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Location: Penshurst Off Road Club, Viceroy's Wood, Grove Road, Kent
Event: 29 April 2012
The second round of the 2012 Schwalbe British Fourcross Series takes place this weekend at one of the most well known mountain bike venues in the UK - Penshurst Off Road Club.
After such a fantastic start to the series a few weeks ago at Leamington, the anticipation is building ahead of the riders lining up at the start and getting the racing underway on Sunday. Penshurst is one of the fastest tracks in the UK. High speed, nice jumps and big corners make it an exhilarating track for the riders and the track is situated in the middle of a valley, which makes it superb for spectators to view all the racing action.
Round 1 was full of action. In the elite men's, Tomas Slavik from Czech Republic flew over for the race to start his 2012 Fourcross season. He went unbeaten all day and took the win in front of the huge crowds. Slavik's appearance at round 1 really showed that the series is well regarded by international riders. Lewis Lacey pushed Slavik in the final along with Nathan Parssons and Scott Beaumont. Without a doubt, these three British riders will be fighting for the win this weekend at Penshurst.
Scott Roberts unfortunately had to miss round 1 due to injury so look out for him to be in the mix come finals time. Rookies Issac Mundy and Alex Metcalffe had great debuts in Leamington, and look for the start to Pat Campbell Jenner's 2012 campaign this weekend as well after work commitments in the USA kept him away from round 1. The elite class is amazing to watch at every event, not just for the speed, but for the unpredictability. The class has such depth now that it is great to see these guys battle for the win.
The women's class is also growing. Great numbers at round 1 led to semi-finals for the women. The 2011 junior women's downhill world champion, Manon Carpenter took the win ahead of BMX Olympic hopeful Charlotte Green with a rejuvenated Emily Horridge in third. Reigning series champion Suzanne Lacey was fourth and it looks like she will have a challenge in 2012 to retain her title.
Edward Jones, Matthew Jenkins, Dylan Grell Delsol, Elliot Thomson-Knight, Philip Evans, Gareth Parr, Simon Paton and Jordan Lunn were the other round 1 winners and they will all be looking to consolidate those wins with another one at round 2.
