Paul Hopkins (Merida UK) won round 4 of the Off-Camber XC winter series with predictable ease. After shaking off the challenge of training partner Kim Little (Gillingham & Dist.), Hopkins could enjoy himself on the 4.9 mile circuit at Inside Park near Blandford Forum in Dorset. Back in the day the holiday park was once a venue for a round of the national series sponsored by the local brewery and is popular with the riders. A mix of woodland trails, singletrack, field edges and concrete road asks questions of technique but with plenty of opportunity for overtaking. Stumps and roots demand concentration and the notorious “Bomb Hole” allows the more confident to get some “air”.
Neutralized for the first 600 metres on a smooth, concrete pathway, the route then heads out into the country on the first of 3 laps and it was here that Hopkins hit the front. Powering away through deep puddles and thick mud, only Little could respond to the former national 40+ champion. The Gillingham rider even took the lead as, uncharacteristically, Hopkins got his line wrong through the mud. Normal service however was quickly resumed and Little started to lose ground as the trail started to rise. Barring mishap the race was Hopkins and Little, who won round 3 in December, was clear in second place. Marcus Williams held third spot after the first lap but could not hold off the charge of Alex Day (Off-Camber). Day had helped set up the course and was busy dismantling it as the prize giving went ahead.
First Lady, Julie Crane finished ahead of Yeovil CC juniors, Patsy Caine & Evie Lane. While another Yeovil youngster, Kris Caine was first junior. A field of 58 started, the biggest of the series so far and a sign that the new season is on the horizon. Round 5 is on 17th February with the final round a month later on 17th March.
Full Result
1 Paul Hopkins 0:23:49 0:26:23 0:26:11 01:16:23
2 Kim Little 0:24:18 0:26:47 0:27:39 01:18:44
3 Alex Day 0:25:44 0:27:03 0:29:12 01:21:59
4 Marcus Williams 0:26:10 0:28:43 0:29:29 01:24:27
5 Mark Green 0:26:15 0:29:18 0:30:34 01:26:07
6 Steve Gordon 0:27:20 0:30:34 0:29:46 01:27:40
6= Robert Koppenhol 0:28:15 0:29:55 0:29:30 01:27:40
8 Dave Goddard 0:27:26 0:30:17 0:31:00 01:28:43
9 Simon Andrews 0:27:36 0:30:21 0:31:22 01:29:29
10 Darren Bunce 0:27:36 0:31:24 0:30:44 01:29:44
11 Simon Cross 0:28:49 0:30:19 0:31:49 01:30:57
12 Darren Caines 0:28:39 0:30:56 0:32:49 01:31:04
13 Kris Caines 0:28:18 0:31:06 0:33:37 01:33:01 1st Junior
14 Stuart Inman 0:29:31 0:32:17 0:31:35 01:33:24
15 Mark Whittaker 0:28:55 0:31:36 0:33:36 01:34:07
16 Dean Frost 0:28:27 0:31:52 0:34:21 01:34:40
17 Ed Thomas 0:28:59 0:31:58 0:33:52 01:34:49
18 Andy Parsons 0:33:11 0:30:07 0:33:09 01:36:27
19 Garry Taylor 0:29:44 0:33:53 0:32:58 01:36:35
20 John Williams 0:29:31 0:35:34 0:34:07 01:39:12
21 Hamish McPherson0:30:52 0:34:26 0:34:12 01:39:30
22 James Chant 0:31:01 0:33:56 0:35:48 01:40:45
23 Jay Hookins 0:31:47 0:34:04 0:35:56 01:41:47
24 David Sharpe 0:31:37 0:34:42 0:35:36 01:41:55
25 Brian Stephen 0:32:22 0:35:06 0:36:03 01:43:41
26 Tim Hoskinson 0:31:37 0:35:00 0:37:33 01:44:10
27 Ben Day 0:31:47 0:37:43 0:34:51 01:44:21
28 Liam Teesdale 0:31:06 0:32:34 0:41:02 01:44:42 2nd Junior
29 RaySamways 0:32:35 0:36:55 0:41:06 01:45:06 1stVeteran
30 Chris Kelly 0:33:14 0:36:16 0:36:57 01:46:27
31 Scott Jones 0:32:41 0:36:49 0:37:55 01:47:25
32 Ashley Green 0:32:14 0:38:15 0:39:30 01:49:59
33 Vince Hounsome 0:27:04 0:28:29 0:55:33
34 Julian Rudek 0:27:30 0:30:13 0:57:43
35 Chris Wills 0:28:43 0:36:10 1:04:53
36 Matthew Pike 0:34:16 0:40:39 1:14:55
37 Scawn Roberts 0:35:44 0:40:21 1:16:05
38 Matt Gleed 0:35:13 0:41:22 1:16:35
39 Simon Clarke 0:37:26 0:41:27 1:18:53
40 Conal Grier 0:38:32 0:42:37 1:21:09 (CrossBike)
41 Philip Wareham 0:39:36 0:44:15 1:23:51
42 Gary Wilkins 0:40:04 0:45:17 1:25:21
43 Matthew Rice 0:40:15 0:46:29 1:26:44
44 Kevin Craig 0:44:08 0:49:06 1:33:14
45 Ian Asher 0:38:57 0:54:43 1:33:50
46 Gary Watson 0:45:11 0:53:14 1:38:25 2nd Veteran
47 Dean Curwen 0:45:14 0:53:17 1:38:31
48 Neil Bond 0:45:18 0:58:02 1:43:20
49 Matthew Tucker 0:46:58
50 Trevor Bridle 0:51:00
51 Barry White 0:29:23
Ladies
1 Julie Crane 0:35:53 0:39:40 01:15:33
2 Patsy Caines 0:37:05 0:44:04 01:21:09
3 Sue Latham 0:39:56 0:44:15 01:23:51 (SingleSpeed)
4 Evie Lane 0:39:15 0:44:37 01:23:52
5 Julia Rice 0:46:49 0:58:01 01:44:50
DNF
Josh Day 0:00:00
David Lane 0:00:00
1, PAUL HOPKINS (MERIDA)
2, KIM LITTLE (GILLINGHAM& DIST WH)
3, ALEX DAY (OFF CAMBER)
4, MARCUS WILLIAMS (DB Max Triathlon Club)
5, MARK GREEN (OFF CAMBER)
6,STEVE GORDON (DORSET ROUGH RIDERS)
6, ROB KOPPENHAL (DORSET ROUGH RIDERS)
8, DAVE GODDARD (DORSET ROUGH RIDERS)
9, SIMON ANDREWS (?)
10, DARREN BUNCE (OFF CAMBER)
LADIES
1, JULIE CRANE
2, PATSY CAINE (YEOVIL CC)
3, EVIE LANE (YEOVIL CC)
JUNIOR
KRIS CAINE (YEOVIL CC)
After riding a warm down lap Hopkins spoke to “Local Riders” about the race and his plans for the season.
"I wanted to race today because Off-Camber have helped me out a lot over the years, I train a lot with Kim, he is very strong and a good climber, certainly worth worrying about. He overtook me on the first lap but through the draggy sections I managed to pull away. I was on a new bike today, the Big 29 Carbon,which is 29" wheels and a hard tail which is a little bit different to what I am used to, I have been riding a full suspension 26 for ten years, I must admit I do like it, it seems very fast. It was good training, I don’t want to sharpen up to soon, I want to keep a lid on it a little longer. I will start some harder stuff next month, I want to hit the first national running! I plan to do all the points’ series and the national championships and hopefully regain my title after coming second last year. I will also be part of the new Merida team specialising in marathon events.”
Good report with some nice pics.
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