Southern XC Round 2 – Crow Hill, New Forest
The club was well represented across most categories in this ever popular round of the Southern XC series held on 19th April 2026 at Crow Hill. With a mix of Utmost & Ian Brown’s Academy riders in the youth and junior categories, younger riders racing in Under 10’s and upwards and of course not forgetting our Senior and Veteran riders it promised to be a great day out for all the riders.
The New Forest course is a hilly, bumpy loop with several technical sections and flowy trails, the course , which was the reverse of the previous year and contained an elevation of over one hundred metres per lap, was tough for many of our riders but overall made an enjoyable trip for the team.
For the U12s on the kid’s shorter course, Hugo Johnson had a bit of a bad start but recovered smoothy working his way through the group, after a few riders broke away he smashed it to get back with them before ending in second place. U10 rider Ethan Shorto had a decent start but got caught up in some more inexperienced riders which cost him some time, luckily he worked his way through and caught up with the group, finishing in third place. The female youth rider Holly Smith had a strong start but dropped back due to very tough competition, she found another rider from a different category to work with before a sprint finish to take the win finishing in eighth. Amy Smith had a tough race on a brutal course against some very strong competitors, after a few mistakes she lost some time but recovered smoothly and finished strong in ninth. In the open juvenile category, Jake Piercey had a massive crash on the start line but picked himself up and recovered bravely, and despite a few crash-related mechanicals pushed through and finished in tenth place. Arun Scales had a good start and raced well against some very talented riders before finishing in twelvth position behind guernsey rider Luka Robilliard who thought he had a disappointing start amongst a very physical bunch, pushed through and climbed onto third position, however on the last lap, had a battle with another stronger rider before ending in fourth place. Seasoned racer Zach Smith aimed to secure another podium finish in the youth category, Alongside top Southern rider Ollie Smith, the pair pulled away quickly from the rest of the field and found themselves neck and neck after the first lap. However, Smith struggled to maintain the pace over the next three laps, ultimately finishing second. In the junior category, Charlie Tourtel faced stiff competition from skilled riders Alarik Knox and Jack Morgan. Tourtel started strong, with the front four riders tightly bunched after the first lap. Unfortunately, a rear puncture on the second lap forced Tourtel to make a pit stop, causing him to lose valuable positions. Despite the setback, he pushed hard over the next four laps, clocking impressive lap times to finish fourth. For the open sport riders Dan Johnson stayed firmly in his gridded position throughout the race and pushed hard before dropping back and finishing just outside the top fifty. Tristan robilliard started pushing a strong pace which he unfortunately couldnt maintain causing him to fall back in the race, however he found some other riders to work with and finished inside the top sixty places. Wayne Piercey started right at the back of the bunch and fought hard to make up positions, he worked his way through the group to finish in fifty fifth place. Mark Smith had an impressive start, working his way to the front of the pack, however after his chain snapped and difficulties replacing it he dropped to last, pushing hard he made up 20 places but unfortunately did not get a result due to unclear course rules. Overall the Guernsey Velo Club had an amazing race day with numerous successful riders despite multiple unfortunate setbacks.
Written by Holly Smith.
