British National Championships - Richmond, North Yorkshire

In the best ride of his career to date Alex Baker produced a stunning performance at the British Cross Country National Championships in Richmond, North Yorkshire.

Still in his first year as a Junior, Alex took 2nd place and the silver medal after a hard fought race with Ben Sumner in what was by far the ride of the day for team Orange Monkey – Cannondale.

Arriving on Saturday with our weather reports all saying exactly the same, rain, it was always going to suit our skilled technical riders. The pre-ride only confirmed this as the riders all spent some time out on course checking out lines and surveying the varied terrain. Once everybody was happy it was back to the hotel for some drying out and relaxation.

The team were all pumped up and ready for the fight come Sunday morning with this being the biggest domestic race of the year. The rain had held off during the night but seemed patchy and unpredictable.

Alex was the first rider to go and immediately set about getting to the front of the Junior race. Second year rider Matt Sumpton was too hot to handle and forged a large lead that no rider could match but with Ben Sumner marking Alex closely it took a big attack for our young star to get away, but that he did as he arrived home after 4 tough laps to jubilation among the team on what was a truly magnificent ride.

In the Elite and Under 23 races the team were optimistic with all three riders in fantastic form. Chris and Paul both made good starts and were both inside the top 25 riders by the end of lap one. As the race progressed, Chris started to pay for his initial effort that had got him within touching distance of the race leaders and eventually had to withdraw much to his disappointment.

Ben had also made a great start in the separate Under 23 race and was near the leaders when a crash on the main descent caused a mechanical. This caused a lengthy pit stop and with it any aspirations he had of a top result.

Paul meanwhile seemed to be enjoying the conditions and had worked his way inside the top 20. One last hard effort on the final lap as the rain moved in for good, resulted in two crashes but gave him his best result of the season and with it a very happy rider.

It was to be a tough weekend, with emotions running high. Their was both disappointment and jubilation in this, the teams 8th National Championships. As always we learnt and will now move forward. What was clear is that the support for the team and our riders is growing all the time and for that we are very thankful.

Thank you to all of our sponsors, riders, management, staff and supporters. We look forward to the next fight.

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