London Phoenix rider Alex CHRISTIANS proved himself to be master of MTB, Track AND Road this weekend with a brilliant win at the Cat 4 race at Hog Hill. Having achieved a top twenty place before Christmas at the hugely popular and closely fought Cat & Bec Hill Climbs, there were few who doubted Alex’s ability to tame the much-hyped Hoggenburg. And so it was. He said of his first competitive road race:

“The first few laps were fairly uneventful. Soon though it became clear the wind was going to cause a few problems, particularly on the climb out of the top part of the circuit. Sure enough, the field soon splintered, and a group of 20 or so formed at the front out of the original 32, with more riders being dropped by the minute. There were a few half-attempts to attack on the ‘Berg’, but I got the feeling these were just testing the legs (and the field). Anyway, I made sure I was near the front on each ascent, and I felt pretty comfortable.”

As the race unfolded only one other rider was able to match Alex’s pace on the Hoggenburg with any consistency – Ian Gentry (VC Baracchi) – but by the last lap this had all proved too much. While Alex calmly dealt with an attempted break at the foot of the ‘Berg, and then powered his way through to the top and a convincing win several bike lengths clear of the next rider, Gentry was left nursing his wounds at the back of the group wondering what had gone wrong.

So congratulations to Alex, who now joins Robert Moore (winner at Hillingdon) and Matthew Harper as the third Phoenix rider to have gained a 3rd Cat licence in 2009.

A full account of the race can be found on Alex’s blog – Overbiked, and thanks to Taka Wu for the photo. To find out more about racing with us, simply get in touch.