By Isle of Wight Observer
Young rider, Finley Manser-Grundy, travelled to the Malvern Hills, with his family over the bank holiday weekend, to compete in the Malverns Classic Bike Festival which consisted of three races.
First up was the cross-country race, a flat course along single tracks around the lakes within the country park. Unfortunately, Finley got caught in a tangle at the start and crashed off the start line, meaning he was the last rider into the first corner. He worked hard and managed to build in momentum and, as the field spread out, he got into a rhythm. Finley rode from 13th to 4th overall in the under-8s, and won the under-6s.
Next up was the dual slalom, a technical descent with high-speed corners. All riders had one race to seed them, then the fastest rider went into head-to-head races.
Finley managed to get the second fastest time of the day in seeding – just 0.30 of a second off the fastest. He had a good final, but just missed out on first to a good friend.
The last race was the downhill race, a race against the clock on your own. Finlay pedalled every section he could, whilst making sure he stayed on his bike in the wet, grassy corners. He safely got down the hill and finished second, missing out on the win by just one second.