Midland Series Round 2 - Mansell Lacy, Hereford

The second round of the Midlands Series in the idyllic location of Mansell Lacy just outside Hereford gained a full turn out of Orange Monkey riders, which also incorporated the Midlands Championships for 2010.

This championship event had been on the list of goals for our Birmingham based rider, Chris Andrews for some time and coming off the back of two world cups and some impressive early season form it was going to be an ideal time for him to step up and take the championship.

The Elite race was the last of the day and on a scorching afternoon at 2.30pm the field of quality Elite riders took to the 6km course, which although short gave the riders a real challenge with some steep long climbs and off camber technical descents. The biggest challenge was the heat though and plenty of water was certainly the order of the day. The race started well with Paul leading the field out and up the first climb with Chris following closely behind as well as KCNC rider Jonathan Pugh. Midway through the first lap Jonathan and Chris took charge and went storming up the fire road climb. After lap one Chris was still in contention with Paul now in third place. Lap two saw Paul struggle with the heat getting him and a forced water stop before continuing on and staying steady to take 6th place. Chris meanwhile was keeping his pace high but losing contact with Jonathan who had a storming race. The ever consistent George Budd pipped Chris before the race was over to knock Chris back into third on the day but his goal was complete…

Chris Andrews - Midlands Champion 2010!

In the earlier races Alex continued his steady form by taking a hard fought 2nd in the Youth category while Ben narrowly missed the win also taking 2nd in the Juniors.

It was an excellent team performance and a great day out. The team will now rest before next week’s big trip to Margam Park for the next round of the National series.