Last weekend we supported the London & South-East Cyclo-Cross Team at the 2024 Cyclo-cross Inter-Regional Championship, Presented by Clanfield Cross and Solent Pirates Youth Cycling Club...
Back in the Summer there was a proposal (partly by our own League Chairman, Stuart McGhee) to breathe life back into the once well supported CX Inter-Regional Championships. There was general enthusiasm for resurrecting and the decision was made to start with Youth riders from all around the country. To keep costs down for everyone the Champs would be fitted in and around an existing National Trophy weekend, and Clanfield dutifully stepped up!
We first selected, Julene Knox and Geoff Lulham, to be our two Team DS, Glen Whittington to be our Mechanic, and Stuart McGhee to Manage the team. They put in a huge amount of work behind the scenes on the run up to the race to formulate a plan for the weekend, organise some surprises for the riders, recce the tactical side of the racing and select the team riders. Selection was based on the Trophy and League races on the run up to the Clanfield race. Our team was made up of Eleanor (4T+), Amber (Solent Pirates), Ethan (ViCiOuS), Peggy (ViCiOuS), Eva (4T+), Edward (4T+), Brodie (Bigfoot) and James (Bigfoot).
The weekend started with Stuart and a couple of the riders doing a nice sunny recce on the Friday, before storm Darragh rolled in to make the start of Saturday morning a windy and wet affair. We met as a team for the first time and hurriedly added our purple (League and Region colour) bartape to the race bikes, to build our moral as a team (it also helped our team photographer, Alex Rout, pick the riders out amongst the crowd)! Thanks to Upgrade for supplying the team bartape - they also support our league with Challenge Tires! Alongside them, Fingerscrossed donated purple socks to all our riders, to ensure they all looked super smart.
The Inter-Regional Champs consists of four separate races through the weekend, the first of which was the National Trophy Youth Race. This featured as it’s own race of course, but the Inter-Area racers accrued points based upon their finishing positions which would go towards the team’s total points. Riders battled a course which was now heavy with claggy mud and plenty of running. It rewarded quick decisions and an ability to adapt to the changing lies as the race progressed.
In the evening the storm picked up and started felling trees, but this didn’t stop our racers from taking on the floodlit Sprint Race, in the relative safety of the centre part of the top field! The rain came in, which actually helped by keeping the wet mud from sticking to the bikes too much. The racing was fast and furious and again, our riders battled for points based on their finishing positions. We all agreed that the spectacle of night-time floodlit racing was absolutely brilliant, both for the riders and the spectators - lets hope we can do it again!
Once the bikes were all washed and the riders were back to the hotels we all ordered food, and promptly the power failed as a result of the ever-increasing storm! Candle-lit beers would have to do, whilst we scanned the results pages. We’d had a couple of wins and great performances across the board, especially in the Sprint Race, leaving us mid-pack, 6th out of 11 teams overnight. Thankfully the power came back on before dinner!
Sunday morning unfortunately saw the cancellation of the UCI races, due to the danger of falling trees, but our Youth riders were able to keep racing - our course for Sunday took place only on the lower side of the course where there was no danger thankfully. All eight of our riders were ready for action and had clearly bonded as a team - they posed for a team photo and then went off to walk the Skills Course together, swapping ideas about the best lines, techniques and dismount/remount points! The DS, Stuart and I added some ideas to the pot and discussed tactics. The riders put in some great performances and learned from each other as the Skills Test went on, once again adding points to the tally.
Once all the points had been added up from the first three races, they determined the start order for the Final - the Team Relay, which would ultimately crown the 2024 Inter-Area Regional Team Champs! Our first rider, Ed, put in a great ride to get us in contention, before Ethan then cemented our position. James took up the reins and drove us another place forward, before Amber and Eleanor secured our progression. Brodie flew around the course, keeping Alex sprinting around to catch all the best photos. Eva stepped up, and despite being the youngest, set one of the fastest penultimate laps, before handing the batten to Peggy, who brought us home in a fantastic 5th place overall.
The racing was done and everyone was buzzing - organisers, riders and helpers were all euphoric. We got all the riders to line up for a photo - 88 riders from all across the country, all wearing their regional kit with pride after a fantastic effort from everyone, especially in the challenging conditions!
Big thanks for the parents of the riders and In particular Geoff Lulham and Julene Knox for being the team DS and helping select the team. Thanks to Glen Whittington / AEIGHT who provided much needed mechanical assistance and bike cleaning (while steering well clear of WD40)! Thanks to Alex Rout / AGR9 who also attended and documented the team over the 2 days. And of course, our Manager, Pit Helper, Chief Tactician, Head of Logistics, and everything else, Stuart McGhee!
What a great weekend with a great bunch of people, Well done Edward, Ethan, Amber, Eleanor, James, Brodie, Eva, and Peggy. Hopefully the Inter-Area Regional Champs becomes a regular fixture again - who will be in the team for 2025/26?
Words by Glen Whittington - Workshop / Frames / Wheels / Support
Photos by Alex Rout - Gallery / Website
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