Picturesque valley tests the riders' concentration

FAUXQUETS VALLEY may have been picturesque, but the riders' concentration was fixed firmly on the course for round two of the winter series. The interesting route included two stream crossings, a wooded section, a sharp climb and several fast descents.

First off were the club's junior riders. In their two-lap race, Jean-Pierre Payne and Alex Falla led the under-12 field, with the former pulling away at the end for a convincing win.

The younger riders raced over one lap, Marco Petralia just getting the edge over Michael Mann in the under-10s' race and George Payne finishing 25sec. ahead of Bradley Smith in the under-eights'.

There was a big turnout for the good-humoured sports category, with Bob Duquemin returning after an illness-enforced layoff.

A good start was essential as the large number of riders quickly hit a very narrow and twisting section through the campsite.

With the tents packed up for winter, there were no 'Carry on Camping' scenes but there was plenty of banter as riders pushed and shoved their way to the front.

After a while, the riders settled down as they dealt with the challenges of the course. The woods were difficult for many, as rocks and roots contrived to part rider from bike.

Fortunately, most came through unscathed and in the sports section Ben Walden beat his boss and veteran rider, Bob Duquemin, by 16sec.

The second sports rider was Jonny Dorey and second sports veteran Paul Setters. First woman home was Tina Coutanche, ahead of Helena Robinson, who benefited from the misfortune of Sonya Dean, whose bike suffered a spectacular burst tyre.

In the same race, the under-16 category was won by Ryan Langlois narrowly ahead of the determined Nathan Baudains.

The under-14 winner was the technically-competent James Mapley followed by an improving James Cameron.

The last race was for the senior riders, the group comprising the advanced and several Island Games hopefuls in the expert categories.

Their cheerful dem-eanour was soon banished when they learned they had to ride eight and 10 laps respectively.

As usual, the experts showed their blistering pace from the off. Mike Serafin was the strongest rider and quickly pulled ahead of a group of four - James Roe, Jack Sunderland, John Mapley and Andy Colver.

Serafin stayed ahead throughout, slowing only at the end as his gears had become clogged with stray barrier tape.

The four chasing riders split up, with Roe and Sunderland finishing second and third.

Starting a minute later, the advanced category was dominated by Dan Thwaite with a display of controlled riding.

Byron McClean got bogged down with a slower bunch but stepped up a gear to finish in a convincing second place, one minute ahead of Matt Osborn.

The first-placed veteran rider in the advanced category was Pierre Paul, who used the younger ones to good advantage to finish two minutes up on second veteran, Shaun Mosely.

The next race is on Sunday at Les Norgiots, St Andrew's.