A brand new track combined with the torrential rain made for a challenging course, but the Nukeproof Scalp was piloted to the top tier of the podium by the lads.
After walking the course on Saturday morning to discuss the best lines, Dan and Chris were excited to be hitting this new track. “I couldn’t wait to get riding, it was exactly what I enjoy riding - steep and technical,” Dan said. "The track was fun on Saturday, the rain didn’t do a huge amount of damage at the start, but as the day went on everything was turning out a bit messy. It was the first race I’d ever had to put flats on, which was actually a nice change!"
The track was very sketchy on race day, claiming plenty of casualties on the slippery, mud-coated corners, roots and rocks. Dan’s first run wasn’t too bad, getting to the bottom without coming off the bike, but it was probably the worst race run he’d ridden due to the nature of the track. “The run consisted of lots of feet-off, riding the saddle action, sliding out in corners and waddling along with my bike. Still I got to the bottom and went into first place,” Dan said.
Dan’s second run was even better, “As the track was much drier I managed to go six seconds faster, taking the win in Juniors by six seconds and getting fifth fastest time of the day, only three seconds off winning Elites. I was very happy with my time despite the runs but I suppose it was expected on the track.”
Chris, on the other hand, wasn’t happy with his performance despite finishing second: “I was disappointed with myself as I managed to save all my crashes for my two race runs. I still managed to come second - only six seconds off Dan."
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