Wednesday May 4, 2016 at 1:03pm
Under much brighter and drier skies compared to yesterday, yet still amidst wintery weather at times, the second day of the 2016 Scottish Six Days Trial (SSDT) saw defending champion Dougie Lampkin - Vertigo move to the top of the leader board thanks to his faultless display through Tuesday's full array of thirty sections.
Hampered by his early starting number on Monday, Dougie took full advantage of his late riding position today - this being due to the usual daily group rotation process - as he made light work of the almost one-hundred-mile route that included several new groups of hazards in his bid to win the SSDT for an historic tenth time.
Overnight leader Joe Baker - Sherco maintained his challenge at the upper end of the results thanks to another consistent showing and now sits third overall just two marks behind Lampkin going into Wednesday. Michael Brown - Gas Gas retains second position having parted with six marks today in what is a very congested leading pack. In fact, very little continues to separate several of the top placings with Baker sharing a total of ten marks with both Alexz Wigg - Gas Gas and Gary MacDonald - Scorpa, as a mere two marks splits the first five riders.
Centenary SSDT winner James Dabill - Vertigo lost slight ground to his main rivals as he dropped seven marks today and slipped one position to sixth overall. Welsh teenager Iwan Roberts - Beta was the big loser of the day as an unfortunate machine problem halted his assault. SSDT stalwarts Dan Thorpe - Gas Gas and James Lampkin - Beta remain in the hunt for major honours and are currently divided by Suffolk's Jack Sheppard - Beta as this trio occupy seventh, eighth and ninth positions respectively. Declan Bullock - Beta is the last man inside the top ten heading into day three, with all the leading protagonists being fully aware that one mistake may cost them several places.
Young Tom Hooper - Sherco has moved up to twenty-fifth spot overall to further reinforce himself as the best newcomer, but currently he only enjoys a four mark margin over Dan Peace - Gas Gas who remains a real threat to win this award. In contrast, whilst having fallen ten places down the overall order Emma Bristow - Sherco remains the best female rider in this year's SSDT with a good lead over her nearest challenger Katy Sunter - Gas Gas. Gary MacDonald and Dougie Lampkin, not surprisingly, continue to top the categories for best Scottish rider and best competitor over 40 respectively.
By the time the remaining riders complete tomorrow's seventy-five mile route they will have reached the halfway point in this year's SSDT and can then focus on the three final days that separate them from the finish. However, Wednesday should not be under estimated, as whilst the sections may be more familiar than today there is a lot of tough going that is bound to test the tiring bodies and machines.
Daily spectator routes / maps and a full rider entry list can be found in the official SSDT Programme - now on sale at various local outlets in the Fort William area.
To find out more about the Scottish Six Days Trial, please visit the official website at www.ssdt.org.