Trailplus Adventure Challenge - Cannock Chase
Velomotion Multisport Win on Cannock Chase
Rob Howard / 17.11.2010
The Chase offered up its regular mix of country roads, forest tracks and some singletrack biking, with the kayaking held on the River Trent this time, rather than the nearby Staffs and Worcester Canal, and almost 135 teams arrived to have a go at the course. Most were competing as teams of 3, but there were a few pairs, and their challenge began with a brisk 2 mile run before they picked up their bikes and headed onto the mtb course which covered 12 miles on the northern part of the Chase and included some hills, singletrack, a few boggy dips after recent rains and even the odd jump on the old rifle butts.
This took them to a remote transition for a 5 mile out and back run to the kayaking, where there was some fun and games in the deep mud on the bank as teams were getting in and out of the new 3 person inflatable kayaks. The 1 mile paddle took them upstream to a marker buoy where they turned for a faster downstream return, though with queues building up for boats this distance was soon reduced to speed things up. Then came the run and ride back to base, and final challenges, which many weary racers felt were the hardest of all, particularly the heavy scramble net and the final slippery wall.
For this race the team names that have so often been at the top of the results list were absent, with teams like Votwo, Thames Turbo and adidas Terrex not racing. This gave some new teams a chance to compete for the win, and the team who grabbed that opportunity with a convincing win were ‘Velomotion Multisport’, comprising Tim Don, John Dennis and Jamie Hawthorne. They finished with a 10 minute winning margin in the impressive time of 2.32.15.
In the first race of the series at Longmoor Army camp last month mixed teams took first, third and fourth, with the For Goodness Shakes team winning overall. For this race FGS had entered a different team, and while they didn’t win overall, they did still take the top mixed team position and an impressive 7th overall in 2.53.08. The top ladies team were ‘Girls Without Dogs’ who finished in 27th place overall in a time of 3.12.46.
The next race in the series is at Hawley Lake in Surrey on Dec. 12th and full details are on the Trailplus website at <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://www.trailplus.com')" class="main">www.trailplus.com</a>.
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