BECKINGSALE AND KILLEEN LOCK HORNS

Giant rider Oli Beckingsale and long-standing rival Liam Killeen battle out the National Championships title at Innerleithen

This weekend the rivalry between Oli Beckingsale and Liam Killeen that has played out since the 2006 Commonwealth Games surfaced as the two UK riders locked horns at Innerleithen in the battle for the XC National Championships.

Having finished 14th in the European Championships last weekend in the Netherlands after suffering a damaging crash during less than ideal conditions, Oli knew it would be a tough fight from the start as Killeen had finished the same race in 10th place.

“I decided to take it to him on the tough hilly and technical circuit and go hard from the gun.” Said Oli. “On the first 2 laps I was getting small gaps on the climbs but Liam was getting back on the long descent, then on lap 3 he turned the table gapping me on the descent. I got back to him on the climb but then on the last lap he got the advantage and my legs began to tie up and I had to settle for second a minute down.”

The battle for the top spot between Beckingsale and Killeen was so fierce that the third placed rider finished over 11 minutes down.

Next up for Oli is a trip to Canada with the Giant Global Mountain Bike Team for rounds 5 and 6 of the world cup.

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