Some photos from the race (from Sport Essex):
June 14, 2010
Mud Sweat & Gears Round 2, Thetford
There was a great turnout for the Revel Outdoors Race Team at the second of the 2010 Mud Sweat & Gears Eastern series races in Thetford Forest, and some great results. The course was dry and fast with no place for rest.
Mens Warrior category (1 hour):
- 3rd Daniel Collins, 4 laps, 1:04:49
Womens Warrior category (1 hour):
- 4th Susan Boles, 3 laps, 1:05:42
Mens senior Racer category (2 hours):
- 9th Richard Bettaney, 7 laps, 1:44:13
- 14th Jamie Wightman, 7 laps, 1:46:53
- 26th James Dyke, 7 laps, 1:52:01
- 36th Iain Kemp, 7 laps, 1:55:32
- 46th Rob Balaam, 6laps, 1:42:41
- 48th Darren Styles, 6laps, 1:43:31
Mens veteran Racer category (2 hours):
- 13th Garry Houghton, 7 laps, 1:51:08
New team member Kurt Broad won the “Broken Seatpost” category in 1 lap, 16:22.
May 2, 2010
Tunstall Mud Wins Again
The hard core of the Revel Outdoors Race Team turned up at Tunstall to contest the first of the Mud, Sweat and Gears Eastern Series MTB races. After weeks of unbroken sunshine, the heavens opened all night and throughout the race day, making for the slushy mudfest that we’ve become accustomed to for Tunstall races.
Jamie Wightman was up in 6th place for most of the race, but blew up on the last of 7 laps allowing four riders to overtake right near the end of the lap. He finished 10th in the 17+, 2 hour, racer category. Wightman collided with a fast-moving tree in the middle of the race, but was heroically backed up by team mate Darren Styles who muscled into the offending tree for him.
Styles’ race was a similar one, finishing in 33rd place after a painful 6th and final lap.
New shop recruit, Daniel Collins, put in a top effort to win the 17+, 1 hour, Warrior category.
Daniel on the Warrior Podium
Full results from timelaps…
February 14, 2010
Rollapaluza Cambridge
Three members of the Revel Outdoors Race Team took part in the Cambridge Rollapaluza organised by Team Cambridge, at the British Legion in Bottisham.
Jamie Wightman qualified 4th while Neil Payne and James Dyke were just outside the 16th place required to get through to the next round. A late 2nd attempt at qualifiying by James put him right up into 7th securing himself a place in the knockouts.
Neil Qaulifiying
James continued into the quarter-finals where he was knocked out.
James in the Knockouts
Jamie made it all the way to the semi-finals where he was beaten by last year’s champ, although they posted the fastest two times of the night. Jamie then won the minor final against Jef Sharp to secure 3rd place.
Jamie heading for 3rd
January 24, 2010
2009/2010 Thetford Winter Series Rd 3
3 Members of the Revel Outdoors Race Team took part in the 3rd Thetford Winter Series race of ‘09/’10. We were all racing in the 2 hour categories. We had our team pit near the start line and Sarah was out with the camera.
Results:
Jamie Wightman: 16th, 2hr male 16-39, 4 laps 2:00:51
Rob Balaam: 70th, 2hr male 16-39, 4 laps 2:26:08
Richard Muchmore: 12th, 2hr male 40+, 4 laps 2:05:45
Team Pit
Jamie
Rob
Richard
January 8, 2010
Holidays over – back to pedaling
I haven’t been outside training on the bike for about 3 weeks now, and it’s driving me nuts. Am I just being a softie? I had all the right intentions when I took the Orange R8 up to the Lakes, but here’s what happened:
Going snowhere
To be fair, the trails up there were almost impossible to walk on without crampons, so I probably wouldn’t have spent much time upright on the bike. Even the local bike shop in Ambleside seemed to be discouraging customers from test riding bikes because of the conditions.
So the holidays are over, and it’s time to get pedaling (and peddling!) bikes again. We have a lot planned for this year, so I’ve decided not to race the BMBS (NPS) races this year. I’m going to try to stick to more local events, team events, and possibly more road.
