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Bike Crashes, Exploding Canoes, Llamas and Laithwaite ...

Rob / 29.04.2003

There can few races which are looked forward to more than the first ACE Race of the year, but the weather wasn’t going to allow for a start-of-season party atmosphere as racers arrived at ACE Base. It was pouring down for much of Friday afternoon and setting up camp on the riverside meadows at Alfriston on the South Downs was no fun. Nor was the M25 for those who struggled to arrive from the North, and there were lots of late arrivals.

Nothing much dampens the spirits of ACE Racers though and it was dry, if a bit murky, for the start of the X-Country run on Saturday with last season’s series winners leading off in their yellow bibs. They were heading East onto the Downs, often running on the Weald Way or South Downs Way. Most set off up Windover Hill, the first steady climb of an undulating course, and there was an impressive temperature inversion. The ridge tops cleared of the mist first while the valleys held the cloud. It wouldn’t last long though as the day gradually improved and the promised heavy showers never came.

A Flying Start

The furthest controls were grouped in a circle to the south-east of the map, too far away for almost everyone to attempt, everyone except Marc Laithwaite that is! Race Director Phil Humphreys had rashly stated that he was going to make the day one stages too long for the elite competitors to clear all the controls, partly to give them more of a challenge, but also as the maximum scores for these stages would affect the possible points totals on the day 2 stages.

All these plans were trampled by the flying feet of Marc Laithwaite on the firm dry trails, which were not really affected by the rain. It was an exceptional performance and his nearest challenger, Chris Hall, only scored 410 against the leader’s maximum 500. That wasn’t going to placate Phil Humphreys though, who was grinding his teeth and quietly furious. “It was like road running,� Laithwaite said, “hard packed trails and simple navigation so I rarely had to check the map, I just ran flat out. And as I’ve been doing 10k races and time trials all winter I was in shape for that.� Jon Brooke, who scored 390 agreed, “That course was made for Marc, it was purely about speed.�

Despite his good start Laithwaite wasn’t a fan of the new system. “It doesn’t really matter too much to me if you can’t get all the controls, I can always leave a couple of options until late in the run and take them or not. But it does matter to others who can aspire to clear them all. It took me years to finally clear a course and when I did it at the final race in 2001 I was so elated I didn’t care about the rest of the race. If that challenge is taken away it’s a pity.�

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