A quick taster of what to expect up at Lossie this weekend By Derek Little
The Clerk of the Course (Kevin GauId) and myself were in Lossie forest at the weekend setting the times for the event and putting the finishing touches on the XC special test. The forest is now in pretty good condition after the extended winter that brought about the postponement from the original date, however there are some areas of the forest where there is still extensive flooding. The course routing will be similar to the 2008 event, however new tracks have been added in and diversions for the flooding made.
All classes will be riding two laps on Saturday, with the Championship riders getting a third lap. As in the 2006 event, all classes (except Sportsmen) will have two back to back special tests at Woodside, providing a suitable spectacle for riders and spectators. It is expected that Sundays time allowance and number of laps will be the same as on Saturday.
The Lossie forest course will be around 18 miles long, with four checkpoints and one XC test. Times will be generous on the first lap for all classes, however, as is traditional at Lossie, the times will tighten up to become “challenging” for the best riders in each class. The XC test is approximately 8 mins long and will unfortunately no longer feature the beach blast, as this area is restricted during the spring and summer months due to nesting wildlife. However new tracks have been added in to many areas of the test making it a fast, flowing and exciting test for the riders. The tests will be available for viewing from 12 noon on Friday 7th May. Can we remind everyone that it is a condition of our permission to use the forest that there is no access for spectators to Lossie forest during event days, only for riders and officials.
After the unprecedented weather at Easter we are hoping to welcome riders with more pleasant weather this time around, and thank all the riders and helpers for making to long trip up north to our event.