DUAL RULES!

Think back to those boring Saturdays as a kid, being dragged around the shops by your mum. Imagine if you rounded a corner to find Peaty and Ratboy racing head- to- head down the road – you’d have been buzzing! That’s pretty much what happened at the second annual Howard Street Dual Slalom. With wooden jumps, berms and rollers, Nick Hamilton and the This Is She "eld crew transformed the city centre into a full- on race track. Competitive locals and riders from all around arrived to do battle with the pros, and after a daytime qualifier, the two- up racing took place at night, under the glow of street lights.

Some nail- biting moments ensued, firstly in the women’s, with last year’s winner Carrie Poole battling against ex- GB BMX racer Chloe Taylor. Chloe had the speed, but experience triumphed as she handed the win to Carrie with a mistake at the end. It felt like proper mates’ racing in the men’s as Josh Bryceland and Sam Dale of the 50to01 crew went up against each other. Josh had been knocked out in the semis by Steve Peat ( left), as the big man from Wharncli ! e showed he could still put the young guns in their place. The final saw Peaty pitted against last year’s winner, Brett Penfold. A front- wheel catch on a kerb and an over- the- bars nearly spelled disaster for Steve in round one, but he pulled out a stormer in the second as Brett faltered under the pressure.

“Just seeing the faces of passers- by seeing what we can do on bikes was great,” said Peaty, after the event. “Dual is an awesome spectator sport and the Outdoor City put on a banger of an event. I’m already looking forward to next year!”