Scott Beaumont 4X World Championships, Champery, Switzerland
Well what a week it was last week at the 2011 World Championships that were held in Champery, Switzerland.
Scott Beaumont
Qualifying - 9th
Race 17th
The track was pretty crazy. It resembled more of a downhill track than a 4X track. Most of the riders were ok with this, but they were really concerned about how tight the first turn was. The start was steep, into a tight first turn. From here it went into the woods and over big rocks and roots, before the next turn where there was a triple jump and double. It then joined the DH track and off the last step down and drop into the finish.
It was extremely short at just 35 seconds, so all the riders knew the start was going to be really important.
In practice everyone had trouble getting used to the track on their hardtails. The rocks were big and slippery and providing a tough challenge.
I decided to go against the grain and I rode my Rocky Mountain Slopestyle bike with 5 inches of suspension travel on the front and back. It was slow from the start but really quick through the woods and over the rocks. I decided to use this bike for qualifying and switch back to a hardtail for racing.
My qualifier went really well. I rode a good lap, but just slid out leaving the woods losing some valuable time. I crossed the line in 9th position which I was really happy about, however I was just 0.2 seconds behind 4th. It was great to know I was in the hunt and on pace, but I would have loved a top 5 qualifier.
Onto the racing and I was back on the hardtail. I felt quick and my gates were going good.
In the first race I was riding well, when the guy behind me jumped into me in the 2nd corner. Nothing bad, he was just trying to get past me, but unfortunately we both crashed. I got going first and managed to qualify to the next round. However....... I wasnt as lucky as I first thought. In the crash I broke a couple of small bones in my left hand and it had swollen up immediately. The British Cycling doctors were quick and got to work on my hand with ice and water immediately. With only 5 minutes between races, it was a rush, but we got back up there in time for round 2. Unfortunately I just could not hold the handlebars tight and my start was poor. I got going though and fought to the end, but 3rd in that race meant I was out and 17th was my overall position.
Not the race that we wanted. I had trained specifically for this race for the past few months and a silly crash ended it all for me. Gutted, but well be back next year.
At the race I got quite a bit of media coverage. Here are the links to some that was featured on Dirt Website:
Here is the Go Pro Chest Camera run that I did for Dirt Website:
http://dirt.mpora.com/news/dirttv-world-champs-champery-4x-chesty-cam-2011.html
Here is Dirt website doing interviews with the 4X riders:
http://dirt.mpora.com/news/dirttv-champery-world-champs-4x-practice-chit-chat.html
So this weekend is a weekend off for me perfect timing so that I can try and get my hand healed up. Next weekend is the final British 4X Series round at Redhill, Gloucestershire. With the overall series already in the bag, Ill be looking to end the series on a high note.
News from that race next week.
Cheers,
Boom Boom
Scott Beaumont
