Llangollen’s fiercely steep and technical downhill course has gained notoriety over the years it has been used as a race venue.

With a spot of rain today things are sure to get greasy this weekend for British Downhill Series 2015 Round 3 – and to be sure not to miss any of the action we are there in the form of Tom Caldwell/Caldwell Visuals. We’ll be bringing you video updates over the weekend so stay tuned!

For now, read the official word about the event below.

2015 British Downhill MTB Series heating up for Stage 3 – ‘Steepest’ round at Llangollen this weekend

Words: British Cycling
Video: Tom Caldwell/Orange Dirt World Team

The 2015 Rose Bikes British Downhill Series will hit the season halfway mark at possibly the steepest race on the circuit when it heads to Llangollen this weekend for Stage 3.

Last year’s Orange Dirt World Team video report from Llangollen by Caldwell Visuals

Following wins by Gee and Rachel Atherton (both GT Factory Racing) amid stormy weather at Fort William a fortnight ago, the overall standings show a gap opening up in the men’s competition after two successive wins by Gee, ahead of Josh Bryceland (Santa Cruz Syndicate) in second and Sam Dale (Madison Saracen) in third, whilst the women’s standings are narrowing, with Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen) just retaining first place despite coming third to Rachel and Tahnee Seagrave (FMD Racing) at Fort Willam, with Tahnee currently in second place and Katy Curd (Rose Vaujany) in third overall, with Rachel now up into sixth after missing the opening round at Ae Forest in early April.

The Stage 3 course at Llangollen contains some of the steepest track sections on the entire BDS circuit, last year claiming the scalps of some of the world’s best riders as they struggled with gravity in the wet conditions on sharp gradients, ensuring the outcome of this weekend’s racing is far from certain.

With five of six Elite podium places at the 2014 UCI World Championships won by Brits, the National Downhill MTB series is considered the world’s leading national series, attracting more than 300 of the globe’s fastest racers to Great Britain at each round, with an ever increasing swell of spectators, numbering into the thousands. The series is affiliated to both the UCI and British Cycling, offering a wealth of UCI points, over £10,000 in prize money and over £25,000 worth of prizes

Stage 3 will take place at Llangollen, Wales, on 30 & 31 May – for more details, visit www.britishdownhillseries.co.uk