December 7, 2009
2009 Thetford Winter Series Rd 2
3 Members of the Revel Outdoors Race Team took part in the 2nd Thetford Winter Series race of ‘09/’10. We were all racing in the 2 hour categories. There was an awful lot of rain falling when we arrived, but it cleared up for the start and the course handled the wet surprisingly well. There was some excellent flowing singletrack, as well as some more boggy sections.
Results:
Richard Muchmore: 3rd, 2hr male 40+, 4 laps 2:33:30
Jamie Wightman: 8th, 2hr male 16-39, 4 laps 2:35:33
Rob Balaam: 76th, 2hr male 16-39, 3 laps 2:26:28
Richard
Jamie
Rob
- Rob Again
All picture are available from MTB Race Photos
November 2, 2009
Thetford Winter Series 1
The first of the Thetford winter series races was a wet one. We had heavy rain just before the start, and there were strong winds around as well. Only James and I were there for the Revel Outdoors team - Neil off riding 100 miles on the road at the Exmoor Beast, and other riders either taking time off or avoiding the mud! The course was non-technical but had plenty of climbs in it, and as the day wore on the tracks became more slippery and slow, making for hard work at the end. I rode with a small group for the first lap, but after that spent the rest of the race on my own in about 7th place. Right at the end I saw 6th place up ahead and tried to chase him down, but instead was overtaken by a flying Chelmer cyclist, to finish 8th. James came in a few minutes later in 20th.
We’ve been spoilt over the summer with such dry races – it was quite a shock to have to trawl through mud again, and go through all the post-race cleaning…
As usual, my Garmin 305 was recording all the race data.
October 11, 2009
Mud & Mayhem Duathlon (Thetford Forest)
This was a trial event for a three race series early next year. It was different from the usual duathlons in the forest, in that the bike section was on loads of singletrack instead of just fire roads. The course used quite a bit of the Dusk ’til Dawn course, which was lucky for me – I knew it well!
The winner was Sam Gardner, who’s just recently won the Japanese edition of the Xterra World Tour (basically an off-road olympic distance triathlon). He was way ahead of the rest of us! After the first run I was sitting in about 12th, but managed to pull myself all the way up to 2nd place by the end of the bike. I thought I’d lose a place on the 2nd run, but managed to hold off the 3rd place man.
Sarah had a storming race, leading the field from start to finish.
Sarah in winning form
1st Lady, and 2nd Male
October 5, 2009
Revel Outdoors win the 2009 Dusk ’til Dawn 3-man team category
… and our B team comes in 11th!
Winners of the 209 Dusk 'til Dawn
Our race report in the Newmarket Journal:
On Saturday night, 3rd October, two mountain bike teams from local Newmarket cycle shop, Revel Outdoors, took part in the Dusk ’til Dawn 12 hour race in Thetford Forest. This premier annual night event attracts over 1000 riders from across the country. Starting at 8pm Saturday evening and ending at 8am Sunday morning, the course covers more than 11 miles of fire roads and flowing singletrack, combining the challenges of endurance, mountain biking in the dark and sleep deprivation. Both Revel Outdoors teams were competing in the 80 strong, 3-man team category with team members riding alternate laps.
A rapid start from shop owner Jamie Wightman put Revel Outdoors team 1 in the lead after the 1st lap. James Dyke was out 2nd with Mike Stoveld, the Revel Outdoors workshop manager, riding 3rd. After a few laps the team slipped down into 3rd position but some strong, gutsy rides in the early hours of Sunday saw the team make up time and claw back the lead. Stoveld, finishing the 15th and last lap for the team, managed to just hold off local rivals ThetfordMTBracing, finishing only 12 seconds ahead to secure a hard fought victory.
Revel Outdoors team 2 was led out strongly by the experienced Garry Houghton, followed by Rob Balaam who rode a quick first lap to put the team up into 7th place. With 3rd member and night race newbie, Neil Payne, getting quicker as the night wore on, the team moved up into 6th position. Around 5am, disaster struck as Balaam’s tyre blew. Balaam’s cool-headed repair minimised the time lost, but the team lost several places. Completing the 15th lap, Payne brought the team home in a highly commendable 11th place, pushing through the cramps in his legs as he crossed the finish line.
Superb teamwork and absolute dedication from all the Revel Outdoors riders achieved these fantastic results which further highlight their credibility on the region’s mountain biking scene. The riders will now be preparing for more good performances in the upcoming Thetford Winter Series mountain bike races.