Brayton and Seagrave dominate on "the best national track ever" - Dirt

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Brayton and Seagrave dominate on “the best national track ever”

Here's the highlights from Llangollen.

Photos by Dan Hearn // Words by Dan Griffiths

no dreaded wood section this time around, for round 5 of the British downhill series riders would be sending it down a new creation, put together by ride Portugal.

And then rolled in the clouds…

With lots of familiar faces either out in Crankworx or opting to miss this round to get ready for VdS, the field would be wide open for new contenders on the podium. It turned into even more of a topsy-turvy weekend and the rain swept in for elite finals after a weekend of sunshine.

Channeling his Cumbrian roots, Brayton would put two seconds into the competition in the slop while Tahnee can boast a lead of 25 seconds – true domination. Fastest time of the day went to Matt Walker in the juniors as he was able to point it down a dry track.

Beyond the big names, it was a sell out event with a full quota of 250 riders turning out including those in the new trail bike category and the little rippers in the strider race. Here are the highlights from an action packed day on the hill

Race Day is underway... if you can make it into the car park.
Conditions for morning practice weren't too bad, but it wouldn't stop riders getting loose... as Luke Cockburn demonstrates.
Putting himself up there as one of the wildest guys from the weekend.
Welcome to the jungle.
Following a win at the World Cup in Mont Sainte Anne, and with much of her competition out of the picture, Tahnee would be feeling pretty confident going into racing, as her seeding results showed.
With many of the top boys out either shreddin' Whistler or training for Val Di Sole, it left room for names such as Alex Bond to later make an appearance on the podium steps.
Even before the rain, the steep chutes were catching riders out, and it was soon due to get way slicker.
Light Bro.
Fresh back from Whistler, jet-lagged and probably still dreaming of 'A-line laps with the boys', Kade Edwards managed to pull 3rd place in the junior men's category.
A 3rd place finish at the World Cup in Quebec a couple weeks back would have given Joe Breeden the drive he needed to go 2nd fastest, going just 0.97 seconds slower than Matt Walker.
He didn't just go fastest in the junior category... heavy rain before elite men's finals would have helped Matt to manage the fastest time of the day too.
With Manon out and no appearance from Atherton, the elite women's category looked pretty scarce with its 7 competitors.
Veronique Sandler went fast enough for a second place finish, going around 0.8 quicker than Becci Skelton in 3rd.
Dominating the category, a 25-second gap separated Tahnee from the rest of the field, on what she considers "The best national track ever".
The brunt of the bad weather rolled in around 3:30 pm, just before the elite men would drop into their race runs.
Charlie might not have had the best of luck in Mont Sainte Anne, but would be happy to come back with a 3rd place finish.
Local legend, Al Bond said he was surprised at his result after a few mistakes in the slippery conditions, but definitely stoked.
Powering into the finish on his way to the top step, Brayton shook two seconds off the rest of the elite field.

See the full results from this wild day here.

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