Our British National Downhill Series coverage is brought to you by Fox Racing.
Words & Photos by Jez Prout & Dave Price.
The infamous Black DH track at majestic Glencoe for Round 3 of the Lloyds National Downhill Series, what a venue, what a race.
Since its beginnings in 2011, on that occasion hosting the inaugural MacAvalanche, Glencoe’s reputation as a demanding downhill race venue has grown year on year and 2026 was no exception. After the first two rounds in Wales, as challenging as they were, Glencoe was a step-up in every way for the 230 riders competing; for many in the field simply crossing the line in one piece on Sunday would be considered a great result. For others, notably in the youth categories, the extreme difficulty would present an opportunity to shine, and boy did they shine.
Race organisers Scottish Downhill Association (SDA) chose the mile long Black, in preference to the more commonly used Red, for its near vertical 1,000ft descent, the mix of steep tech, tight turns, tricky terrain and super fast, white knuckled run-out to the finish line. Bravo to SDA for their choice, there was nowhere to hide on this track.
Of course It’s impossible to visit Glencoe and not mention the gobsmacking views and the relentlessly changing conditions, this race weekend was memorable for both of those things, but also for the very, very welcome lack of midges, surely the ‘silver lining’ on a blustery day in the Highlands.
Practice got underway in damp conditions on Saturday morning and it soon became apparent that the feature sections of the track might each demand a completely different approach, and that piecing it all together from top to bottom was going to be the key to a fast time. Rapidly changing track conditions meant that grip levels and ideal lines changed dramatically between runs, raw speed alone would not win the day, a measured and consistent run might.
The Glencoe Black takes no prisoners. All sessions were peppered with incidents throughout the weekend, some serious, most less so, but all of them dealt with professionally and promptly by marshals, medics and emergency services alike. Although the chairlift kept things flowing, Mens Elite winner Taylor Vernon told us after the race that getting a complete top-to bottom run had been impossible in practice, held by reds on each run, obviously not an ideal platform for a seeding run in the afternoon.
The Wall, a daunting slab of steep bedrock coming soon after the start, plus the technical, complicated and very slippery rockgarden halfway down the track were the scene of most of the incidents but many riders were caught-out on the wind affected jumps, loose gravel or a random boulder at any turn in between.
Throughout the afternoon seeding runs the conditions gradually deteriorated making the track increasingly treacherous for the later riders, especially in the rock garden where planned and practiced lines went out of the window in the blink of an eye.
Sunday dawned much brighter, the practice hectic and only really hampered by one extended red flag late in the session. With race runs brought forward by an hour (due to impending storms in the forecast) it would not be long until the action kicked off.
Top honours in the Elite categories went to Taylor Vernon, piloting his Zerode G3 to win the male category with a time of 2:23.584, some 2.34 seconds ahead of Scotsman Drew Carters (Scottish Downhill Association) and Emily Carrick-Anderson (Wheelbase, Cabtech, Castelli) with a time of 2:52.083, also taking the prize for fastest female time of the day.
Overall fastest time of the day did not go to an elite rider however, Reid Simpson in the male 15-16yr category took that honour with a quite stunning time of 2:23.036, 0.5s ahead of Vernon, and 5.521s ahead of Reed Darley, 2nd place in category. Simpson’s run was the definition of poise, precision and control under pressure, a joy to watch.
Other standout performances include Reid’s brother Ty Simpson in the male 13-14yr category with a hair-raising 2:29.002, and Megan Thorne (SteamPunk DH Army) extending her run of success with a time of 2.55.601 to seal the female 17-18yr category, some 22.2s ahead of Jessica Wipat (Tay Titans) in second place.
Rosie Mclaughlan won the female 15-16yr old category by 20.657s with her time of 3:17.035 and Hannah Johnson won the female 19+ category by over a minute.
SteamPunk Downhill Army celebrated a strong weekend on home turf with every one of their team riders taking podiums (or wins) in each of their respective categories, a burgeoning relationship with Saracen, the teams focus on performance coaching and a visible team spirit are obviously reaping rewards.
Thirty of the starting racers failed to post a time on Sunday, it makes the youths’ winning times/gaps look even more impressive, a sure sign the sport is in safe hands.
National Champs up next as we return to North Wales and the picturesque scenes of Llangynog where Borderline Events will be back at the helms. See ya’ll on the hill.
This has been the British Cycling National Downhill Series at Glencoe, we’re FStop Media.
Elite Men
1st – Taylor Vernon 2:23.584
2nd – Drew Carters 2:25.923
3rd – Will Haines 2:26.548
4th – Tomasso Campana 2:29.361
5th – Leith Rowe 2:39.239
Elite Women
1st – Emily Carrick – Anderson 2:52.083
Junior Men
1st – Elliot Smith 2:23.369
2nd – Jack Jenkins 2:29.728
3rd – Zac Lomax 2:29.753
4th – Hayden Fletcher 2:31.770
5th – Finn Durkin 2:32.840
Junior Women
1st – Megan Horne 2:55.601
2nd – Jessica Wipat 3:17.824
3rd – Katie Melville 3:34.054
4th – Hollie Alderson 3:40.046
Fastest times on the day
Male – Reid Simpson 2:23.036
Female – Emily Carrick – Anderson 2:52.083
