The Red Bull Downforce urban downhilling competition came to Swansea this Sunday, with 32 national and local riders battling it out on the streets of Swansea.
The course ran across grass and mud, down steps and through winding chicanes before dropping into the city centre down the steep paving of Clifton Hill and sweeping round towards the final table top jump (added presumably both to make the last flat stretch a little more interesting to ride and to give people something to watch). The website for the event opened up to local riders, and as a result the field was a strange mix of fully kitted-out professional cyclists and Swansea boys in jeans and teeshirts, with helmets added almost as an afterthought. Swansea’s not that much of a cycling city, so I was surprised at the turnout of spectators. Most of the course was lined by - and sometimes covered - people braving the rain to watch. Despite the rain and wet streets, there seemed to be surprisingly few crashes. That said, the course was more technical than fast, with the few long straights well supplied with berms and crash mats.
Following the ‘super-final’ of the eight fastest riders, the trophy was taken by Welsh professional Rowan Sorrell, with second and third going to Michael Thickens and Nikki Whiles.
Redbull's thoughts and results here.
T
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