Sunday 15th April saw two maroon-clad riders from UoBCC take part in Battle on the Beach, Matthew Skeats and Will Hawkins.  Battle on the Beach is a cross country mountain bike race in South Wales and with around 1000 riders of all ages and abilities starting at once, it's certainly a sight to behold!  You see all sorts of bikes from XC race machines to fat bikes, 'cross bikes and even tandems...

The first 50 metres of the course is soft sand, so almost everyone runs over this bit onto the hard sand that makes up the main beach.  6km of flat out riding later (usually in a tailwind, Matt was hitting 55 kph watching the leaders soar off) the riders hit a bottleneck at the end of the beach.  Those in a good position after this can hit the singletrack trails and fireroads at full speed on the way back to the start until three laps of the beach and roughly 45 km are completed.  These trails aren't straightforward however, with lots of loose and sandy sections line choice is crucial to avoid falling off or running.  

​Matt was the top placed UoBCC rider, finishing in a very respectable 159th overall and 79th in the men's open category.  Meanwhile, Will knocked 12 minutes off his time from last year to finish in 399th place.  A huge congrats to both riders for a cracking ride!

Saturday 14th April 2018 saw UOBCC send 4 squads over to Tomarton, Somerset for the BUCS 3-up TTT. The first men's trio of Hugh Brashaw, Freddy Carlton and Ted Cross started off the day with a strong ride despite a few hold ups and a mechanical.  They recovered well to finish in the middle of the group.  Next up was James Pittard, Jamie Atkins and Oliver Walker-Hayes, riding smoothly to finish a few minutes down on the other team under blue skies.

​As the afternoon drew in, the women took to the roads.  First off were Bekah Nash, Hester Stembridge and Hollie Hindley, riding exceptionally well to finish in a time of 1:00.17 and 5th place, a time that would've seen them finish in 2nd place in 2017. 

The start sheet had saved our best until last as Kate Mactear, Lottie Mallin Martin and Meg Dickerson left the start just after 4pm.  They rode seamlessly and with enormous power to secure the gold medal in a time of 56.20, a full 51 seconds ahead of Oxford University in second and the University of Cambridge in third.

A huge congratulations to everyone who took part and did their jerseys proud!

We'd also like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors, without whom this success across the club wouldn't be possible.  Another thank you to Avid Sport and Bath University Cycling Club for organising the event.

Please click on the images for a full-size view.