Barnes Macavalanche Domination

May 4, 2012 by Hannah Barnes    1 Comment     Posted under: Photo Shoot, Racing

Last weekend it was the IXS Macavalanche run by No Fuss. Like last year, it was lovely and sunny! There were loads of great riders there, and the course was insane, so it was going to be a good weekend! We did a couple of runs on Saturday morning before the qualifying runs. It was such a physical course that I didn’t want to do too many runs and then be hanging for the quali.

The course was from the top of Glen Coe mountain to the bottom, over snow, rocks, bog, mud and man sized holes! It was important to pick good lines, and keep it smooth. Mass start’s are really exciting, for me it’s the most fun type of racing. 

I started my quali run with a massive over the bars, and got ran over by a few riders. I did some running overtakes through some snow and a short climb to get back up there. It’s so fun and sketchy blasting down the mountain, battling it out head to head with the other riders.

Joe, Fraser and myself all qualified 1st in our heats, so it was all good for team MTBcut! 

On Sunday I gave Rich Thomas a lift to the race because he put diesel in his petrol hire care. Ooops! After a cappuccino in the sun, I did a chilled practice run. I was loving the course, and couldn’t wait to get racing!

After two chair lifts and a long push up the snow, we were on the start line. The snow section was tough, long and cut up, so after a big over the bars I ended up running the whole thing. Onto the dirt, and I got into a good flow and hit the good lines around the bogs. Hitting the bottom loose rocky section my upper body was feeling it, it was so fast and rough. The course was great, proper mountain biking! I finished 1st woman, so I was stoked to keep hold of last years title!

My brother and team mate Joe smashed the field and took the men’s win. 

1. Joe Barnes  2. Fergus Lamb  3. Greg Williamson  4. Rich Thomas  5. James Shirley  6. Crawford Carrick Anderson  7. Gary Macdonald 8. Alex Stock  9. Chris Hutchins  10. Liam Moynihan  11. Fraser McGlone

1. Hannah Barnes  2. Emma Holgate  3. Fiona Beattie

Thanks No Fuss for another weekend to remember!

After a long soak in the shower to relax the muscles after all the crashes, we went out for a delicious meal and some beers. What a weekend!

For the next couple of days I hung out with the guys from French magazine Velo Vert - Nicolas Baisin and Richard Bord, World Cup xc racer Rab Wardell, and ex pro roadie Dave Smith. We had a great day of riding in the Cairngorms, amazing trails and sunshine! 

I spent the whole day laughing, it was great fun! I did an interview for their mag, but it might be a load of garbled rubbish. Being asked questions be a dreamy French model didn’t help my concentration!  

We finished off their Scotland trip with a sundown swim in Loch Morlich then diner in Aviemore. Rab was pretty happy with his jelly and ice cream. 

Thanks everyone for all the laughs, great riding, and adventures!

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