After the long winter break, our 2023 4X season fired back into action with round 1 of the Schwalbe British 4X Series which was held at Chicksands in Bedfordshire on Sunday.
After filming a course preview film at the track on Thursday, Scott was immediately looking fast on the track and certainly looked like he had the pace to be at the sharp end in racing.
For the elites, the start was going to be absolutely vital with the ‘S’ bend at the top of the track where all the remaining action would take place. Britain’s fastest riders, all still bunched together head into these turns trying to out brake each other. Sometimes it works and sometimes it all unleashes!
In the motos Scott took a win and two second places which he was fairly happy about. He led races, was passed and crucially made some great passes himself on this tight and technical track. He also made a huge mistake whilst leading the second moto where he nearly crashed but saved it!
Into the semi final as the top seed in his race, Scott took gate one on the inside. Making a perfect gate, Scott led the race into turn one, but heading into the S bends, another rider got inside and Scott had to ride the outside berm. He then got immediately shuffled back to 4th and the race went from perfect to a disaster in 2 seconds straight.
Unfortunately he did not make the main final. However. In 4X there is a small final to determine 5th to 8th positions and to award the final step of the 5 rider podium.
In the small final, Scott took gate 2 to give himself a bit more space. He made a great start and rode his best lap of the day, taking the win, 5th on the day and the final step on the podium.
‘Today has been great. It’s been a long winter and it feels great to get started with 2023 4X season. Although I didn’t take the win today, there are a lot of positives to take away. My track speed was really good, and it has been a good start to the year. It was awesome to see so many riders racing 4X in the UK and I’m excited to celebrate 20 years of British 4X all year’ Said Scott at the finish line.
The podiums were held immediately after the finals.
Round 2 will take place at Fly Up 417 in Gloucestershire on Sunday May 7th. See you all there.
Thank you to all our partners for the 2023 season. It’s going to be a great year.
Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2023 British BMX Series took place at Cyclopark in Kent. An incredible facility for BMX, road cycling, cyclocross, XC and a great skatepark too.
We arrived on Friday afternoon, parked the motorhome, set the team tent up and then it was a couple of official practice sessions. The weather was awful. Cyclopark had transformed into Cyclone-Park. However the show must go on and with a better forecast for the weekend, the team decided to utilise the Friday session to get used to the flow of the track. With a strong cross wind the session was simply about pumping around the track to lock in where the jumps were and look at some lines.
After practice our photographer Charles Robertson took some great images of our 2023 ICE race bike.
Saturday: Round 1
Saturday morning rolled around and it was time to get the 2023 show on the road. The weather was much better. Cloudy but no rain and less wind.
In BMX riders have 3 qualifying races – called motos which qualify riders through to the knockout stages of quarter finals, semi finals and then the final.
Scott’s day got off to a good start, finishing 3rd in moto 1. His speed was good but his outside gate made it tough. In the second race he finished 4th after holding 2nd all the way to the finish line where he was pipped by 2 other riders. In his final moto he took a good 2nd and really looked good.
Qualifying through to the final, and with 3rd pick, Scott took gate 6. He wanted some space to simply focus on his first straight and not bang bars with the others in to turn 1. The gambled worked perfectly. Making a great start Scott powered down the start, just a fraction behind the leader. In a battle into turn 1, Scott managed to get all the way over and slot into 2nd. He tailed the leader all the way and as he closed on the final straight, the rider in 3rd also drafted Scott. Crossing the line it was a photo finish for 2nd – Scott taking it by 0.004 of a second!
“I am stoked with that race. I gave it my all and finishing 2nd in a close race like that is a great result to start the season. I have had a great day and it’s amazing to be racing in Cyclopark again” said Scott in the finish area.
Sunday: Round 2
After some great food on Saturday night and a decent sleep, it was time for round 2.
In the motos, Scott looked on fire. He finished 2nd, 1st and 2nd in his motos and was able to progress to the final with the 2nd choice of gate.
After the motos Scott decided that he would change gearing, dropping from a 44-16 to a 43-16. Just to try and get a better jump out of the start and get across to the inside.
In the final, Scott took another huge gamble and chose gate 5. The theory was that the riders had been bumping and banging all weekend and this would give him a clean run around the outside. He made a great start and rocketed down the start straight. Level into turn 1. Scott hustled and got himself into 3rd. Another solid lap and he crossed the line in 3rd.
“That was a tough day, but again, I’m really happy with my riding. Finishing 2nd yesterday and 3rd today lands me 2nd overall in the points in the British BMX National series. We will now turn our attention towards the first 4X Nationals and ProTours of the year I am happy with how fast my legs are turning. There’s plenty to be happy about” said Scott after the final.
The team now has to turn everything around in 4 days as we prepare for the first British Cycling 4X National event of the year at Chicksands in Bedfordshire this weekend – Sunday April 9th.
Many thanks to all our team partners for your support.
On Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd September, Scott Beaumont lined up on the gate in Val Di Sole, Italy for the 2022 4X ProTour finals.
The track in Val Di Sole, as always, was immaculate. The separation that the team there had done on the track was incredible and we were excited to get out there.
Riding as well as he ever has, fresh off the back of taking the win at the Malverns Classic Dual Slalom a week earlier, Scott was here to win.
The week started with a drive over to Italy in the Dethleffs team truck. Arriving on Monday, the team set up the team area and then went to check out the track. With a few great changes, it looked amazing and Scott was excited tfor practice to start on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the organisers asked Scott and a few others to test the track ahead of official practice on Thursday. Fresh floodlights had been placed on the track so lighting needed to be tested ahead of the event starting. The track was riding brilliant. The best it has ever been. Scott hit all the jumps and looked extremely comfortable out there.
Thursday rolled around and it was qualifying day. A different format at this race would see riders doing 2 qualifying runs. The first run would qualify riders to to round 6 on Friday evening, and the second run would qualify riders to round 7 on Saturday night. Currently ranked number 2 in the 4X ProTour World Rankings, Scott was the penultimate rider to start his single lap of the track. 4X is a brutal sport. Just a single lap determines the top 32 riders to qualify. If you crash, make a mistake or have a technical problem, your race is over before it has even started. It is a pressure cooker for the riders.
Scott was focused and as he left the start looked on point. He looked perfect on track – as good as he ever has. Fast, smooth and precise. Crossing the finish line, he took over the hot seat with the fastest time. With just Tomas Slavik to go, Scott was assured of at least 2nd in qualifying. Slavik put down an awesome lap…..but it wasn’t good enough. For the first time this year, Scott took the fastest time and qualified for Friday nights Round 6 in P1.
There was no time to celebrate though. It was back up to the top for his second run to qualify for round 7. Incredibly, Scott rode an almost identical lap – 18 thousandths of a second slower than his first run. It was good enough for 3rd in qualifying for Saturday night and the 4X ProTour finals – round 7.
Friday Night – 4X ProTour Round 6:
It was time to start racing on Friday night. With thousands of fans rolling into the venue to watch the 4X, the sun set, floodlights came on and everything was ready.
After the first hour of practice Scott had his lines dialled. Passing places, and race plans were set. It was go time.
Scott lined up for his first round on gate 1. He made a perfect start and led the race from start to finish. It was a great start to the evening. Onto the quarter final and again he had gate 1. He made it work perfectly and took the lead into turn 1 – again leading from start to finish.
In the semi final, Scott again took gate 1. He made a great start and led into turn 1. As he drifted out and started to exit the turn another rider took the chance and dived inside. He made it infant of Scott and through came another rider too. Scott in the chaos found himself in 3rd. He regrouped and started closing in. Heading into the lower rock section he set up a passing chance only to have the line cut off by the rider in front. He lost too much speed and unfortunately went out in 3rd position.
All was not over though as the final step of the podium was still there to be won in the small final.
It was at this point that the evening took an awful twist. In the women small final, Czech Republic rider Anna Slancova had an awful crash. Up at the start gate we all knew it was bad. The medics were immediately with her to give on site treatment. It soon became apparent that the injuries sustained were very serious and an air ambulance was on route.
The remaining riders in the women’s final, men’s small final and men’s final were all called together by Scott. Scott is also the 4X ProTour organiser…..
The riders were informed about the seriousness of the crash and the immediate diagnosis of potential injuries that had been sustained. The riders voted 12-0 to immediately stop racing as our thoughts were completely with Anna.
The race was immediately halted and results were declared using qualification times within the final that riders had reached. With the fastest qualifying time and being in the small final, this placed Scott 5th – purely for the record.
On nights like this, bicycle racing does not matter. All our thoughts, prayers and hearts were with Anna. She was flown to Trento hospital and underwent a 10 hour operation throughout the night. In due course, I am happy to update any of you who want to know more information. Please just ask.
On Saturday morning, all riders who had made the men’s and women’s finals voted again 12-0 to donate all the prize money from Friday night to Anna and her family to help with their costs in the coming weeks. Thank you to Val Di Sole organisers for agreeing to this and facilitating the payment in the next few days.
Saturday night – round 7:
So. After one of the worst race nights ever, a line had to be drawn underneath the events of Friday evening and the show continued on Saturday night with the 4X ProTour finals – round 7. As mentioned earlier Scott had qualified in 3rd and was confident heading into racing.
In the first round he rode an awesome lap. Faultless and took a great win. Into the quarter finals, again he nailed it and took another win to move forward to the semi final.
In the semi final he was up against downhill rider Matt Walker who had qualified 2nd and chose gate 1. Scott was in 2. Erik Emerich in 3 and Leonard Hermes in 4. The gate dropped and Scott had the holeshot. But…. in turn 1 Walker used his downhill skills and cut hard inside to cut Scott off. Through went Walker and Emerich. Scott was off track and scrambling to get going again. He set off in pursuit. It wasn’t enough though. He got onto the back wheel but couldn’t make the pass. Scott finished 3rd and was frustrated. It was so close, but it was into the small final to work out 5th to 8th places.
