Event Details
![](https://www.bmbo.org.uk/images/event/1b0a3ddaf3b94fc5443a15c2e0b01258.jpg)
Club: | SLOW MBO |
Event Name: | BMBO National Champs Sat Day 1 - Holmbury St. Mary |
Date: | 08/07/23 |
Format: | MBO Score |
Mapping: | Ordnance Survey |
Time Limit: | 5 hours |
National League: | - |
League: | SLOW MBO Score Series 2023 (Round 4 of 6) |
Electronic Punch: | No |
Event Report
Day 1 of the MTBO National Championships was a 5 hour Score event based in Holmbury St Mary, in the Surrey Hills AONB. The map covered an area from Leith Hill, the highest point in Southeast England up to the ridge of the North Downs and beyond. In previous days the weather had been good and the trails were pretty dry, although some were becoming somewhat overgrown with nettles and brambles! The course had been set to give the fastest riders a real challenge, using the modest elevation of the Surrey Hills (compared to previous Championships in Wales and the Peak District) to try to make an unclearable course.
The riders started and went off in various directions and soon the village hall was empty .. the weather was warm but muggy and it soon started raining and thunder was heard. After a lightning flash overhead and a particularly loud thunderclap, a frightened dog shot past me into the hall, leaving dirty footprints just where I had left a sign requesting that muddy shoes should be removed before entering!
When the riders returned there were tales of soggy maps, lost control sheets and being unable to see through rain-covered glasses, but still, to the planner's surprise, Tom Gibbs had managed to visit 37 (out of 40) controls, just dropping 40 from a maximum score of 1130. With a time penalty, he scored 1060 despite having a puncture which cost him 15 minutes. Tom Davies was not far behind with 1037 and Nuno Cerqueira came in third with 926, having failed to spot the 50 point control in the top corner of the map. Claire Riley was the first female with 680 followed by Angela Brand-Barker and Isabel Boyd, both on 570. Ian Cartwright was the first Veteran with 829, suffering a one point penalty for being 3 seconds late. If only my time keeping was that accurate ....