Updated 28 May 2003
Karrimor/Specialized Enduro 6 MTB Race,
4th May 2003
The Enduro 6 is now a well-established event on the MTB
calendar, held every year in early May at Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire.
Competitors can race either as a team of two or solo, around a set course of 7
miles, the winner being the one that completes the most number of laps in 6
hours.
I was
entered in the Mixed Pairs category with my partner Renell. Technically I was
not racing for De Laune in this event but actually for Specialized, co-sponsors
of the race. Renell was racing in the colours of her sponsor, Kona. We'd arrived
on the Saturday and pre-ridden the course, which after a week of unending rain
was very muddy and slippery. However, Sunday dawned bright and warm and the
course began drying out remarkably quickly. The race started at 10am with a Le
Mans style run to the bikes. The race organisers had told us it would be
"about 600 metres" then once we were all on the start line they said
"OK, you've got a 2km run to the bikes…"
Fortunately, I got a good start in the run and came
through in the top 30 or so to pick up my bike from Renell and ride out onto the
course. I started by doing a double lap, team tactics saying that the first
changeover period would be very hectic. The course consisted of a lot of muddy
singletrack, a bit of fireroad and two brutal climbs, the first of which was
mostly unrideable due to the mud. I completed the two laps in 1hr10, which put
us straight into the lead in the Mixed Pairs category. 
After
that, Renell and I alternated laps, with me lapping in 40 minutes and Renell in
about 43-44 minutes. After each lap, I had 40 minutes to eat, drink and wash the
mud off the bike ready for my next stint. At about the half way mark we dropped
into 2nd place, but then swapped back and forth between 1st and 2nd several
times as the race progressed. With one hour left on the clock, I went out to do
a second double lap, hoping to be able to hold our first place. The first lap
went well; by now the course was mainly dry with only the occasional bit of
sticky muddy singletrack to slow things down. At the start of my second lap, I
was beginning to fade in spite of the energy gel I'd taken and half way round I
was caught by the 2nd place rider. I held his wheel for as long as possible but
knew then that it was a matter of me hanging on in there and trying to retain
second place as the team in 3rd were also breathing down our necks. The final
climb proved too tough this lap and I pushed the bike up it before taking on the
singletrack descent. 6 hours of mountain bikers riding this had churned up the
wet, loose soil leaving exposed and dangerously slick roots. The ground in the
last section of woodland had hardened to the consistency of plasticene making it
energy sapping and slow but then I was through, out by the pond and onto the
final grass slope to the finish. The bell had already rung to sound the end of
the six hours and I came through the finish to record our team's final time of
6.23.21 for a total of 9 laps. I'd ridden 6 of those laps, a distance of 40
miles, which included some 5000ft of climbing.
Above photo courtesy of Singletrackworld
www.singletrackworld.com |
I crossed the finish line and collapsed on the ground
too tired to return the hug from a delighted Renell. A friend offered me a
doughnut, which I accepted gratefully. "I thought you'd want one,
it's always you elite boys that like doughnuts!" he said as he
congratulated us on our result. I was given a clean jersey by Carole from
Specialized "it'll look good on the podium" she said. Renell and
I each won a Kahuna watch, a Kahuna courier bag and some biking kit from
Karrimor. It was, as Renell said, a good start to the season! |
