NEWS
Santa Cruz Domination at National Champs!
20th July 2008
Bala, Wales
Image ©dirt magazine 08
Steve Peat is your new 2008 National Champion after a winning run at Bala this weekend. Not only that, but BikeRadar/Santa Cruz riders Marc Beaumont and Neil Donoghue took 2nd and 3rd spots respectively. A full clean sweep of the Elite men's podium! Josh Bryceland pinned the junior win as well, with Arran Gannicott taking silver in the youth category. Congratulations to all Santa Cruz riders this weekend.
Bike Radar Team Report
Team Bike Radar’s Marc Beaumont and Neil Donoghue took second and third place at the National Downhill Championships in Wales on Sunday, finishing just behind mountain bike legend Steve Peat who took his 8th British title. It was a close battle between the remaining places with the top twenty only separated by a handful of seconds.
The National Championships always has a special atmosphere to it and this year was to be no different. With only one race run, one chance a year to prove you are Britain’s number one. The event was run by the Pearce family and their faithful crew, who run the Midlands Series amongst other things and they really know how to put on a great show. The usual course had been extended over a road with a near seven meter high bridge to carry the riders into a grand finish arena where the waiting crowds gathered through the afternoon, checking out the team tech areas, meeting the top riders and looking at all the trade stands.
Tracy Moseley took the women’s title by a whopping eight seconds, so she will be back in the stripy National jersey for another year!
Team Bike radars Neil Donoghue took the lead early on in the men’s race and waited to see if team mate Marc Beaumont could topple him, he did but only just, by a second, both looked back up the hill to see Steve Peat enter the final field, he looked super fast in the last section and crossed the line to take the lead with only Gee Atherton to go. He missed his queue and the clock ticked on, finally he rolled into view looking second hand. A crash in the field had put an end to his chances. Never the less it’s about staying on and beating the clock in this game and Steve Peat has been doing that for over a decade, British Champion for 2008 and his 8th British title to date! For Bike Radar’s Marc Beaumont the second place was proof of full recovery from the shoulder injury and a sign he’s on form as the team heads for Canada and the next two World Cup rounds where he will be hoping to emulate the 3rd place result of 2006.
Cheers... Will
Check out reports and results:
- Bike Radar
- Dirt Mag
- Pearce Cycles (results pdf)