JACK SUNDERLAND leads the experts after two rounds of the Savills Private Finance 2006 Mountain Bike Tour of Guernsey. He has had a second and a third so far to establish a three-point lead ahead of Rob Smart.

Last night saw the exciting downhill event at Petit Bot, held with the permission and support of the Environment Department and run on a time-trial basis as the entrants set off at regular intervals.

Fastest run of the day was clocked by sport category competitor Jimmy Carling, whose time of 1min. 11.8sec. was over 1.5sec. quicker than leading expert Mike Serafin.

The first round of the week-long tour was a long cross-country held at Talbot Valley on Sunday morning.

The overnight rain and the drizzle in the morning turned what can be a challenging course in the dry into a muddy and slippery one.

The opening race comprising the under-14s, under-16s, women and sports categories got the worst of it as it continued to drizzle heavily throughout.

The following race for the experts, single speed and veterans was also over a slippery course, but the rain had stopped and the rising temperatures created physically challenging conditions of their own.

Commonwealth Games star Smart outlined his pedigree in winning the experts’ category ahead of Jack Sunderland and Nick Mann.

Gary Robert, Aidan Stanford, Nathan Baudains, Alex Falla, Andy Wilson and Helena Robinson topped their respective class podium.

Round three of the tour – a hill climb – takes place this evening at Pleinmont. The course opens at 6.10pm with racing starting 20 minutes later.

Standings below