Rhythm of the Knight
By TMX Archives on 1st Apr 15
KTM UKs David Knight has long been moaning that enduro is becoming too easy and tests have no real challenges. So he put his money where his mouth is on Sunday and absolutely pounded his way to victory in horrendous weather conditions across one of the toughest XC courses for many years.
Just one week before the opening round of the British Enduro Championship the big man has made his intentions perfectly clear.
H2O is an unusual name for a venue but all became clear at the opening round of the ACU GBXC X-Country Championship.
It is called H2O because there was plenty of water, which hammered down all day long.
Combined with extreme winds the rain made the event a real old-school slog across the open ground.
Surprisingly, the tightly packed woodland sections were dry and grippy in complete contrast to the many bogs dotted around the course. Even the slightest slope became a tricky off-camber.
With an ACU title up for grabs the GBXC attracted a quality line-up of riders in four classes – Pro, Expert, Clubman and Clubman Veteran. The likes of Knighter, Tom Sagar, Brad Freeman, Darryl Bolter, Jack Edmondson, Lee Edmondson and Sam Winterburn – all BEC contenders – were clearly keen to get valuable bike time before heading to Scotland next week.
The long charge from the start line led to a boggy ditch which gave riders two options – a risky jump on the left or a tough struggle through the centre and right.
Knight was in the lead and went for the jump which was far from perfect as he cased the landing and nearly bounced over the bars, followed by Brad Freeman, Jack Edmondson, Sam Winterburn, Lee Edmondson and Tom Sagar who enjoyed similar experiences. Those who chose the centre and right routes spent the rest of the race covered in mud.
Lap times were around 10 minutes for the fastest riders and Knight was first to emerge from the bottom part of the course followed by Freeman, Jack Eddy, Winterburn then Sagar who cruised to a stop with clutch problems.
Knight continued to build a considerable lead – over 10 minutes by the end of the race – which was shortened slightly due to the horrendous conditions.
Brad Freeman was the only rider to match Knighter on laps completed and took a well-deserved second place. Jack Edmondson had to work hard to stay in third ahead of the experienced Darryl Bolter.
Keelan Hancock was surprised to find he had won the Expert class and more pleased to find he had beaten brother, Ross, who took second.
A cracking ride from Jane Daniels saw her end up in 10th overall and third in the Experts.
Alex Walton and Liam Skelton had a great battle for dominance in the Clubman ranks with Skelton just taking the class win from Walton as Fast Eddy regular Ryan Armitage took third.
Gary McCoy's long trip from Devon, via South Wales, was well worth the effort as he won the Clubman Veteran class by nearly three minutes from Chris Wagstaffe.
There is no doubt that this XC event was one of the toughest ever organised by Fast Eddy. Despite conditions that defied belief the event ran thanks to the epic efforts of the marshals.
FOR MORE NEWS & PICTURES FORM THE GBXC SPRINT & STEADY EDDY SERIES SEE TMX NEWS, APRIL 2 (ISSUE 1965)
