Enduro 6 2006

Updated 25 May 2006

EnduroPLUS 6-Hour Endurance Race, 30th April 2006
Sponsored by Specialized

Ross and I pair each other regularly at endurance mountain bike events and the EnduroPlus has become a standard early season race for us, it’s always a good event and it’s a useful gauge of our fitness before the main 24hr race in mid June.

Held once again at Catton Park near Tamworth, the event is held under strict parc-ferme rules meaning that each team has an allocated pit area in a central corral. Once the race has started, all the race kit, food, spare clothing, tools etc has to be kept in the pit and the ‘off-duty’ rider cannot leave the corral area until the on-duty’ rider has finished their lap and handed over, relay style.

I’d arrived at the venue on Saturday and made the most of the lovely weather to pre-ride the course and catch up with several friends who were also riding. Ross arrived early on Sunday morning but by then the weather had changed from sunshine to a grey and cold day that constantly threatened rain. Fortunately it never materialised and towards the end of the race it warmed up considerably. The course was bone dry and rock hard, uncomfortably bumpy in places where the trails had been chewed up by horses hooves or by 4-wheel drives (Catton hosts a range of events throughout the year, including horse trials and 4x4 driving courses).

As per normal for these events, the race began with a Le Mans style run of about 800m to where the bikes were parked; I then grabbed my bike and made my way out onto the course. Only 5.5miles in length the course wasn’t particularly technical but there were 3 climbs of note and some lovely flowing singletrack, tight and twisty but also blindingly fast if you got the right line through it.

We’d decided to ride double laps; with a lap time of only 25minutes on average, it was going to save time on changeovers if we could stay out for 50minutes and get a proper feel for the course as well as allowing us to recover adequately between stints too. I handed over to Ross after my two laps and from then on we alternated every 50 minutes or so, both of us settling down well into the race. The team Epic full suspension bikes were worth their weight in gold, they allowed us to stay seated and pedal over the rough stuff and washboard surfaces and minimised the fatigue caused by the constant undulations and rough descents. It was a tough course, challenging enough for the Elite riders (who were going considerably faster than we were!) but also fun enough to be enjoyed by everyone.

Right at the very end, as the race entered its final hour, Ross and I both finished by doing single laps with Ross getting the final lap in and finishing at 4.15, quarter of an hour after the bell had sounded to mark the end of the race.

We finished 21st out of over 100 Mens Pairs, not a bad result considering the quality of the competition and it provided a useful gauge of our fitness for the main team races later this year.

By James Lyon

Lap	Number	Rider	Time	Speed
1	189	189	00/27/18	11.76 mph / 18.92 km/h
2	189	189	00/24/53	12.90 mph / 20.76 km/h
3	188	188	00/26/20	12.19 mph / 19.62 km/h
4	188	188	00/26/06	12.30 mph / 19.79 km/h
5	189	189	00/25/53	12.40 mph / 19.96 km/h
6	189	189	00/25/47	12.45 mph / 20.04 km/h
7	188	188	00/26/07	12.29 mph / 19.78 km/h
8	188	188	00/26/05	12.31 mph / 19.81 km/h
9	189	189	00/25/22	12.65 mph / 20.37 km/h
10	189	189	00/26/34	12.08 mph / 19.45 km/h
11	188	188	00/27/09	11.82 mph / 19.03 km/h
12	188	188	00/27/33	11.65 mph / 18.75 km/h
13	189	189	00/26/05	12.31 mph / 19.81 km/h
14	188	188	00/27/59	11.47 mph / 18.46 km/h

Rider	Laps	Best	Average	Worst
189	7	00/24/53 (12.90 mph / 20.76 km/h)	00/25/58 (12.36 mph / 19.88 km/h)	00/27/18 (11.76 mph / 18.92 km/h)
188	7	00/26/05 (12.31 mph / 19.81 km/h)	00/26/45 (12.00 mph / 19.31 km/h)	00/27/59 (11.47 mph / 18.46 km/h)

Event Results by Singletrack Magazine