Schwalbe British 4X Series – Round 2 – Penshurst, Kent – Preview
The second round of the 2012 Schwalbe British 4X Series takes place this weekend at one of the most well known mountain bike venues in the UK – Penshurst Off Road Club – PORC! After such a fantastic start to the Series a few weeks ago at Leamington, we can’t wait to get riders lined up at the start again and get the racing going on Sunday.
Penshurst is one of the fastest tracks in the UK. High speed, nice jumps and big corners make it an exhilarating track for the riders and the track is situated in the middle of a valley, which makes it superb for spectators to view all the racing action.
Round 1 was full of action. In the elite men’s, Tomas Slavik from Czech Republic flew over for the race to start his 2012 4X season. He went unbeaten all day and took the win in front of the huge crowds. Slavik’s appearance at round 1 really showed that the British 4X Series is well regarded by international riders. Lewis Lacey pushed Slavik in the final along with Nathan Parssons and Scott Beaumont. Without a doubt, these 3 British riders will be fighting for the win this weekend at Penshurst. Scott Roberts unfortunately had to miss round 1 due to injury so definitely look out for him to be in the mix come finals time. Rookies Issac Mundy and Alex Metcalffe had great debuts in Leamington, and look for the start to Pat Campbell Jenner’s 2012 campaign this weekend aswell after work commitments in the USA kept him away from round 1. The Elite class is amazing to watch at every event, not just for the speed, but for the unpredictability. The class has such depth now that it is great to see these guys battle for the win.
The women’s class is also growing. Great numbers at round 1 led to semi finals for the women. 2011 Jr Women’s Downhill World Champion, Manon Carpenter took the win ahead of BMX Olympic hopeful Charlotte Green with a rejuvenated Emily Horridge in third. 2011 Series Champion Suzanne Lacey was 4th and it looks like she will have a challenge in 2012 to retain her title. Just like the elite men’s the strength in depth for the women’s class is fantastic and predicting a winner is nearly impossible.
Edward Jones, Matthew Jenkins, Dylan Grell Delsol, Elliot Thomson-Knight, Philip Evans, Gareth Parr, Simon Paton and Jordan Lunn were the other round 1 winners and they will all be looking to consolidate those wins with another one at round 2.
Do you feel like throwing your hat in the ring and challenging these riders? 4X is the most accessible form of mountain biking. Weather you have a 4X/DJ hardtail, a downhill bike or an xc bike, you can race 4X! It’s cheap aswell. Just £25 if you pre enter:
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/78550/Schwalbe-British-4X-Series-Rd2
Schedule:
Saturday 10.00 till 20.00 open track practice
Sunday 09.00 till 11.00 registration
10.00 till 11.00 open track practice
11.00 till 12.00 gate practice
12.30 till 16.30 racing – motos, quarter finals, semi finals and finals
17.00 podium presentations
Venue:
Penshurst Off Road Club (PORC)
Viceroy’s Wood
Grove Road
PENSHURST
Kent
TN11 8DU
Porc 4X Track from Chris Roberts on Vimeo.
