Leanachan Round 3 07/08 Winter League
The third round of the Off Beat Bike sponsored Winter League took place at Leanachan forest. A huge turnout of over 50 riders enjoyed a cold and crisp course, starting from Nevis Range car park and heading out to the River Cour. The return route included some spectacular views of the back corries of Aonach Mor. An in-form Donald Paterson decimated the field to come in first by over a minute. Joe Barnes captured some notorious scalps to finish a clear second whereas Jamie Maxwell just pipped Graeme Neagle to the line for third. Tom Smith, unbeaten so far in the Series, decided to crank up some novel technical skills and ended up with a face full of bracken and fifth place. Nix Forster returned to competitive racing to take the ladies race from Colleen Foggo and Megan Mowbray. The short course route was won by Fraser Coupland, suffering from a rare strain of HN51 bird flu, with a promising run from Lewis Bigham in second place.
There were some close fought races lower down the field with only seconds between friendly rivals. John Maitland was particularly pleased to fight off a perspiring Graham Brooks. Mike Thouless needed all his bike-handling skills to sneak past Stephen Cant on the run to the line.
To highlight the mix of participants, special mention must go to the Gunn and Mills families who all completed their courses with big smiles and cheery grins (even if Dad’s were with gritted teeth).
1. Donald Paterson 46:01
2. Joe Barnes 47:13
3. Jamie Maxwell 47:28
4. Graeme Neagle 47:30
5. Tom Smith 47:55
6. Jamie Cameron 49:16
7. James Shirley 50:05
8. Gregor Muir 50:12
9. Tim Brand 50:42
10. Spook Munro 52:21
11. Hendry McNichol 52:37
12. Andrew Foggo 52:38
13. Mike Thouless 53:22
14. Stephen Cant 53:23
15. Alastair Maclennan 53:34
16. Fos 55:02
17. John Shirley 57:06
18. Davie Gunn 57:12
19. Kevin McIver 57:39
20. Colin Johnston 58:06
21. John Maitland 58:27
22. Graham Brooks 58:39
23. Nix Forster 59:42
24. Peter Martin 60:17
25. Colleen Foggo 60:35
26. Denis Barnes 61:27
27. Nigel Bailey 61:37
28. Keith Maclure 61:38
29. Megan Mowbray 61:50
30. Martin Macdonald 62:20
31. John Thompson 62:33
32. Allan Macpherson 63:06
33. Paul Mills 63:07
34. Robbie Fleming 63:17
35. Rory Stewart 63:33
36. Paul Farr 66:00
37. Brian Bigger 66:24
38. Marian Austin 66:37
39. Gavin Linfield 66:44
40. John Anderson 68:39
41. Lucy Haycock 69:06
42. Alison McNeillage 84:10
43. Ailsa Cant 88:58
44. Claire Treasurer 91:12
Short Course
1. Fraser Coupland 34:53
2. Lewis Bigham 43:58
3. Lyndsey McConnell 55:58
4. Erin Mills 56:21
5. Maggie Thompson 60:30
6. Ruaridh Mills 61:29
7. Rebekah Gunn 61:55
8. Gill Mills 62:58
9. Fiona Gunn 62:59