The Boulder Dash proved to be as popular as ever with crowds packing the short rock section of Nantmawr Quarry to witness the UKXC Magazine sponsored grand finale to the Tough One day.

Initially the course was planned to start at the top of the quarry edge and this would mean riders would have to race each other down to the rock section before weaving their way through the horrendous boulder field to reach the finish line in a trailer within five minutes for the £1000 prize fund.

In the interests of safety for both riders and spectators the organisers decided to shorten the course and cut the steep hill section but also make the race duration shorter by two minutes giving the top six Tough One finishers just three minutes to get to the money.

Both David Knight and Tom Sagar decided to sit this one out with the first round of the BEC looming large the following weekend. Dougie Lampkin’s third place Tough One finish put him to the top of the favourites list to take the Boulder Dash win.

Juan Knight upheld the family name by taking to the line alongside Lampkin, Rory Mead, Paul Bolton and Ben Hemingway and just to make up the numbers, Andy Cripps.

Crippsy and his antics are always popular with the crowd and the Boulder Dash is just the sort of stage the Mad Manc excels on.

His late arrival to the line bought a massive cheer from the crowd and plenty of friendly banter from his mates. Fortified with a swig of Stella, he was ready to go.
Pic: Chris Hudson

As the flag dropped Lampkin took the lead and bounced into the tight left-hander leading to the main rock strewn part of the course. Ben Hemingway and Paul Bolton battled close behind the 12 times World trials champion with Crippsy and Rory Mead in pursuit.

Lampkin lined up the difficult mid-course ‘stopper’ and launched the Beta at it, popping out and steadying himself for the next assault on a treacherous smaller rock section with the huge crowd roaring him onwards.

Bolton took a slightly different line and managed to jam the front wheel of his Eurotek KTM in a small, narrow gully between two rocks where he stayed for quite some time as fellow Eurotek KTM rider Ben Hemingway overtook, following Lampkin’s line. With no help allowed, Bolton was on his own but was encouraged at maximum volume by Martin Craven yelling in his ear.

Lampkin charged on and took the win in 2 minutes 38 seconds, well inside the permitted 3 minute mark, much to Steve Ireland’s disappointment having to hand over a fistful of £20 notes, as Cripps and Mead overtook the stalled Bolton.

Hemingway pushed and pulled himself to second place as Cripps regained his composure, if he ever had any to begin with, and bumped to the finish line just ahead of Kiwi Mead. Cripps then proceeded to give a burn-out demonstration, much to the delight of the crowd.

The cash prize certainly lessened Lampkin’s disappointment at not winning the main event but the primary winners were the thousands of spectators lining this incredible course – all for a couple of minutes racing!
Pic: Andy Wiley