A few days of heavy rain dampened down the Kingsclere mud and made the course more slick than heavy on Sunday. The rain held off for most of competition day though, except for a couple of heavy showers in the afternoon. Temperatures stayed mild and the sun even showed its face a couple of times.
Out on the course, the wet surface and high winds caused a few mechanical and handling problems, even amongst some of the more experienced riders. Nick Calkin had a rare disagreement with a tree resulting in a damaged stem. Not to be put off, he ran the off road sections, rode (carefully) on the tarmac and still managed to finish 30 points clear at the top of the single vets category.
Rick Fetherstone was in a class of his own on the day, finishing 70 points ahead of Mens Team winners Matt Kemp & Giles Hudson and a massive 150 points clear of his Single Mens category rivals. 2nd place was hotly contested in Single Men, with six finishers tying on 420 points, Alan Goldsmith just getting the nod on time.
Elsewhere Glynn Seymour & Amanda Elliot scored a good 400 points to win the mixed category and Annie Marson took top honours in the womens categories.
The day also saw the successful introduction of electronic scoring using the Sportident system. The benefits were immediately obvious - ease of use, instant scores for each competitor at the finish and accurate results the moment the last rider checks in. Try it out for yourself at the next Fat Tyre at Woodcote on February 8th.
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