RACING BRIEFS
Eyes on the prize
It’s been a great start to the year for Britain’s female gravity racers. First, young Scot Heather Wilson – a nominee for our inaugural Rider of the Year awards – bagged her debut Junior World Cup win at the opening downhill round in Fort William. The 17-year-old’s first World Cup, no less. Heather then followed that up with another victory at the second round in Bielsko-Biała. Tahnée Seagrave, meanwhile, cruised to third in Elite in Scotland (and fifth in Poland), back on form after an injury-hit couple of years.
In the Enduro World Cup, Hattie Harnden, pictured, won the opening round in Finale Ligure. The star of our ‘Pro vs Punter’ video and article (MBUK 432) was joined on the Italian podium by Scotland’s Ella Conolly, who didn’t drop below third on any stage. A week later, Hattie finished second in Poland, with Gowaan Racing’s Chloe Taylor coming in just behind her to bag her first EDR podium and Ella rounding things out in fifth. Great work!
So far, our male racers haven’t enjoyed quite the same level of success, although William Brodie came second in the U21 EDR in Poland (and fifth in Italy) and Scotland’s Daniel Parfitt took third in the Junior men’s DH race on home soil – his best result yet. In Elite, Madison Saracen’s Greg Williamson and Matt Walker both made the top 10 in Fort Bill on their new Saracen Mysts, and Matt followed that up with seventh place in Poland. Come on, lads!