stuck to your tyres and left you struggling for grip. On the other hand, the course featured some excellent descents which rewarded bravery as much as technical ability and as such were the scene of a few crashes throughout the day. Before the start of the race, I made the decision to swap my rear tyre for a Mitas Hyperion as opposed to my standard Mitas Scylla as the Hyperion has a deeper tread pattern, and this would turn out be vital as it helped me gain some traction on some of the hills where others were running.
Although the course conditions were less than ideal, they still made for some great racing and I don’t think that there was anyone who finished without a smile on their face. HMTB had some great results throughout the day, the highlights being Joe Champness coming 5th in the Youth category and Robert Staines finishing 2nd in the Junior category. Well done to everyone who turned up and raced for HMTB, it was great to see so many people out there and enjoying themselves. Finally thank you to Kevin Darragh (Youth and Rookie team coach) for his help and guidance throughout the year, I am incredibly grateful. Also thank you to club sponsors Mitas for the tyres that handled the conditions superbly, Hardnutz for the lightweight and comfortable helmet as well as Cyclewrap.
Adam Cavalla, HMTBC Youth Race Team.