World Championships - Champery, Switzerland
| Rider
| Cat
| Result
|
|
Rourke Croeser
|
Elite U23
|
31st
|
There are somethings in life that you
must treasure, remember and be able to look back on with a sense of pride and satisfaction.
When Orange Monkey was introduced to the mountain bike world back in November 2004
there were dreams, ambitions and goals and although the thought of supporting one of our
riders through a World Championships was distant, it was of course achievable.
This weekend that dream, ambition and goal was realised.
Rourke Croeser has been a revelation in the team this year, giving us our first
National Championship jersey, his knowledge, character and some world class results.
After a difficult period mid-season he
had trained himself into the kind of shape that won him that National Jersey as
far back as February and was now ready to peak once again for a World Championships
packed full of exceptional world class riders.
Destination – Champery, Switzerland. After leaving the mountains of Italy just three
weeks previous it was back to the mountains again, nestled away in the Alps close
to Geneva. The course was exceptionally hard, with huge drops, tangled exposed roots
and two tough climbs.
After practising for the majority of
the week, working on lines and getting prepared, suddenly Friday was upon us and
it was race day. Rourke was in confident mood with good form and a genuine like
for the course and after a gridding of 38, the riders were ready and just waiting
for the gun!
As the gun went on our first World Championships it was business as usual as we
settled into our routine. Rourke made a decent start but not as well as hoped, however
it was a long race and we knew that guys were going to have problems in the second
half of the race. By the end of lap 2, Rourke was up into the top 40 and moving
forwards at every check point and it wasn’t too long before the top 40 had become
the top 30. Continuing his progress heading towards a top 20 spot and making the
technical course look easy things were looking good until a rear flat cost him major
time on lap 4. Rourke has huge character though and it wasn’t long before he was
again knocking on the door of the top 25 before a final lap puncture dropped him
back to a finishing position of 31st.
Luck certainly wasn’t on his side, however,
this is the nature of mountain bike racing and sometimes it happens. It was a great
ride by our star rider and one that will be remembered for a long time.
Of course we also had a keen interest in what the other Brits were doing and below
are a list of results. There were particularly strong rides by Annie Last, Grant
Ferguson and Kenta Gallagher.
| Rider
| Cat
| Result
|
|
Liam Killeen
|
Elite
|
DNF
|
|
Annie Last
|
Elite U23
|
2nd
|
|
Kenta Gallagher
|
Elite U23
|
26th
|
|
Grant Ferguson
|
Junior
|
4th
|
|
Matt Sumpton
|
Junior
|
DNF
|
|
Katy Winton
|
Junior
|
28th
|
|
Bethany Crumpton
|
Junior
|
33rd
|
Of course no World Championships would be complete without an after party and it
was great to hook up with the British guys and girls for a night in Champery.
It’s been an incredible season full of highs and lows, we are very proud of all
our riders who have given us some great memories throughout the year. We are proud
to represent the very best products in the world that make our job so much easier
and we are already looking forward to another fantastic season in 2012.
One thing is for sure – this is a team who have dreams, ambitions and goals and
we look forward to achieving them.
For a full Photo Gallery from the weekend... Please Click Here