Race video from www.felixsmith.co.uk
The season Kicks off at Old Skool Afan….
The 2016 Enduro season got under way last weekend with a sell out Round 1 of the Welsh Gravity Enduro Mash Up Series! The race was held at the Skyline Cafe at Afan Glyncorrwyg in South Wales using 4 stages taking in the Whites Level and Blade Trails..
Before I go any further I have to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU! to all the marshals who did their job amazingly in biblically horrendous conditions! you all deserve a round of applause.
To say it was wet would be the biggest understatement of the century! I’ve never had 3 days of consistent horizontal rain! But this did not stop 314 riders signing on and racing with smiles all around.
This would be the first test of the Mash Up format: 5 Hours of live timing over 3 or 4 stages and do as many runs as you like or can manage… the quotes I heard most from riders as they checked the live timing in the warm and dry of the cafe (or on their phones in the rain) was “That’ll do” or ” I’m happy with that” or “B***ard” he beat me…
http://www.danwyrephotography.co.uk/ Rider: Kristofer Hamer Bike Doctor
The format was all about a relaxing environment to race in, where you could dispense with the pressures of that first race run on your first race run and then go and do another run, this time focusing on improving!. Some riders did 4 or 5 runs of the same stage to try and improve their time before perception of effort was overtaken by fatigue and the harsh reality of seeing the actual time took over.
Many first time racers were on the start list showing that the grass roots racing is on the up in the UK.
The Results:
Leigh Johnson riding for Marin/Stans No Tubes took the overall win and also won all 4 Fastest time of the day’s for the 4 stages!!.
http://www.danwyrephotography.co.uk/ Rider: Leigh Johnson Stans/Marin
Monet-Rose Adams riding for Wideopen Test Team in her first Enduro took the overall ladies win.
Category Winners:
Bird MTB Elite Male:Leigh Johnson (Marin/Stans No Tubes)
Bird MTB U18: Kyle Harvard (Don Skene Cycles)
Bird MTB Senior: Charles Jones (Airshot)
Mudhugger Master: Matthew de Villaneuva (BadAssBikes)
BirdMTB Veteran: Anthony Lewis (none)
BirdMTB Grand Veteran: Gary Allen (none)
RaceCoCycles Hardtail: Francois Damseaux (Whisper Bikes/Fox/Hope/Trail Works)
BirdMTB Elite Female: Monet Rose Adams (Wideopen Test Team)
Whisper Bikes U18 Women: Megan James (T-Mo)
BirdMTB Senior women: Emily Beckett (none)
Pedal A Bike Away Master Women: Lindsay Hanley (NX2MTB/Charge Clothing)
http://www.danwyrephotography.co.uk/ Rider: Aidan Bishop Cannondale/Mavic
Full results and photos on Roots and Rain: Links below.
Full results are here
Photos from the event are here
Huge thanks to Natural Resource Wales and Bob Campbell for allowing the event to go ahead on these fantastic all weather trails.
Round 2 is at Bike Park Wales on Saturday the 5th March and is sold out, Limited Entries for rounds 3&4 are still available here
See you all at Round 2
CW