Si Paton has been forced to cancel the fourth round of the British Downhill Series at Moelfre due to a low number of pre-registered riders.

The event was due to run on the 29/30 July and would have coincided with the 4X National Champs, that will still be going ahead.

In a post on Facebook, he said: “It is with great regret that we must announce the cancellation of Round 4 of the HSBC UK | National Downhill Series in Moelfre.

“This has been a difficult decision to make, but due to the low number of pre-registered riders making the event impossible to deliver, we have been left with no choice but to cancel. All riders entered have already been withdrawn and refunded.

“There will still be an actioned packed weekend of racing at Moelfre, with the HSBC UK | National 4X Championships and a round of the HSBC UK | National 4X series taking place on that weekend.

Both Llangollen and Hopton are still on the calendar and have a number of spaces available and we kindly ask all of those planning to compete, to enter in due course.

“Note: For Llangollen, we are planning to utilise the Squirrel track or possibly a brand new track if it is finished in time and meets the criteria.”

It’s worth noting that the overall will now be taken on riders’ best four out of five rounds, not five out of six, to make it fairer for everyone who had planned to use Moelfre in their season.

Looking through comments on Facebook it looks like the price seems to be the main thing that puts riders off, but for a weekend of racing that’s run as well as a World Cup, you can’t really complain.

We wonder if it’s more a combination of the race happening bang in the middle of school holidays and the rise of enduro taking people away from downhill. Either way, it’s a real shame the best national series in the world can’t find enough riders to keep a full calendar.

We’re looking forward to the final two rounds, especially the prospect of a new track in Llangollen. It should be rad!