2010 iXS European Cup | Innerleithen

Innerleithen has seen its fair share of big races over the years, but this bank holiday weekend saw the venue play host to its first international event when the first round of the iXS European Cup came to town. With only a week to go before the World Cup visits Scotland it was the ideal opportunity to capture riders from a wide selection of far flung countries.

Read on for what happened:
2010 sees the iXS European, German & Swiss Cups entertain riders with races across Europe. Innerleithen kicked off the European series this weekend after months of work by the local Innerleithen Mountain Bike Club to produce a cracking event. Managing to schedule the event so that not only was it the weekend prior to the World Cup but also on a bank holiday meant that there was no shortage of top riders battling it out for victory. Being the same weekend as a local fair also meant that there was no shortage of spectators on the hill to watch the action unfold.


Those riders familiar with Innerleithen were in for a shock when they turned up. Spread across two fields and the main car park, not only was the venue making the most of the space available but also finishing in a place last used back in 2000, creating a totally different vibe to that normally found on the heavily raced hill. So instead of finishing through the arena and into the gravel car park the course came into the top of the field above the main road, leaving the car park for turning the coaches and trucks around in. The upside of this? No 2km road ride every time you wanted to do a run. A godsend to those who are less than enthusiastic when it comes to training.


The local team behind the race spent several months planning it all from the track to the media coverage, and it showed. Gone was the usual tight and niggly courses which typify racing at Innerleithen and in their place was a fantastic, all new route starting right at the very top of Minch Moor. With the exception of the very first section the course bucked the trend of tightness and instead opted for a more open approach.


Speed was the name of the game this weekend whilst only two very short sections of any original course were taped in: the quarry at the top of the hill and a short link section near the finish. Having had dry weather for several weeks in advance of the race there was no shortage of dust when walking the course on Friday morning as riders tried to remember the numerous new lines. Criss-crossing existing trails, the course was a feast of drops, jumps and fast, flowing sections crossing farrows and roots.


Wide enough that there was no need to run narrow bars, it was a welcome breath of fresh air for a hill which many riders complain of being over-raced. The guys behind the course really should be proud of their achievements. It’s just unfortunate that the course was for this race and this race alone, the Forestry Commission having given permission for its creation based on its immediate destruction after the event.


Highlights were the ‘i-drop-off’ (a wooden ramp into steep down slope into 90 degree right into drop onto the road) which tested riders reactions and metal, and the big ditch huck at the bottom. There were some impressive crashes on this throughout the weekend as riders tried to clear the 20ft natural gap and then make the tight and rooty corner almost immediately on landing.


Friday practice is a common occurrence in European races but not in the UK so it was a new experience for many riders as they got to grips with four hours on the Friday afternoon. Granted, there could have been more trucks to help keep things running more quickly but most riders managed enough runs to look at lines and get a feel for things before it all got a lot more serious on Saturday morning with first practice, and then afternoon seeding runs which dictated the running order for Sunday. Unfortunately the long running dry weather merged into rain which made the last few turns down the field to the finish a more interesting proposition by the time the timed runs started.


Unfortunately a number of big crashes and big injuries left several riders out of the action before Saturday was over with a few more following on Sunday. Never the less there were plenty who made it through unscathed, including those who made it through MTBCut’s Stu Thomson’s wedding night after receiving special dispensation from the Commissaires to miss their Saturday seeding runs.


Categories were slightly different to the usual, following instead the standard European format. What did this mean? Well, rather than the usual age and ability categories, the main splits were between those with licenses and those without. Anyone over 17 and racing with a license was in the Men’s or Women’s Elite category whilst those without were either in Senior or Master. Simple, although it did mean that there was a very big Elite category (140 in all) and everyone in it was racing against all those normally in the UK Elite category, the majority of which are all World Cup racers. A big challenge but one which some riders more than stepped up to.


In Open Senior, Ben Edwards took third with a 3:36 whilst Alan Boyne was second with a 3:35 having been pushed hard all the way. Taking the win by a sound margin was Scott Elliot with a time of 3:25.


Open Men this weekend saw Scott Muirhead take third with a 3:30 whilst also on the same 3:30 but just a fraction ahead was second placed Ed Thomsett. The only rider in the category to break the 3:30 barrier was ex-Expert and infrequent racer Paul Webster with a 3:26 for a well deserved win. Someone really should get him back into racing more regularly!


The Elite women’s field had a decidedly continental theme to the podium with German Harriet Ruecknagel taking third with her time of 3:50 for RSV Rederbech. Second was Maxxis/Rocky Mountain rider Sabrina Jonnier with a 3:32 whilst Scott11’s Floriane Pugin put in a solid margin to take the win with a 3:28.


Licensed Masters was tight at the top with just five seconds separating the top nine riders. In the end it came down to three riders less than seven tenths apart to fill out the podium. Jayson Cavill was third on a 3:22 whilst also on a 3:22 was Highline Racing’s Callum Gault. However, Chain Reaction’s Dale McMullan was the victor on the day with his 3:21.


In the Under 17 Men, Finland,s Riku Lansio took third for HyPy with a 3:17 whilst Alpine Bikes’ Joe Connell pulled a 3:16 for third place. Taking the win was All Terrain’s Fraser McGlone having broken the 3:10 barrier by just over seven tenths.


Whilst the Elite women’s category may have been topped by European riders, the riders topping the time sheets of the 140 strong field of Elite men was an all British affair. Matt Simmonds took third with a 2:58 for Chain Reaction whilst fastest rider of the day on Saturday, Lewis Buchanan, settled for second place come Sunday, also on a 2:58. Ben Cathro, one of the aforementioned riders to have missed seeding on Saturday, was put down the hill at the start of the category and arguably had better conditions than the majority of the top Elites since the rain had begun to fall again by the time they came down. Nevertheless, Ben made the most of the track conditions given to him and sat in the hot seat right to the end, taking the win with over Lewis with a margin of just over a second and a time of 2:57.


All in, this was a great event which went down well with the majority of riders who really enjoyed the challenging and different track, and racing top racers; all topped off by over 1000 spectators lining the track to shout encouragement at riders. This all goes to show what can be achieved by some effort from organisers to publicise an event and make it special. Hopefully the iXS circus will roll into Innerleithen again in 2011.


Seeding Results
Race Results
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