After an up and down start to the year, Scott Beaumont arrived in Fort William feeling strong and back to full fitness. Round 1 of the 2019 4X ProTour was back in Scotland and thankfully Scott was ready to race.
After signing on, Scott picked up his number plate and all systems were go. Scott was seeded as World number 2 at this race on the recent UCI World rankings and would therefore qualify with the number 66 plate.
The first practice session was held on Thursday under terrible conditions. Heavy rain all day made it horrible outside but actually made the race track fantastic. The sandy nature of the track meant that there was plenty of grip and Scott made the most of this 1.5 hour session dialling his lines ready for qualifying on Friday.
On Friday the weather improved and it was time to qualify. Scott had worked on the fastest line down the hill during practice and he was all set to set a qualifying time.
Qualifying is very simple. One lap, no crap. There is just one chance to qualify in the top 32 riders. A mistake, crash or mechanical and its time to go home.
In the gate, Scott looked calm and focused. The gate dropped and Scott fired down the long first straight. Hitting all his lines and putting together a good run, Scott crossed the finish line with a time that would give him 4th position for the session – 0.4 seconds behind the fastest time.
“Yes I’m happy with that. I had a good run and hit all my marks. The real day is tomorrow and we will be ready to race” said Scott in the finish area.
Race day arrived and thankfully the sun was out. The track dried and conditions were perfect.
During the day Scott did interviews with BBC as well as in front of the huge Fort William crowd ahead of the finals. After a short practice session, the scene was set and it was time to race.
Round 1. Scott chose the inside gate, made a great start and took a commanding lead to win the race, leading from start to finish.
Quarter Final. In the quarter final, Scott again opted for gate 1. Making a trademark explosive gate, Scott again took the win easily, leading the race from start to finish and opening up a good lead by the finish line.
In the Semi Final, Scott would face his biggest rival, fastest qualifier, Czech Republic rider Tomas Slavik. Slavik chose gate 2. Feeling good with his gate, Scott decided on gate 3 to try and drag race him on the first straight. The gate dropped and Scott made a flier. The two riders went bar to bar on the first straight both ending into the lead at different parts of the first straight. Entering the first turn level, Slavik took the advantage from being inside. Scott settled into second and looked very comfortable.
Exiting the last turn, Scott got an amazing drive and overtook Slavik across the finish line to take the win and book displace in the final as the only unbeaten rider all day.
Final time. In the final Scott had third pick of the gate and he elected to go for gate four. Giving himself space to get a good drive and fast wide line in turn one.
The commentator had the crowd going wild. All chanting my name, blowing air horns, revving chainsaws and blowing whistles. It was an electric atmosphere.
As the beeps went Scott missed the jump by a fraction and entered turn one wide in fourth. He carried lots of speed and was close to the front guys when disaster happened in turn two with one of the riders crashing out. Scott had to swerve around him and then set off in chase again.
Sat in third, Scott gained on second but across the finish line he could not get there.
Taking third, Scott was content:
“If you had said to me six weeks ago that I would have finished third here I would not have believed you. I can’t thank Core Clinics enough for the help they have given me in getting back to full fitness.
This has been a great start for the team in the 2019 4X ProTour and we can definitely build on this going forwards.
Our next race will be the Malverns festival in two weeks time where Scott will be racing Dual Slalom, Quad Eliminator and Downhill over the three day festival weekend.
On Sunday it was time to get back on the 4X bike and begin the defence of Scott’s National Series 4X title at 417 bike park in Gloucestershire.
One of Scott’s favourite tracks, it flows well, is lots of fun and is relatively easy so again would provide a great chance for Scott to continue his recovery.
Scott’s practice went really well and he certainly looked fast on the track.
Moving into his 3 qualifying races, Scott took the win in his first 2 rides with a 2nd in his final race. This qualified him into the semi final.
In the semi final Scott took gate 2 so that he had a bit of space into turn 1.
The gate dropped and Scott made his best gate of the day so far. Leading into turn 1 he took off and led the race from start to finish.
A great confidence booster, Scott was feeling great heading into the final.
In the final, Scott lined up on gate 2 again. The traffic lights lit and Scott made his best gate of the day. Leading into turn 1, again just like the semi final, Scott checked out. It was a flawless final and an impressive win.
Clearly very happy with the win, Scott told us in the finish area:
“It’s been a tough 7 weeks but to come back and win this 4X race is amazing. I have to thank Stefaan Vossen at Core Clinics, Brian Simpson laser treatment and all the staff at Worcester hospital. They have fixed me up in half the time it should have taken and so now we are heading to Fort William 4X ProTour ready to fight for the World title.
The race today was great. I felt good on the bike and I am very happy to have won the final. The level of the elite class is so high and winning is extremely hard.
It’s back home now to train and focus on Fort William.”
As Scott mentioned in his post race interview, our next event is Fort William where Scott will begin his 2019 4X ProTour campaign.
We are home now and training hard in preparation for this huge event.
As ever, we want to thank you all for your support in 2019. We could not do this without you.
See you at the Fort.
USN Racing.
It was an extremely busy weekend for Scott Beaumont as his comeback from injury continues.
On Saturday we raced the 5th round of the HSBC British BMX Series and on Sunday we raced the 3rd round of the HSBC/Schwalbe British 4X Series.
HSBC British BMX Series Round 5 – Birmingham
So just 7 weeks on from breaking his left radius, Scott was back on the BMX bike in his preparations for the World Championships in Belgium at the end of July.
Practice went well and Scott was looking like he hadn’t been away. Scott did have a little pain in his arm, but that is to be expected at this stage of the recovery.
Scott rode well in his motos with a 4th, 2nd and 1st place rides to qualify for the semi final.
In the semi final Scott made a good start and tucked into 2nd position. He held on to the finish line and made it into the final.
The final is still being talked about today and we will be able to show you in our team edit mid week.
Scott made a good start and got to the first turn in 2nd. He then dived inside to try and take the lead. On the exit of the turn he sat in 2nd and carried good speed on the second straight. Into the second tun Scott was being held out wide, which allowed another rider up the inside. Scott hit the brakes and dived to the inside of the turn. On the exit Scott took the lead and was on course to take the win but in the final turn another rider dived inside moving Scott to the outside.
Scott lost momentum and unfortunately faded to 4th on the last straight. It was a real case of close but no cigar, but another good step on the road to recovery from his arm injury.
