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Aberdeen Asset Win First ACE Race of the Season

Rob Howard / 23.04.2007

Drumlanrig Castle in the Scottish borders was the spectacular venue for the first of this years 2 day ACE Races.

All those who took part enjoyed the setting at the castle, the nearby mountain bike trails and the chance to run and ride over some little visited hills and to see some magnificent countryside. They are also unlikely to forget the somewhat ‘bumpy’ paddle down the river Nith, where the low water levels added a new adventure to the kayaking stage.

It was a pity there were not more racers prepared to journey to Drumlanrig as it was a new venue for ACE Races. Those who decided against going missed out on a great race, planned by John Laughlin. He even made it a bit longer than usual on Sunday so everyone could enjoy the borders countryside to the full!

With the World Champs just a month away it wasn’t surprising that the teams category was the most closely contested, and after the first run and bike stages there was just one point between the top 3 teams! (Top Solo Clive Hughes had the same score too.)

Team SleepMonsters/Inov-8 fell back on the Night Navigation stage leaving Aberdeen Asset Management and the recently formed Team Inov-8 to fight it out on day 2 when Aberdeen Asset Management forged ahead and came out the clear winners.

Clive Hughes duly won the male solo category and Gill Watson the female solo. In the pairs race Chris Ainsworth and Andy Hicks took top spot, and the female pairs winners were Claire Bridgestock and Melanie Good. A great result in their first ever ACE race! The mixed pairs winners were Chris Morgan and Anna Sloan.

A full race report and lots of photos will follow soon.