Craig Beats Jebb in Thriller Three Peaks

Three Peaks Cyclo Cross 2009, Yorkshire Dales, 27th September 2009 Report: Eddie Allen | Images: Eddie Allen and Wig Worland | Full Results
Link: A Three-Peaks Obsessive Reports

Scott UK rider Nick Craig won a dramatic 47th running of the Three Peaks Cyclo Cross race, finally beating long time rival Rob Jebb in a fascinating game of cat and mouse played out on the forbidding peaks of Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen y Ghent.

British Cycling went mob-handed to capture the essence of this beautiful yet brutal event. Eddie Allen was at Horton, Ribblehead and Helwith...

... while Wig 'mountain goat' Worland scaled the heights of Simon Fell and Pen y Ghent to capture these magical images

Report

Mountain bike and cyclo cross legend Craig took the 2009 title by just 15 seconds from fell-running specialist Jebb, who has won the event seven consecutive times and looked sure of an eighth victory. However, it was clear that the mercurial Nick Craig had raised his game for 2009, carving a full 6 minutes off his 2008 time. In the past, Jebb has effectively won the event on the first brutal ascent of Ingleborough and consolidated his lead on the second climb of Whernside. However, Craig managed to limit his losses splendidly on the first two climbs and claw back time on the descents.

Above: 7 times winner Jebb is first man down Whernside with Craig hot on his heels

By the time the pair descended Whernside and passed the Ribblehead viaduct, they were just seconds apart. The duo rode the final road section between Ribblehead and Horton together, resigned to do battle on the slopes of Pen y Ghent. Of the three hills, Pen Y Ghent is known as a rider's climb, which favoured Craig with his MTB background.

Above: Third placed rider Neal Crampton at the Ribblehead feedzone

The descent that followed played further into Nick's hand, and when he reached the bottom and hit the tarmac back to Helwith Bridge, he had a slender margin, which he managed to maintain to cross the line exhausted, cramping and elated. Jebb crossed the line just 15 seconds later, giving it all he had on the final road section to close back in on Craig. However, that elusive 2nd victory was already Craig's. More incredible still was that fact that the 40 yr old Scott UK rider was also first Vet across the line, in a time just 2 minutes shy of the all time record.

Almost 15 minutes back from the inseparable duo of Jebb and Craig, there was an equally tense battle between Crosstrax's Neal Crampton and Wheelbase's Lewis Craven, with the Crosstrax rider finally claiming the final step on the Elite podium. 

Above: Job done. Craig crosses the line after a pitch battle on the slopes of Pen y Ghent and the run-in to Helwith Bridge. 

Above: Rivals and friends share a laugh on the podium: Left to right: Neal Crampton, Nick Craig, Rob Jebb.

Above: Newcomer Renee Saxton (Otley  AC) took the Women's prize from last year's winner Heather Dawe (Team Inov-8/JD Cycles) (right) and Hewitt Racing's Leanne Thompson (left)

How the Race was Won

Eddie Allen caught up with 2009 winner Nick Craig around 15 minutes after he crossed the line to find out how the race unfolded:

"That was hard! Really hard. But here's what happened. On the first climb of Ingleborough Fell I usually lose around 5 minutes on Rob, but this year is was nearer three. So I got to the top and started the descent and the incredible thing was that I just did my own thing on the descent and caught Rob at the bottom, when he changed onto his bike that he uses on the road.

We rode the whole road section from the foot of Ingleborough to Whernside together. And then onto Whernside and he starts pulling away. And I thought I'll lose a bit less on Whernside than on Simon Fell, ‘cos it's less severe. And I lost about a minute on the climb and slowly made it back on the descent. But I didn't catch him until we hit the proper road section by the T-Junction at Ribblehead. I only caught him when he swapped bikes again.

Above: Jebb skips away on the ascent of Ingleborough

Then we rode the road section together to Horton. Then it really started. He started givin' it me, I started giving it back. It was really sporting actually. On the road section we spoke and said, "This is gonna be really interesting". We got to Pen y Ghent and it was a proper battle. And my job was to minimise the losses again and get to the top without losing more than a minute. It's a guess but I'd say it was about 50 seconds. So I turned around and it took me to just before Pen y Ghent Lane to catch Rob and I thought OK, there's only one way to win this and that's to let it go...

Above: Cat and mouse on Pen y Ghent. Epic stuff...

It was a bit dodgy down Pen Y Ghent because I had to scream very loud and the riders coming up. And then I hit the road and the effort paid off - I think I had around 20 seconds. I crawled through the finish with cramp and I was well chuffed! I've been really close to beating Rob once before and I always knew if we hit Pen y Ghent together that it's definitely a goer.

Above: All or nothing. Craig dive bombs the descent of Pen y Ghent to claim a sweet second victory 18 years after his first back in 1991.

No real dramas during the race. I lost my foot coming down Pen y Ghent and ended up with my legs split over the back wheel - out of control but apart from that no dramas. No flats. I was on an unbelievably light bike, the Scott Addict RC, that's incredibly light compared with anything I've ridden before."

Results

Elite Men Top Ten

1 Nick Craig Scott UK 2:54:13
2 Rob Jebb Wheelbase/Cannondale/Gorebikewear 2:54:28
3 Neal Crampton Crosstrax 3:09:47
4 Lewis Craven Wheelbase/Cannondale/Gorebikewear 3:10:31
5 Stuart Read Wheelbase/Cannondale/Gorebikewear 3:14:02
6 Andrew Peace Crosstrax 3:15:00
7 Ben Bardsley Keswick Bikes 3:15:58
8 Damian Smith Wheelbase/Cannondale/Gorebikewear 3:17:34
9 Dave Haygarth Wheelbase/Cannondale/Gorebikewear 3:18:19
10 Ian Taylor Paul Milnes RT/Bradford Olympic RC 3:18:21

Senior Women

1 Renee Saxton Otley AC
2 Heather Dawe Team Inov-8/JD Cycles
3 Leanne Thompson Hewitt Racing

Full Results