Top three or in a tree…
In some respects Scott has had a carbon copy of Toni’s 2022 season, two big injuries might have spelled the end of 2022 before it began, but a bit of a back seat for the first part of the year meant he was in the driving seat by the end of the season.
Before the season started Scott broke his wrist in November 2021, which only saw him return to XC fireroad miles on the bike in January 2022. He gradually built up strength and fitness through plenty of rehab and physio before another accident resulted in a radial head fracture of his elbow and a refracture of the same wrist. After following advice to rest the injuries for 10 weeks he returned to riding again in June, this time with a Mobious wrist brace. The brace allowed him to make progress faster the second time around and his confidence on it was enough to make sure his planned 2022 Alps trip wasn’t sacrificed.

Like Georgie, the highlight of Scott’s year was an extended riding trip to the Alps in his van, visiting some lesser known gems such as Les Houches, near Chamonix and La Grave. Riding plenty of natural high Alpine singletrack before venturing to Morzine for a week to finish off the holiday with a little lift assisted Alpine Hooliganism. This trip certainly helped Scott regain some of his strength and confidence again, just in time to go racing…

What a return he had racing too, placing 6th in the National Champs at Glentress, with a 3rd place finish on Stage 3. The result was a bit of a surprise as he’d previously not ridden in this area of the Tweed Valley.
“I couldn’t believe the result, I wasn’t familiar with any of the stages, but I think months of riding slower made me a smoother rider, I was just carrying bags of speed through every stage”.

Then it was onto the final round of the Welsh Enduro series in Llangollen, where he secured the top step, riding to the finish 12 seconds clear of second place after racing a series of short stages! Again super smooth riding paying dividends at an unfamiliar location.
This year Scott was riding a large Bronson CC, which he raced with only a few tweaks from the factory spec. A MegNeg air can was fitted to the rear shock for a little more traction from the back end. Scott has really enjoyed this bike this year.
“It’s so playful, it just feels really poppy and agile which encourages me to experiment with line choices that often pay off”.

Other than the MegNeg, Scott runs push on grips for more comfort and extra grip in wet conditions. He’s also added heavy duty set of Double Down Assegai tyres as they are the only tyre which seem to make it to the end of a stage with his riding style.
For next season Scott’s a little undecided on bike choice. He’s willing to sacrifice some of the Bronson’s agility for the stability of a bigger wheel out back. He thinks the new Megatower or Hightower could allow him to carry more speed, so he’s planning some detailed testing in the coming weeks before making his decision.

For 2023, Scott has his sights set on building on from his success of this season focusing on racing in the UK and staying super consistent, continuing to ride smooth, building upon what he learned throughout his rehabilitation this year.
He won’t necessarily be riding slower just riding with less exposure to risk. As Scott says,
“all the crashes this year have been from taking risks that didn’t need to be taken, next year I’ll be adopting a risk/reward strategy, if the reward isn’t worth the risk, I won’t be riding it!”
“Although I’m riding smoother, carrying more speed through stages, the lack of time between the tapes this year shows. My fitness on stage is an area I’ll be focusing on before next season. If I can generate more speed, stamina and endurance I’m pretty confident my skills are able to carry it, so I should go a lot quicker”.

It's not all about two wheels with Scott, in his spare time he can be found hanging from any one of the crags local to Skipton. Scott has also just recently finished his Engineering Masters Degree, so we think now he has a bit more time on his hands in 2023 to dedicate to his riding he might be climbing more podiums than crags!