Saturday 29th June saw team rider Scott Beaumont attempting to make British Cycling history by winning his 10th Elite National Championship title at the amazing track in Afan, South Wales.
A track that has served Scott well over the years, he was fired up and ready to give this everything.
The day started with practice and straight away Scott was looking good. He found a technical line in the pro line that involved taking off from the small line and boosting all the way over to the pro line. It was fast but tricky. By the end of practice he had the track dialled and was ready to qualify.
Next up it was qualifying. Quite literally one lap, no crap. There is no room for error. It has to be perfect or you are packing the bike up and heading home.
Scott seeded as number 1 was the last rider to go. He made a great start and looked pretty good through the top sections. Through the rocks he didn’t hit the right line and again in the last turn he slid a little at the entrance and these little mistakes mounted up to Scott crossing the line in 3rd.
It wasn’t a perfect start but the team regrouped at the truck and were ready for racing.
In the quarter final, Scott made a great start and checked out. It was a perfect lap and Scott stamped his plans for the day taking an easy win and looking fast.
Onto the semi final. Scott again made a great start and led the race through turn one. On the exit another rider dived to the extreme inside and cut Scott off at the exit. It was a great move but there was no panic. On the second straight Scott was held on the outside as he battled but then in the second turn the other two riders dived inside. There was contact and unfortunately Scott was thrown from his bike landing on his back.
The medics were immediately called as Scott was in considerable pain. He was extensively examined on the track and after 20 minutes he got back to his feet.
On initial examination, Scott had severely bruised his coccyx and kidney area. Against all doctors orders, Scott managed to drag himself back to the start for the small final. He simply could not even walk but he knew that if he did not ride, he would receive zero UCI World Ranking points. If he got on the gate he would get 8th position and valuable points to his overall.
The gate dropped and Scott literally rolled down the track. Another rider crashed so Scott actually finished 3rd giving him 7th for the day.
It was a bad day at the races and the team are gutted but that’s the nature of 4X and Saturday just wasn’t Scott’s day.
We will be back in 2020 fighting for this title again.
Scott will now undergo treatment all week with Core Clinics as he fixes his lower back with the intention of racing rounds 9 and 10 of the BMX National Series this coming weekend in Glasgow.
We will update you all laster in the week with his progress.
Scott is leaving everything on the line at every race and it’s quite the roller coaster during the course of a season. Thank you for the incredible support.