24 Hours of Exposure - report

This weekend saw the first British National 24 Hour solo championships. Held in the glorious surroundings of Newcastleton in near 30 degree heat it proved to be a race that brought out the fight in all the athletes. The course was demanding with 550 meters of ascending over each 12 mile lap. There were miles of singletrack throughout the course keeping the concentration levels as pushed as the body itself.

Pre-race there were a number of riders singled out as the contenders. But one took the race on from the start and put in an early lead from the gun. Josh Ibbett of Team Syncros endurance took the rest of the front runners by surprise and developed a lead that they assumed was not maintainable. As each hour ticked by and laps notched up the reality set in that it wasn't just a rash break and it was indeed a stunning ride that was going to be difficult to break down. Following riders Matt Page, Wiggle Exposure, Ant White, Exposure/Skins/KCNC, Rich Rothwell, Enigma Exposure, among others slowly clawed back the deficit but Josh pressed on looking strong and causing real worries in the pits that all the other riders had made a big mistake by not recognising the break from the beginning.

As day turned to night and the temperatures dropped the riding became more comfortable and it didn't slow at all. There were a few position changes within the following pack but Josh stayed cool and out in front. Through the night the track emptied as the days hard racing in the sun took its toll. The fire road assents were a relief from the body battering that was a tough, technical and unforgiving course. Matt Page stayed strong and pulled into 2nd, his preparation for the race was coming good and his super professional attitude allowed him to achieve his potential and draw ever closer to the rear wheel of the leader.

A couple of hours from the finishing line Matt caught Josh who was feeling the effects of a hard race. This inevitably changed the dynamic and Matt stayed mentally tough and powered on to developing a gap while Josh dug deep but sadly couldn't respond in the way that he would have wanted. Ant White who was waiting in the wings finished strongly to steal 2nd from Josh. Ant apologized while passing in recognition of the performance that Josh had put in.

Matt completed 22 laps, 264 miles, 12.1 km of vertical climbing and all in sweltering heat on one of the toughest 24hr courses around. A massive performance by all involved and a thrilling race that will develop into a great championship in the years to come.

Congratulations to Matt, well done for all the hard hours training and preparing for the ride. It all seemed to work beautifully for him although the relief was obvious as he cross the line shattered and in tears. Congratulations to all those that took their places on the podium as it took a tough spirit to climb to the top.

Matt is off to the world championships in Australia to uphold British honor against the world's toughest endurance racers.

For full listings of the results visit XCracer.com 

Thanks for all the help and support from the sponsors and the people of Newcastleton that supported us with such great attitudes and smiles.

Paul and Sara of SIP events organized the race, so thanks to them for being brave enough to dream it up and pull it all together in such great style.

Exposure/USE who sponsored, helped organize and got behind the event wanting to produce a long term race to inspire all cyclists.

Juice Lubes put on some awesome mechanical support for well over 24 hours and also provided prizes for the event.

Joolze Dymond took photos tirelessly, zipping around the track to capture the feeling and effort on all our faces.

Torq supported with gallons of their superb energy drinks helping the competitors battle through the heat and the miles.

Morvelo designed the coveted jerseys and sponsored the Rookie categories.

Bontrager sponsored the mad single speeds on course trying to get their hands on the geared wheels as a prize.

Thanks to other sponsors Ergon, Magnus Maximus Coffee for making the event possible

Finally thanks to Rock UK for the amazing venue an support in holding the race, they have now agreed to have us back again next year and the race will be held May7/8th 2011.

Entries soon to be available on XCracer!