Wanting to end the year on a high, Scott took the small final by the scruff of its neck and absolutely smashed it. Perfect gate, perfect lap and took the win by a huge margin. It was a brilliant way to end the series. He finished 5th and was content.
“This has been one of the hardest weekends ever for 4X ProTour riders. It was important tonight to draw a line under last night and give the fans a great show tonight. We did that.
I wanted to win. I just left too much space in turn 1 and that’s all he needed in the semi final. Today has been the best I have felt on the bike ever. The set up is perfect and I was fast today. I’m happy to be on the podium and I am stoked to finish the year in 2nd overall. 2nd in the World. I’ve only just remembered. Yesssss. I’m stoked. Thank you to everyone who has supported me this year.”
Emotions were clearly all over the place in the finish area, but yes as Scott mentioned, this result was enough to secure 2nd overall in the 4X ProTour for Scott. He deserved it. He has ridden amazing all year and we are proud of what he has achieved.
We will be looking towards 2023 and taking that number 1 position in the coming days, but for now it’s time to celebrate an incredible season. Scott Beaumont. World number 2. Absolutely brilliant.
Finally we want to thank all out team partners and sponsors. Without you this incredible performance would not have been possible. We have the best sponsors and an incredible presence at the events.
We are forever thankful for the opportunities you give us and want to sincerely thank you all.
Last weekend we attended Britains biggest mountain bike festival – The Malverns Classic. Scott has been attending this event since he began his mountain bike career in 1996! He has had some incredible results here over the years and it’s always exciting to be racing in front of fans who don’t necessarily attend many other races during the year!
The team arrived on Thursday to set up their team area ahead of the crowds arriving later that day. The Surf and Turf team tents looked amazing as always! Scott had a look at the dual slalom track ahead of the event on Friday.
Friday morning arrived and it was a full day of dual slalom. Practice in the morning, qualifying after lunch and then the racing later in the day.
This track is a proper old school slalom track. Poles on a grass field. Really simple. The track flowed really well and the riders were having plenty of fun.
Qualifying and it was the classic, one lap, no crap. Qualifying was done on the red lane and there was no room for mistakes. The top 32 would qualify to the racing and with only a couple of seconds separating the top 32, errors would be punished!
Scott put together a great lap. Cautious where he needed to be and fast in the flowing corners. It was good enough for 2nd position. Scott and the team were really happy with that and we headed back to the team tent to prep the race bikes.
Onto the racing. Scott was able to win his opening couple of rounds and was looking confident and in the mood for racing! In the quarter finals, things got interesting. The former Downhill World Cup Champion Josh Bryceland was the opponent.
Scott made a great start and was pushing very hard. He was in the lead when Josh pushed too hard and crashed out. In dual slalom this means a maximum time penalty of 2 seconds is applied for the second run. In the second run, Scott again pushed where he could and held the lead all the way down. It was a great win and he moved on to the semi finals.
In the semi finals it was slopestyle superstar Sam Reynolds as the opponent. Sam was 3rd fastest in qualifying so it was going to be a tough fight.
Scott used the same tactics again. He made a great start and took the lead. In the final turn Sam was trying to catch up and pushed too hard – crashing out. So again, Scott had a 2 second advantage into the second run. In the second run he again held the lead and controlled the race to take the win.
Final time!
In the final, Scott was up against the fastest qualifier Will Soffe – MBUK bike tester. Although Will isn’t a pro rider, he rides bikes every day and is easily as fast as most pro riders in the UK. In run 1 Scott was on the slower blue lane. He made a great start and put together an awesome lap – the fastest on the blue lane all day. Although he took 2nd in the run, it was only 0.135 behind. Knowing he had the faster red lane for the final run, he was extremely confident.
In the second run he absolutely laid down his best lap of the day. Stormed to the win by over a second and became the 2022 Malverns Classic Dual Slalom Champion.
In the finish area Scott said:
“That was a tough day! I’ve had so much fun racing today. Simple track and literally full concentration to keep the wheels in line. I felt fast all day and I’m really happy to take the win. I’ve had some tough rounds of racing to make it to the final – racing World Cup DH Champions, Slopestyle Champions and everyone in between!
I’m buzzing. Now it’s off to Val DI Sole for 4X ProTour finals.”
As Scott mentioned, we had to leave the Malverns Festival on Friday night as we headed straight to Italy for the final 2 rounds of 4X ProTour – the World Series of 4X. Scott is currently sat in 2nd and he is looking to secure 2nd overall in the World for 2022.
Lets see what happens.
Round 6 is on Friday night. Round 7 is on Saturday night.
Update on Monday next week or follow Scott’s social media for updates – @beaumontracing on all platforms.
Thank you to all our team partners for your support in 2022.
