A CYCLE festival near Petersfield attracted hundreds of cyclists of all ages – and saw a competitor who has won the weekend’s top event twice before beaten into second place by a close rival on the elite cyclist circuit.
The highlight of the two days of mountain biking at Queen Elizabeth Country Park was the Enduro; a ten mile race with four time stages, which ran from about 7pm to 11pm.
Race organiser and event spokesman Scott Fitzgerald said: “It was a great weekend, more than 300 people came along, and of those about 200m entered the Enduro. It’s the third time we have run the night and day race.
“And it was won by pro mountain biker Chris Doney, in it for the first time, who beat Ollie Carter, the winner of the first two Enduros.
“They are close friends and often compete against each other on the elite cyclist mountain biking circuit.
“When Ollie heard Chris had entered, Ollie said he was going to have to up his game, but unfortunately he crashed a few times.”
Sponsored by Hargroves Cycles of Winchester, the QE Cycle Fest was bigger and attracted more entrants than previous years – and benefited from fine weather.
And for the first time there was a beer tent, which was enjoyed once racing was over, especially by those camping, Scott said.
On the Saturday there were also races for children of all ages, including ‘balance’ bike events – a bike without pedals which the young ‘riders’ straddle and propel by running.
Scott said: “There were five races for youngsters, and the balance bike rides were for those aged three to five years old.”
Organised by the country park’s Trail Builder Collective, volunteers who maintain and improve bike trails in the park, money raised from the event will help improve the trails further.
Scott said: “This year about £6,000 was raised.”
There were also trade stalls, test rides on the latest Hargroves bikes, and race lights provided by joint sponsor Exposure Lights, could be tested in action.