GVC riders shine at Southern XC round 4

Round 4 of the Southern XC in the New Forest was the focal off island mountain bike event for the GVC Utmost Academy. Twenty four riders made the trip to the UK with thirteen of those being in the academy which supports riders between twelve & eighteen years old.

The first race of the day saw the Sport and Masters riders set off on a long eighteen minute lap which includes fast gravel fire roads and technical forest sections. James Shorto made a good start and finished in a credible 22^nd position of 64 riders with Mark Ferbrache and Tristan Robilliard in the Novice race also performing well.

Next was the turn of our younger riders in the U10s and U12s these being on a smaller course and probably the most competitive races of the day. In the U10s Guernsey led the way with the first two spots on the podium. Hugo Johnson took the top spot with a faultless race in which he led from the start. Second was Ethan Shorto who rode a great race to come 2^nd with a gutsy ride. In the U10s Girls Esther Martel recovered from a poor start to finish 7th just ahead of fellow GVC rider Eleanor Piercey. In the U12s Jacob Piercey was looking to keep the top step of the podium from the last round but was beaten by his main opposition into a hard-fought 3^rd place.

The U14s and U16s races are always hard-fought for our younger Academy riders, these are on the same course as the adults . From the start Zach Smith made his trademark fast start in the U16s and came around after the 1^st lap with two other riders leading the race. After swapping places Smith made a break on the start of 3^rd and final lap taking a small lead, unfortunately making a small mistake on a technical section saw him have a hard fall and lose his place, despite this he got back on and finished in 3^rd place.

Further down the pack saw Remi le Compte finishing a solid 5^th place and Bailey Smalldon in 9^th place, both riders gaining valuable experience. In the U16s ladies race twins Amy and Holly Smith had a tough race with Holly in 6^th and Amy in 8^th.

In the U14s Freddie Martel had a solid race and finished in superb 4^th place ahead of the fast charging local rider Luka Robilliard in 5^th place and Harry Manning, Atticus Robison, Luca Stonebridge and Archie Manning following behind after battling with fellow UK riders. Donna smith was our only senior lady rider who joined the Novice ladies race and showed the true spirit of the event and after ninety minutes finished in 4^th place.

The final race of the day saw the older Academy and Island Games riders Charlie Tourtel and Seth Davey lined up on the start with the Elite and Advanced which included fellow Island Games rider Mark le Page. This was a fast and frantic start which saw Davey edge away however on a fast section he slid out allowing Tourtel to move ahead. Over the next few laps Mark le Page and Tourtel swapped places and worked together on the fast sections to get into respectable positions - Mark le Page finished in a credible 7^th Pace in the Expert class and Davey 8^th in the Junior race. In the Masters Category Mark Smith finished mid pack, the race is always a busy and competitive race for the older riders and this was no exception.

This weekend was a great event in which a good number of local riders supported. We are fortunate enough with our Academy sponsors Utmost and Ian Browns that we can support our younger riders gain valuable experience in racing off island. On the whole a good fun event where riders cheered on their team members in all races.

Next event off island for some will be the Orkney Island Games for Road and Mountain bike teams with some of our other riders attending national and regional events. Our next academy trip will be a road race weekend in France.

Written by Adrian Tourtel.