Club riders excel in the heat of Folly Farm
Folly Farm Southern XC Round 3 - Written by Holly Smith.
The course at Folly Farm was a very dusty and flowing course with limited technical elements but many tight singletrack trails making overtaking hard. However, the lack of wind and temperatures pushing 33 degrees celsius made the day challenging. Many riders struggled in the extreme heat but pushed on to achieve some excellent results.
Holly Smith had a decent start and enjoyed the uphill sections to attack on, after a dodgy pit stop she dropped back a few seconds but picked the pace up again to place seventh and take third position in the Southern Regional Championship.
Luka Robilliard had a good start but after a crash on the first lap and a mechanical issue, he dropped to last position. He then made his way through the pack alongside fellow club rider Jacob Piercey before fighting for fourth position with another rider and attacking hard to take the win. His dad, Tristan Robilliard had a slow start causing him to get tangled in a backlog of slower riders in the twisty tree sections before finding a good rhythm to finish the race strong which was impressive in the 30+ weather.
He said “I knew that a fast start would cause a big fade so I tried to start easier and build through the race. It was so hot that any tactics were soon out the window and I was just happy to complete the five laps without incident”.
Arun Scales had a good race for his first time at Folly Farm, finishing in tenth position despite the heat.
Dan Johnson started from position thirtyeight on the grid and made an excellent start, delivering a very fast opening lap. However, he was unable to maintain that pace beyond the first lap and ultimately finished in position fortythree after five laps of the five kilometre course.
Henry Johnson, aged six and one of the younger riders in the Under-10 category, was riding very strongly before unfortunately suffering a mechanical issue when his chain came off on lap two and dropped a few places. Despite the setback, he managed to finish eleventh among the boys.
Hugo Johnson started sixth on the grid and, despite not getting the best start, fought his way up to second place on the opening lap. He then stayed on the leader’s back wheel for the remainder of the race, setting up a sprint finish in which Hugo secured an impressive second place missing out on the win by less than half a second!
Jake Piercey who was gridded ninth had a quick start, finishing the first lap with Luka and worked hard to hold onto seventh position despite the heat.
Despite it being Ellie Piercey’s first race in the longer race of the Under 12’s, she had a strong start but struggled with the heat yet kept going and finished fifth female.
Youth Female rider Amy Smith had a good start and raced hard alongside strong competitor Rosie Shorney who after a big attack got away from Amy who continued to push hard after a miscommunication in a pit stop where she lost her water bottle and was forced to ride the last lap with no fluids, eventually finishing ninth and gained fourth in the Southern Regional Championships.
After a mechanical issue Mark Smith obtained in the previous race of the series he knew he was in for a tough race having completed The Gralloch ultra ride the previous weekend. Luckily he got a fairly good start and kept his position in the scramble for the first single track section, but got caught in a traffic jam in the narrow twisty section and unfortunately lost a few places on the first of the short tough climbs as he adapted to the conditions and speed and kept a steady pace whilst avoiding overheating. By the end of the first of six laps he dropped to position forty where he remained for the rest of the race.
Utmost & Ian Browns Academy rider Zach Smith competed in the youth class, starting at the front of the grid alongside rival Ollie Smith. The pair began at a blistering pace, completing the opening lap in under thirteen minutes. The next two laps were extremely close, with Ollie Smith narrowly beating Zach to claim victory. Zach secured second place, marking his sixth consecutive podium finish. Overall Guernsey Velo Club riders had an extremely successful race weekend and are looking forward to the Nationals at Pippingford on the 14th of June.