National 4X Chicksands 5th July

I got to Chicksands Saturday around midday, plenty of time to practice a 30 second course with the sun out until 9. I did quite a few runs down to sort out my lines and get comfortable with the triple again... last time I jumped this my old “Spooky” hard tail snapped on me. But now on my pimped out DMR Trailstar it was easy stuff. I did a fair few runs of the bottom of the course as this was new to me. There is a wicked inside line on the 2nd to last corner with a log to jump over. This was like a DH line so I felt at home cornering on the flat. I made sure I had that dialled in depending on that line for racing if I was behind at the last few seconds.

Gate practise started around 3pm and there wasn’t that many riders doing it so I must have got in about 40 gate practises just going to the second double and straight back up. This was very ideal for me; as a downhiller its usually 1 footed starts for me. I asked Pat Cambell and Martin Ogden at times to see what I was doing wrong. Thanks guys!

After that I hit the trails!

After practice Dad and I went into the city to get some munch... after a hard day up and down the course I was in need for a lot!

I took Sunday morning pretty relaxed and wasn’t too bothered about practise. I had about 5 runs down and a couple gate practises. Teammate Duncan Ferris helped me with some lines and helped me work on my gates.

Racing started pretty late and I found out that everyone gets 4 races, then results from them depend if you have run off’s and quarter finals, then semi finals, then a B final or an A final depending on how well you’ve done.

My first race was with a few guys I didn’t know so I was unaware of their ability. I was pretty average out of the gate and a guy pulled a bike length on me. There were the other 2 guys on the inside of me so over the next jump I pulled a whip and got one of them out the way. I chased 2nd and 1st hard and got past 2nd on an inside line before a triple. I went for an overtake at the bottom but in the end kept my 2nd place.

My second race was with a couple of really good guys so I ended up 3rd. I could keep up with them but I wasn’t fast enough to do anything more.

My third race was with good mate and national champ Bernard Kerr. He did a good job of cutting across me but I stayed 2nd place. We both gave massive whips over the triple.

My forth race was my best race. I was good out the gate but not good enough. I was next to 3rd place at the start but managed to inch away from him. I was now going for 1st. I saw that he was a little bit slower into the triple so I pulled right on the take off and manual landed the last bump. With the extra speed I was sided by side with him. He pushed me towards a takeoff on the outside of the course. I kept cranking and boosted it. It seemed just as fast as I landed that bit further ahead as he landed from the take off further on. I knew it was getting sketchy at this point and it got too close. He got tangled up with my back wheel and was out of it. I rode the course to the finish in 1st.
After a small break the next heats were sorted out and I found myself in the semi finals. Chuffed! If I was to come 3rd or 4th I would be in the B final and if I came 2nd or 1st I would be in the A final. I had third choice of lane so I chose the one furthest away from National Champ Bernard. I had watched him cut across from the start in his other races to slow down the competition. We both knew what the plan was without saying anything.

The gates flew down and I had a good start. Bernard cut across the field and we went into the first berm together with the other 2 behind. I kept with Bernard all the way and we celebrated with a “YEAH DUDE!” at the bottom. It was to the A finals for us. This meant that I was guaranteed 4th place.

I was pretty sure I knew I was going down to get 4th in the A final. These guys knew what they were doing big time! So I followed their lead to the bottom. I could have caused some carnage on the 2nd to last turn that I had practised so much but I am off to the Netherlands with my school at 4am Monday morning and I wasn’t here to get hurt.

I was really pleased to come 4th in my first 4X race for DMR, and a National at that.

Here's a bunch of pics!...

Thanks to DMR, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, Mojo, Mace, Nike 6, Twenty26, Funn and Geax.