Isle of Man cyclist Isaac Batty represented Great Britain at round four of the Downhill World Cup at Val di Sole in Italy last weekend.  

The track, known as the Black Snake, is considered the toughest downhill one in the World Cup series. It was wet for practice and described as frightening and barely rideable even by the elite competitors. 

With four hours practice on the Thursday, there was a lot to learn for the Manx cyclist.   

The Friday morning saw two more practice runs and then qualifying took place. Isaac’s qualifying run was looking good but a small misjudgment on the final jump saw him land nearly 25 metres from the take-off. 

Unfortunately, the heavy landing bent his chainring, meaning he couldn’t sprint to the finish which lost him around one second and dropped him from a possible top-20 finish to 27th.

Only the top 25 from more than 100 of the best juniors in the world go through the final and Isaac agonisingly missed 25th place by only 0.3 of a second.   

But this was still an outstanding performance as a first year junior who is still relatively new to downhill, compared to being far more at home on his enduro bike. 

The next Downhill World Cup round will be in Les Gets in France on Saturday, July 6 when, funds permitting, Isaac will be racing in a bid to try and secure a spot to ride for Team GB at the world championships in Andorra during the first week of September. 

Before that is round three of the British National Enduro Series at the Manx MTB Enduro over the weekend of June 29-30. 

Isaac won this event outright last year, making him the youngest rider ever to win a British enduro.   

Batty has had a great deal of support along the way and would like to thank sponsors: Orange Bikes, Limitless Cycles, Utmost International, FIM Capital, Astar Cycling, McCanney Construction, Context ridewear, Isle of Man Sport and Manx MTB Enduro, without whom he wouldn’t be where he is today. 

- The Cycle 360 Two-Day Enduro will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 29-30.   

For the third consecutive year, it will incorporate a round of the British National Enduro Championships.   

The Manx MTB Enduro-organised event consists of two 40km loops spread across 10 unique stages. The race itself is comprised of some of the best natural and manmade trails the Isle of Man has to offer.    

Riders complete five stages each day and are set off in small groups at one-minute intervals. Transition times are not included but stamina is essential - a daily cut-off of five hours is enforced for safety.    

All stages are marked out two days ahead of the event so everyone has an opportunity to practice. Both days finish at the finish field in St John’s where there will be live timing plus food and drinks available.   

Visit www.manxmtbenduro.com/2-day-enduro for more information.