Page 54 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2017

52 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) Mountain Biking
Mountain biking has firmly become a sporting discipline in The Royal Lancers over the past year. Not only have we managed to qualify four new mountain biking instructors, but we have competed successfully at the Army Mountain Biking Championships and in Transalp, a seven day cross-country en- durance race through the Alps.
The Army Championships is based around a series of five rac- es. Due to a busy work schedule, it is difficult to compete in all the races, however, having missed the first race of the series the Lancers were able to attend the second race in strong num- bers. Craftsman Lea and Trooper Vatuwaqa had shown strong promise in training so there were high hopes for them in the Under 23 Category. The remaining categories were highly com- petitive with a field containing only two teeth arm units. Based around an Olympic cross-country style course, the race would last around 75 minutes. Our novice team did exceptionally well with Craftsman Lea and Trooper Vatuwaqa securing second and fourth place respectively in the Under 23 age-group. The re- maining participants earned valuable points for the Royal Ar- moured Corps (the Royal Tank Regiment being our only allies in this field).
Unfortunately, the Lancers were able to send participants to only one of the remaining races. Trooper Vatuwaqa securing a podium place and with it a sixth place overall from just two races; he would have undoubtedly been on the podium overall had he been able to attend all the races and not stuck in a CATT booth. It would be superb if, during 2018, the Lancers Moun- tain Biking team could make the commitment to compete in all the races as the Regiment and the Royal Armoured Corps will unquestionably be highly placed; with most of the team residing in C Squadron this may well be possible. Corporal Yorke will take on the mantle as team captain as others move to pastures new and to Cyprus in a different guise.
The second major event in the Lancers mountain biking calen- dar was Transalp. Transalp is an annual multi-day stage race. This year it was a gruelling seven days from Mayrhofen in Aus- tria to Lake Garda in Italy. The Lancers whittled down an ini- tial field of fourteen riders to a select two teams of two; Major Foot-Tapping and Lieutenant Luke in Team A, and Corporal Yorke and Lance Corporal Murphy in Team B. Corporal Burnett
A 38 degrees bedroom and 200 snoring civis who do not ‘do their admin’ in your sixth school hall can start to bite
Corporal Yorke setting off for the day
also travelled with the team to provide some much-needed tech- nical support as each stage put severe strain on the bikes with an average ride time of between five and seven hours.
Having completed two training camps and numerous early morning ‘phys’ sessions, the teams headed to Austria, nervous about not only the miles their legs were about to endure, but also the ruthless efficiency demonstrated by the German event man- agement company hosting the race. We felt like gifted amateurs in a field of highly professional athletes.
Despite the most stunning scenery, the race passed in a blur of eat- ride-eat-roller massage-sleep-repeat. There was a great amount of camaraderie within the ‘peloton,’ particularly amongst those not challenging for a podium finish and we were being remem- bered due to our highly unique team kit. Lieutenant Luke’s preference of the uphill and Major Foot-Tapping thriving on the downhill made them a good team. Strong performances in the latter stages ensured they climbed just into the top 100 to finish 98th overall. Corporal Yorke, competing as a solo entrant fol-
Another breakfast al di fuori, a hard life