Steel City was as awesome as ever, but this year there was definitely a different vibe for the race and for us. Firstly, the organising team just seemed to have it down this year and it was such a chilled atmosphere on setting up that it definitely set the tone for the day. On a personal note, after getting a bit unnecessarily stressed about the race in the run up last year (despite loving the day itself) I gave racing a break after 4 consecutive events between the tapes. This gave me much less to do, and could help out the guys who were racing and just enjoy the day. There was a lot of swanning about done on my part!!

Mostly the sun shone (for a change!), the atmosphere was brilliant as usual, the food was off-the-scale good from Out To Lunch (Do You Even Brisket Bro?). The icing on the cake was that I finally stopped being so uptight and British about it, and went and told Tracy Moseley she's my hero. She was bloody lovely about it (who doesn't like being told they're someone's hero?) and we had a quick chat. She made my daughter's day by asking her about her bike too.

Cheers, Cy

A report on the day from Sam, the demo man:

I popped my Steel City DH cherry, and what an unforgettable day! I'm not a racer by any stretch of the imagination, so my aim was to have smooth runs and enjoy the day, which I did. The tunnel of noise as you ride down the track is something out of this world, big thanks to everyone who turned up and cheered as you guys made the event. Cranking past the Cotic stand before the bombhole hearing everyone cheering my name was incredible.

I tried a bit harder on my second race run, but I think the greasy conditions in the top half slowed my down a bit. That said, I did send the bombhole drop bigger than I intended. I don't think I'll forget the sight of the ground falling away from me like that in a while! I finished 34th in a stacked senior category, not a brilliant result but that seems insignificant when compared to the grin on my face.

The buzz at the bottom of the hill was amazing, one of the highlights for me was chatting to a couple who had very little idea of our sport, but had come along to see what the fuss was about. They were blown away by the whole event, and seemed keen to give it a go. If that's not a victory for everyone, I don't know what is. Can't wait for next year's race.

A quick wheel change was needed during practice and the rain brought drama too, so it was tough for the team lads with conditions and extremely stacked field making it a high pressure day. Swinny was 5th and Chay 15th, and despite the fact we know they're not that happy with that we are all super proud of them. Swinny beat Peaty for the first time ever, which was a bit of a watershed moment for him having been under Steve's wing at the SPS during his DH days. Chay got pretty much the worst of the conditions, but 2nd fastest through the speed trap shows the speed was there, just was hard to put it together when the track was "like glass".

Will, our model and man on the spanners, raced this year after not racing for a couple of years. You would think he'd never had a break from it. He was entered into the Pro category along with Chay and Swinny and showed no signs of nerves. He came 14th! 1.17.35. An incredible time! Being Swinny's brother, his board was 'Mini Swinny', but he's still pretty handy!

Hannah:

What a day... My first Steel City DH, and one I'll always remember! The crowd, atmosphere and buzz is just something else. There's so much support for all the riders there, everyone cheers everyone else on and helps each other out when they need help.

I really enjoyed meeting people at the stand, some faces I knew from past demos or the Cotic Spring Party, and many new faces of people interested in the bikes and coming along to future demos. It was great to chat to you all! See you at the next one.

New Development Squad Rider Wes Fife smashed Youth's with the win. YES WES! Top that off with Brand Ambassador Gareth Jones from A Line Coaching bringing his Rocket into 2nd in Masters behind Ben "World Cup DH racer" Deakin and that was a bloody good day on the hill for Cotic riders!

So when we asked Cy, is Steel City better than Christmas? His answer: Yes, yes it is.