Eight whole points

Eight points!? You drive 230 miles each way. Pay more than the going rate for a round of the national series. You know from the outset you are on a hiding to nothing, being lapped is almost inevitable, being national champion is something unrealistic even in a drug fuelled hallucination. But you go anyway, because you love the sport, you love racing, you want to be tested against the best in the country, or at least gain an appreciation of how super human they are. The other reason for going is maybe to boost your points in the national rankings. This is, after all, supposed to be the biggest race on the calendar, and with that, should carry the opportunity to collect some serious points towards the national rankings. Apparently, that assumption is false. Despite coming 37th over all, and 8th expert to cross the line, I managed to earn 8 points! You get more points than that for coming last at a Ratz Rampage race. The race for the promotion places into elite have not been affected at all by the results. Not because the top riders all finished in the same order as the rankings, but because no-one managed to pick up enough points for it to make a difference. Once the majority of the elites had finished, and the leading expert riders had started to roll in there were only minor points still available. Rob Small finished an impressive 21st in a field full of the top riders in the country and picked up just 40 points. The same as a win the lowest level of BC ranked races, after going toe-to-toe against Liam Killeen and Oli Beckinsale, and holding his own. It makes you ask if there is any point in going to all that effort. That total isn’t going to help him climb into the top 5 and into elite for next year is it?


This year for me is not about the points, so this shouldn’t really bother me too much, but I still like to see some reward for my efforts. Maybe this is why the national champs struggle so badly with numbers. Why would anyone pay that much and drive that far to fight over the scraps remaining after the elite riders have taken the main points. If you are serious about getting the points to get promoted, you would be better served saving your money, staying at home and putting in a solid weekend of training ready for the next race. Better still, hop on a ferry over to Europe, race in a regional race there and collect double the points on offer for the Nationals! Is that what BC want our up and coming racers to do? That might be the way I think next time the National Champs comes around. Maybe they actually want us all to become disillusioned with mountain biking and move over to road cycling… Not that I am bitter at all!