Downhill specialist Peter Matcham retained his title as King of the Downhill on Sunday morning in two exciting runs of the mountain bike racing course at Hog Bay Park in conditions that could best be described as atrocious.

Thirty four cyclists braved the race, made even more difficult by the strong winds and rains that were buffeting the course, and it was Matcham who made the most of the poor conditions to record his fourth Downhill title in six years. But the result was much closer than he would have liked.

After the first of the two runs, Matcham, who recorded a time of one minute, 3.23 seconds to take the first race win, held a slim lead of just over a second on Garth Thomson (1:04.58) with Geoff Wing 1:07.16, David Padega 1:09.61, Alan Reid 1:10.35 and Kyle Smith 1:10.61 all within striking distance, should Matcham falter in the second stage of the race.

Having treated the first race a bit tentatively, nearly every rider improved on their second run times with Kyle Smith cutting a full six seconds from his first run to record 1:04.56 and put him into contention with a combined time of 2:15.17. Padega was also much improved on his second run, recording 1:06.80, putting him just behind Smith with his combined time of 2:16.41.

New Zealander Wing then lost one second on his first run but his combined time of 2:15.19 was just enough to move him above Padega but two hundredths of a second short of beating Smith?s time. Thomson then flew down the course in 1:03.61, giving him a combined time of 2:08.19 and a serious shot at the title. His time meant that Matcham had to record 1:05.00 or better to ensure victory.

At the top of the course Matcham, having no idea how the others had fared, threw caution to the wind and set off for the final run of the day which, as it turned out, would be the fastest.

Matcham screamed down the hill in 1:02.04, just two and a half seconds off the course record and ensured his title with a combined time of 2:05.27, edging Thomson by less than three seconds. Smith ended up third, Wing fourth and Padega fifth.

With both races adding points to the overall Series titles, the day?s results changed the standings dramatically in some categories, as those with more nerve and less endurance came to the fore and scooped up valuable points with the Series now two-thirds complete.

Matcham jumped from 11th place in the Men?s Open category into a tie for fifth with Alan Reid on 104 points and Thomson moved into second spot from fourth on 130, closing the gap on Series leader Neil de ste Croix who recorded two seventh place finishes on Sunday.

De ste Croix now leads with 141. Both Wing and Padega also made up ground on the leader with Wing now third on 122 and Padega fourth on 118.

In the Veterans? category, Mannard Packwood proved to be the real speed demon with victories in both races and his combined time of 2:19.53 was over 15 seconds faster than second-placed Ian Fox?s time of 2:35.45. Fox managed to beat out Tim Palmer in both races by just one second with Palmer?s combined time of 2:37.54 good for third spot.

All made up ground on Series leader Paulo Madeiros who missed Sunday?s action. Madeiros now leads with 139 points and Packwood and Fox are tied for second with 128, followed by a fast closing Palmer on 123.

In the boys? 15-16 group, Conner Burns took both wins on the day and showed that he will soon be contending for the overall title. He took the first race in 1:12.10 and then recorded a blistering 1:06.92 for a combined time of 2:19.2, eighth fastest on the day overall.

Matthew Godfrey wasn?t far behind Burns, taking second with his combined time of 2:29.66 but as a result Burns and Godfrey are now tied for the Series lead with 144 points each. Aaron Fenn?s two third place finishes in the Downhill ensured his continued third place standing in the Series.

Ricky Sousa Jr and Tim Fox continued to wage their fierce rivalry in the Boys? 13-14 category as both finished in the top ten overall. Sousa took the first race with a fast time 1:10.62, edging Fox into second place but by just two tenths of a second as Fox recorded a 1:10.82. Sousa went one better in the second run and recorded an incredible 1:07.97 for a combined time of 2:18.59, sixth best overall on the day.

Fox improved on his second run too but not by enough to overhaul Sousa and settled for second on 2:20.40. Sousa now leads the Series with 147 points with Fox second on 138. Geoffrey Burns solidified his third place position in the Series with two third place results and is on 127 points.

Dominic White had two good fourth place results which moved him up to sixth in the standings. Marc Smith holds on to fourth with 116 points and Thomas Godffrey lies fifth on 110.

Rickai Lightbourne was the only Novice rider to show up on Sunday and as such secured victory in both races and in the process overtook Tristan Smith for the lead in the Series standings. Lightbourne now leads with 137 points to Smith?s 126. David Lunn Sr holds third spot on 110 with Richard Bruton fourth on 106.

Blake Hill made up the most ground in the Series as he took both victories as the others in his group stayed at home. Dujon Simons still leads the points standings with 126 and Alex Godffrey is second on 123 but Hill is now nipping at their heals as he is on 120.

In the under-10 category Nathan Amaral showed off his biking skills again, taking both races on a shorter course for a combined time of 2:14.05. Racing twins, Ben and Amy Green enjoyed a good battle with Ben getting the better of his sister with a combined time of 2:33.02 to Amy?s 2:38.44.

Next race is this Sunday at Ferry Reach Park at 9 a.m.

The race scheduled for Locust Hall on January 25 will now be held at the Arboretum, Middle Road, Devonshire. Parking in the parking lot on Montpelier Road.