Having retired from downhill racing a few years back (only because Jason Carpenter stopped running Dragon races 10mins from my house!) these events are now the highlight of my racing calendar, actually they’re all that’s on my racing calendar!

For that reason, this time around I was really motivated to bring it home for Mojo in the technical category. I’d previously finished second in the inaugural Mash Up so with some extra preparation I felt this one was mine for the taking.

With regular visits to the Mojo gym (rollers in the warehouse) and the Newport Velodrome for the legs and lungs, combined with blasts down the Cwmcarn XC Trail to sharpen the skills, I was feeling confident of a strong result.

With the World Cup race season finished it meant that I was graced with the presence of Mojo’s World Cup ‘Rock Star’ mechanic, Polish Pete for some extra encouragement on the Day. A big thanks to Pete for getting my bike sweet for the day and carrying the drinks on the downhills!, (he made me carry them up the climbs for a warm up!) My bike of choice for the event was again an Orange 5 kitted out with Float RLC140 QR15, RP23 Boost valve, Hope Mini Pro’s and Mavic Crossmax SL.

With no riding at Glyncorrwg since the last Mash Up in June I was a little concerned that I hadn’t practiced the trail prior to the weekend and with all the climbing involved getting too many runs on the day was sure to tire you out rather than make you quicker. Full commitment was the plan on the first run through each section, with the hope that I’d remember it from last time!

Having noted there was potentially going to be a few hours without rain in the morning, I planned an early assault on the trail in the hope I could avoid the worst of the conditions forecast for the day. Right on schedule we rolled out of the car park at 9am, in the rain! Fortunately it stopped after a few minutes.

After a gentle cruise up the climb, which is thankfully far easier than the climb at Cwmcarn I usually ride, I allowed myself one practice run of the Black Run as I’d heard rumors of sneaky shortcuts across the switchbacks. I wasn’t keen on doing this but as a racer if there is a shorter line available then you have to take it. I was pleased to find the sneaky line had been blocked off but disappointed that the wind was so strong! The headwind was immense at the start of the Black Run and this basically turned what was presumably supposed to be the most technical section into more of a road time trial, with the exception of the rocky section at the end. Noting that one bend in particular was a potential ‘no braker’ I made my way back to the top to get started.

Despite one moment on the ‘no braker’ bend which turned out to be more of a ‘light scrub’ bend, the Black Run went without incident with a solid clean run. I just hoped that the wind stayed for the rest of the day so the late starters would have the same conditions. I’m certain that without the wind that section would have been at least 10 seconds quicker.

Black Run Result 1st Tim WIlliams – Mojo Suspension - 2.46 2nd Rowan Sorrell – Royal/Orange - 2.47

Next up was the aptly named windy point; on the hill above the wind farm was spinning faster than Chris Hoy! Conditions again were going to be tough going. At least this time there were some trees to offer some protection from the wind. With no practice run I remembered that the last time I had ridden this section there was only one bend that required some braking. The rest was pedal as much as possible and stay off the brakes. Despite the trail being wetter than the last time I’d ridden here, windy point offered up plenty of grip allowing the ‘one place to brake’ strategy to work perfectly. Another section finished cleanly.

Windy Point 1st Tim Williams – Mojo Suspension - 3.27 2nd Rowan Sorrell – Royal/Orange - 3.30

Next up was the final and longest section of the technical category, Darkside. Despite this being a downhill orientated event this section is as tough as any climb I’ve ever encountered, with a nasty little rise right after the start to get the lungs burning. Again, with no practice run, I tried to do a quick mental run through from the last visit here, knowing that realistically there was only one fully committed run left in the tank. Despite a small glitch with the timing system at the start (it wasn’t turned on!) which meant a second quick warm up sprint up the fire road, I was ready to go. With the Darkside being so long I’d inevitably missed a few little features from my mental run (it was 6 month ago!), resulting in a few frustrating dabs on the brakes which weren’t necessary. That’s what practice is for! Anyway, I still had a clean run and made sure I completely emptied the tank on the last pedal to the finish line. One freak gust of wind causing a tiny deviation from the trail aside, I felt it was job done. I just hoped that gust didn’t make the difference when the results were published!

Darkside 1st Rowan Sorrell – Royal/Orange - 4.42 2nd Tim Williams – Mojo Suspension - 4.47

Despite the two stage wins Rowan pulled it back enough on the Darkside section to take the overall by just 1 second, with third place being a further 40 seconds behind. It’s pretty amazing that after 11minutes of riding it came down to just one second; well done Rowan. There really isn’t anything more I could of given on the day so for that, it was a really satisfying result.

Technical Overall 1st Rowan Sorrell – Royal/Orange - 10.59 2nd Tim Williams – Mojo Suspension - 11.00 3rd Martin Astley – 11.40

An honorable mention should also go to Mojo Suspension’s Aimee Dix who finished the Black Run as the fastest female and then second on Windy Point. A mechanical on the final section cost her any chance of a podium finish.

Tim

For more details on the event and full results go to: www.konamashup.co.uk