The fifth and final round of the Shimano British Downhill series was held at Bike Park Wales, South Wales last weekend.

Still relatively new, Bike Park Wales has loads of tracks and they picked a cracker for the last round. The track cut across various lines on the hill and was littered with jumps and drops the whole way down which made for some sketchy riding and some great viewing for spectators. Riders were also greeted by a giant rock section which made every bike weep for mercy just before the finish!

In elite men, Joe Smith took the win, with Marc Beaumont and Matt Simmonds close behind rounding out the top three.

In elite women, Tahnee Seagrave took the win from World Cup overall winner and World Champ, Manon Carpenter, with 4x World Champ, Katy Curd coming third.

Taylor Vernon won his last national race in Junior before he moves up into the big leagues next year, but I am sure all the training with the Atherton’s has prepared him well for the future.

And so a end to another great series, well run by Si Paton and co, can’t wait until next year already!

Results

Elite Men

Elite Women

Juniors

Full Results here

Words & Photos: Thomas Gaffney