THERE was a hush, a furious rush and then a tantalising tactical battle in the mountain bike criterium and in the end it was settled by the finishing power of Jersey’s Rhys Hidrio.
Guernsey’s James Roe and teammate Bradley Vaudin claimed silver and bronze, while the team gold was also secured by the home riders. Jersey won team silver.
The leading trio had established themselves early on the twists, turns and climbs at Delancey Park, with a tricky wind thrown into the mix.
Each took time at the front trying to make the decisive move, with the Guernsey pair working together to try and make a difference.
They came off the final jump locked together, but the power Hidrio put out in the final 200m was decisive.
‘I didn’t want to leave it that late, but they had a really strong race today. They worked really well together and I had to really fight for that one,’ said Hidrio.
He tried to break the pair a few times earlier in the race, but they stuck on his wheel.
‘It was a tough course and with the flat grass bits and the headwinds, they were able to play the tactics a little bit and keep me there,’ the Jerseyman said.
Free elbows were needed as they fought for space on the corners, but off the course the trio are all good friends having competed on the UK scene together.
Hidrio went into the race as favourite, but Guernsey had the numbers.
‘He was probably a league above us, to be perfectly honest,’ said Roe. ‘We tried a couple of times to play games and get one of us away but, realistically, we were probably doing ourselves over more than we were hurting him.’
Roe praised Vaudin for the work he did on the front.
‘Having done a few of these, it’s better to get a team gold than an individual, being with your teammates on the podium is much better than being up there by yourself.
‘I gave it my all and it wasn’t quite enough. I did the best race I could on the day. Obviously, you’re disappointed when you’re so close to winning but if you’d offered me a silver medal a few weeks back I would have taken it.’
The longer cross-country at L’Ancresse takes place tomorrow, where the trio will again be battling it out.
In the individual women’s race, there was a comfortable victory for Menorca’s Nuria Pico ahead of Western Isles’ Kerry MacPhee.
The battle for individual bronze went deep into the race between Jersey’s Emily Bridson and Isle of Man’s Kirree Quayle.
A decisive moment came when the Western Isles rider fell on a climb, causing Bridson to dismount to give her space and run.
That left Quayle on her back wheel and eventually she surged past for the final podium spot.
Having just finished her university course, Bridson had managed to complete only one cross-country race before the criterium.
‘I had no idea where my form was coming into it. So I decided to take the pressure off, do my best on the day and have no expectation,’ she said.
‘I know Kirree quite well. We’ve been racing together for quite a few years. I have so much respect for her, so to even be on her wheel was a nice feeling. I wished it was for silver and bronze or gold and silver rather than bronze and fourth. But it was nice to be in contention for it. It definitely gives me a bit of grit and drive for Thursday, that’s for sure.’
