Llangollen. What a hill. Probably the steepest track on the National circuit and gnarlier than sandpaper underpants. Here's Wideopen pinner Brandon Love dropping into the steep section. HaloBDS Round 4 is GO!Llan aint all about the straightlining - this switch back was creating some beautiful shapes for the photographers. The awesome venue and fact that it's so easy to get to means that there's always a great crowd at Llan. Add in a ragged, fast and gnarly bottom section and you've got some awesome banter. Here's another Giant rider pinning the bottom turns.The Anderson family are a bit of a legend in the South West and a big part of the awesome trails at Triscombe. The guys have finally got their Rose downhill bikes and were pinning at the weekend. Here's Isaac on his way to an 8th place!Al Bond might not always be the guy you would think of as a 'top' name in the sport... but you should. 6th place in Elite for Al beating a LOT of big names. The King of Llangollen. Or atleast ... he was. All eyes were on Brendawg to retain his crown, but sadly he was dethroned and left in 7th place.Danny Hart is probably the most exciting rider on the planet right now... but couldn't quite live up to his recent top results. 3rd place for Danny Boy.
So the weather was good, the pits were good, track was excellent. Just a shame about the uplift queue! Llan is a tough venue to uplift and the result was 1hr 30m round trips from queue to finish line. Probably the only grumble we heard all weekend...It was a tough weekend for the Wideopen team. Ellie was back and looking to conquer her demons after breaking her leg here last year. She was pinning all day Saturday but took another injury and had to sit out race day. Wayne (photo'd here) settled for a 40something place. Brandon's result was as good as it was frustrating! He slipped a pedal in the steep section and rode it out no-footed ending up in 12th. What could have been eh?! Onwards and upwards!The CRC team were out in force and are an awesome part of UK racing. Joe Smith seems to be settling in well and bagged himself a 4th place!
Winner Winner Ratboy Pinner. A much deserved, long anticipated National win for Josh Ratboy Bryceland of the Santa Cruz Syndicate. Not who we would have bet on ... but proof again that he's one of the top riders on the planet.
Last but not least, don’t miss a guided tour of the track with Molson’s Rich Thomas:
And that’s it. Thanks to the Halo British Downhill Series crew and to the One Giant Leap Llangollen crew for an amazing weekend of bike racing. Thanks also to Jacob Gibbins for the photos. Remember, these are just his web shots… the cream of the cream will appear in Wideopen mag in the next couple of weeks!
Remember – We’re giving away a mountain of awesome prizes this season as part of our HaloBDS coverage.
Watch the helmet cam vid above, follow the link that’s in the video (it’s at the end!) and enter our comp. You can win a Gopro from Action Cameras, a holiday in Morzine with Riders Retreat, a year’s worth of awesome Juice Lubes products, full O’Neal race kit … and more! Just hit play on the video above!
