USN Racing – 4X ProTour Round 4 – Jablonec, Czech Republic
Scott Beaumont
Qualifying – 10th
Race – 13th
The fourth and final round of the 2017 4X ProTour took place in Jablonec, Czech Republic at the weekend. After a strong season, Scott Beaumont was looking to maintain a top 5 overall position at this final round.
Historically this track hasn’t been the best for Scott with inconsistent results over the years. He was looking to maintain his good form to finally get the result he wants at JBC bikepark.
The track is in rival, Tomas Slavik’s hometown of Jablonec in northern Czech Republic. It is the toughest track on the circuit with the biggest jumps, forest section, rocks, wall rides and rhythm sections. It has it all and it is also the longest track so it is extremely physical.
Prcatice got underway on Thursday. Scott got most of the track dialed, but was struggling with the strong cross winds on the two big double jumps. Deciding to leave them for Friday’s session, he got the rest of it dialed.
After practice, the top 10 riders were introduced to the town mayor in the opening ceremony with fireworks and interviews. It was great to see the riders being given the star treatment!
On Friday the wind had died down and Scott on his very first lap jumped the two big doubles – each of them over 50 feet in length! It was an impressive start to his practice session. For the rest of the session he tried to dial in the woods and rocks.
The weather was dry for qualifying making the track super-fast and dusty. The sun was shining and the track was absolutely perfect.
Scott was second to last rider down the hill. He rode a good lap, not perfect but it was ok and crossed the line in 10th position. He was happy as he was aiming for a top 10 qualifying so even though he just squeezed into the top 10 he felt good on the track.
“I made a great start and rode all the lines well. I was a little conservative in the woods and over the doubles due to the cross wind. It was a good run and I’m happy with a top 10 result” said Scott in the finish area.
Race day and waking up on Saturday morning the last thing anyone wanted was rain. But there it was. It rained until early afternoon and the track was turned to a slip and slide.
Opting to miss the start of practice Scott waited for the track to dry out as much as it could before starting. Scott rode a couple of laps and felt good.
Before racing started, the top 10 riders were introduced to the huge crowds with a backdrop of dancers and flames flying in the air. It was an awesome start to the event. Then an acrobatic plane flew overhead and the crowds were going wild!
Onto the racing. In Scott’s first race, he took gate 1. With a great start he took the lead and rode his best lap of the weekend. Winning the race from start to finish, Scott was looking in the mood for a great night.
In the quarter finals though disaster struck. Scott went into turn 1 level for the lead but on the outside. He rode a good first corner but the rider in 3rd dived inside and hit Scott on the exit of the turn. Scott came to a standstill and had to climb up the next jump before getting going again. He was a long way behind and just could not make up the ground. This gave Scott 13th for the evening. A cruel way to end the night but as Scott said in the finish:
“I would have done exactly the same thing. Being on the high line the door was open and he took it. I am gutted but it looks like that is enough to secure me 4th overall in the 2017 4X ProTour so I am happy about that.”
Indeed it was. Coming into the weekend Scott was in 4th overall and in a points battle with 3 other riders to secure a top 5 overall. To gain enough points to hold on to 4th was a great result for Scott and the team.
After the racing finished, Scott was up on the podium to receive his trophy for the 2017 season in front of 10,000 spectators. It was a great moment.
Now the team are heading home to prepare for the 4X National Championships in 2 weeks time where Scott will look to defend his Championship. Then it’s the World Championships in Italy in 4 weeks.
To keep up with Scott, make sure you add him on social media:
www.facebook.com/beaumontracing
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