By Isle of Wight Observer
After a difficult year, Simon Ernest was keen to get back into racing and targeted the first round of the Gorrick Autumn Series, a competitive regional mountain bike race in Farnborough.
Competing in the Grand Vet category, Simon secured a second-row grid spot, and needed a good start to avoid the inevitable bottlenecks, as riders hit the single track.
From the gun, he was caught behind slower riders and, due to the tight, technical trails with limited passing, he could only watch as the top five riders distanced. Over the first lap he was able to pick off several riders and moved into 5th position. Having run out of time to catch the others, he finished 4s behind the 4th-placed rider. He said: “I was happy with my race, and have some clear areas to work on in training ahead of the next race in November, where a podium has got to be my objective.”
