Despite the location for Rd 2 being at the end of the earth the hunger for points ensured that Fie Innes and Russ Holman made the epic journey South to Redruth.
While the accommodation in Chasewater was something of an eye opener it still proved to be significantly better than some of the Barrack Blocks the RAF has to offer.
Hoping that the journey South would provide some sun rather than the snow at Sherwood pines Saturday morning started very positively, until Fie discovered during practice how technical the course was.
After much banter and persuasion from Russ an hour later the pair completed a lap of the 5.3k course, things were not looking so positive. Retiring for the day the pair opted to celebrate Martin Pearson’s 30th Birthday (in his absence) instead with some fine complex carb’s in the form of a Carrot Cake!
Sunday saw Fie up first for 3 laps of the course. With a really good start she powered off the start line and out of the arena well ahead of the other sport riders. Battling with the fear of the technical descents she followed the wheel of a Vet rider, which saw her fly down the steep gravel terrain. Opting for some of the B-lines proved to be a wining decision which saw her finish the race in 1st place, over 10 mins ahead of 2nd place.
Next up in the Male Expert Cat was Toby Rose, starting his first race of the season. Unfortunately owing to a mechanical issue Toby retired from the race half way through his 2nd lap, clearly this only suggests that he needs to get himself a new Whyte 29 er..!!!
Russ Holman found himself girded 10th in a very strong field of 34 Sport Riders. The start was rapid and Russ did well to maintain the pace, coming through on the 1st lap only seconds behind Toby in Expert, showing great potential for the future. The Sport Race was a gruelling battle of wills and after 5 laps Russ finished the race in a very respectable 12th place fingers crossed he can break into the top 10 at the next round!
All in all a fantastic Result for RAFCC this weekend.
