Smart edges clear to win at Chouet

ISLAND GAMES teammates Rob Smart and Josh Gosselin battled it out for the elite honours in round three of the Guernsey Velo Club's Ian Brown and Arrowsmith Marlowe Cross-Country Series.

And it was the more experienced Smart who came out on top at an intriguing Chouet course. Much of it had to be changed from that which the riders had come to expect due to the large number of rocks that had washed onto the paths during the winter storms, which had made many of the usual sections non-negotiable.

The new course featured a long section of road, technical rocky sections, fast coastal path and a winding wooded section. It proved to be popular among the riders. With the sun out for the later starters, a fast and frantic start along the road was headed by road cyclist Stuart Le Tissier, although he was soon over-taken by Smart and Gosselin when the riders hit the tight technical sections.