Enduro1/X-Fusion Race Series - Round up

So, the last race of the series has now been and gone but the most important aspect still remains….the results!

But first a huge thank you to all those volunteers, too many to mention apart from S/Sgt Justin Lane and the boys from 26 Engineer Regiment who have given us so much support that I can never thank them enough. Similarly, the same goes for Phil Potts and the lads from the Tidworth Freeride Club who again came to our rescue so you could have a race series. Ben Pinnick and his friends for mustering them all together to help marshal on Sunday and without whose help we again would not of had a race. Nick, Matt, Phil and Bob and all the marshalls from the previous rounds. Many of you have mailed me thanking these guys so a huge thank you from us all.

Our sponsors. X-Fusion for believing in us and delivering amazing prizes to the series winners. To Xtra UK LTD for the Time pedals, Schwalbe UK  for their generosity in providing prizes. SPS distribution for providing an amazing Drake Chain Device to the series 6th placed rider. Lezyne for their great spot prizes at each race along with the Fetish Bike Company and to MBR magazine for getting behind the series and believing it was a race for everyone along with their free subscription spot prizes, magazines and free gifts ensuring everyone went away with at least a good read!

So, I think Swinley has proved a fitting end to the series which has taken us across the south of England and embraced every type of terrain you can find. From the roots and ruts at the Forest of Dean to the mud fest and rolling downs of our countries beautiful plains at Tidworth and finally, the sandy hills of Berkshire. Each race has left it's own indelible stamp on the riders memories with the highs and lows that come with racing.

When I dreamed up this series the important goal was for it to be a series that would inspire those MTBers to get into a form of racing relevant to what they do every weekend with their mates. No need for super light XC bikes or monster travel DH rigs. What you rode now would be more than good enough.

It was to be friendly and not intimidating, competitive if you chose to be, yet fun and a good laugh if you didn't. Judging by the very kind emails you have sent me it looks like I managed to hit the nail on the head. Many old racing sweats have come out of retirement to take part along side the newbies to MTBing, both rubbing shoulders with some of the countries most elite riders. Amazing!

Once more the Gods smiled on us and provided us with a sunny cool day perfect for racing but not so good for the poor old marshals cold feet! The rain proceeding the race day had made the trails muddy but thankfully the stages held up well. So on to the stages. A 28km route and five stages that looked like this.

Stage 1 Pivot Cycles Sponsored Stage (Not Warmed Up Yet!) 1.18km

They were after this and many wisely decided to go for a ride and warm up before starting, as it was a short transition before the stage slapped you round the face like a wet kipper. I was going to make this longer with a climb but I took pity on them and decided I wanted to ease the riders into the race. Flowing technical single track with roots small drops a few mud patches and roller coaster, small down and ups which had to be attacked in order to get up the other side! One rider Richard Ellis snapped his seat post on the top of one of these which my friend saw as we were driving past! With ingenuity & encouragement from his friends he managed to hammer what was left of the post into shape with some stones and finished the whole course with a very low seat! That's what a true enduro racer is….someone who can overcome the obstacles thrown at them and crack on! A gradual rooty decent to the finish made for a great starter stage and a taste of what was to come. Ryan Bevis took the stage win in 3.06sec his 29er Ram Nduro was proving to be the perfect weapon.

Stage 2 The Time Pedals Sponsored Stage (Flat Out) 1.48km

This was a more XC biased stage with tech sections thrown in. The route demands speed with open fire roads to test their heart and lungs and undulating terrain to test their technical and power abilities. A flat start took them into the woods with tight woodland trails, dips and off camber roots, short steep climbs and downs with a flat out sprint to the finish. Pacing yourself was crucial in order to not empty the tank too early as this was only the second stage and 22km left to go! Aiden Bishop set a blistering pace a full 7sec faster than Tom Fenton second fastest over this stage.

Stage 3 The Schwalbe Tyres Sponsored Stage. (Herman The Sherman) 1km

A man made typical blue route fare with a great roller coaster finish would provide a good testing ground for grip, pace and cornering skills. Again Aiden Bishop set a blistering pace and took the stage win a full 7sec ahead of Rob Francis.

Stage 4 The MBR Magazine Sponsored Stage & Team Chase (Heart Ache) 1.62km

My favorite stage and the most technical with a fast downhill start across rough torn up terrain where line choice was critical. Leading to a short but sharp climb and back down into technical root infested trails that slowly lost height through muddy, technical single and double track to the finish. This was brutal when giving your all and the secret was to not lose concentration and stay loose and fluid, looking well ahead to spot the lines of least resistance as it was taped wide to test riders line choices. Legs were beginning to feel the strain know and tiredness was setting in. Once again Aiden Bishop took the win in 2.52sec with Ryan Bevis breathing down his neck in 2.58sec proving Aiden was on top of his game this day.

The transition stages took in the best of Swinley so the fun was to be had at all times although the trails were now sapping the power from those not so elite riders.

Stage 5 The Shaman Racing Sponsored Stage (Grin Maker)

Tired legs will be feeling it by now but riders had to get rid of the shakes and calm the cramps and prepare for a final fun stage to finish the race and the series. Tricky technical sections flowing berms, dips and a 'styling' it finish that left a big grin like a Cheshire Cat on their faces and if not, they hadn't hit the course fast and hard enough! Aiden Bishop shared the stage win with Lee Kermode in 1.45sec to take the overall win.

So the competitive individual class goes to Aiden Bishop with Ryan Bevis, Ram Bikes, in second and Tom Fenton in third. Well done to them.

Top teams on the day were Kingley Vale A team in a combined score of 50.17sec. Sketchy B team took second in 53.09 and the Sketchy Scorchers took third in 54.55 sec. Great win by the Kingley Vale boys.

Series Standings

The series win goes to Ryan Bevis Ram Bikes with his arch nemesis Charlie Williams of the Fetish Bike Company taking second overall. Chris Ames battling to the bitter end with David Pursey to take third spot. Ryan wins an X-Fusion RL fork with a set of top flight Schwalbe tyres to Charlie and Time X-Roc-S pedals to Chris as well as each one taking home the much converted and exclusive to Enduro1….Bragging Rights Flask! Well done to them for providing us with some thrilling racing.

Leading female of the series went to Anna Buckingham of the Big Adventure Store and Chris Waddup took the senior win. Congratulations to them both and a set of top of the range Schwalbe Tyres and their Bragging Rights Flasks go to them.

The Teams was emotional. Due to my own fault I messed up the order of win on the day but all's well that ends well and so the team results ended with the Sketchey Scorchers last race not counting to the series result due to too many rider changes after taking second place positions over the last two rounds. A set of top of the range Schwalbe Tyres goes to each and their much deserved Bragging Rights Flasks.

Fetish Bike Company took second place after dominating the first two rounds they were disqualified for starting with only free men. Heartbreaking for them I know but it's not just about being the fastest down the stages it's about commitment to your band of brothers and a cruel injury to one member prior to the race and being let down by another on the day ended the dream. They win a set of Time X-Roc-S pedals each courtesy of Xtra UK Ltd and their Bragging Rights Flasks to help console them.

So step forward the Sketchy B team who take the title and whose commitment and hard work won the day. Well done to them they earn themselves an X-Fusion Velvet RL fork each and their world famous, Enduro1….. bragging rights flasks!

And a quick statement from the team.

The Sketchy B team would firstly like to thank Carlos for organising the X-Fusion Enduro 1 series as it was such a fun and challenging series of events. All three locations posed a different challenge for us riders and almost 9 hours, in total, of riding we can't think of a negative moment and even a long transition that was more mud bath than trail was finished with laughter. To organize and marshal so many riders with predominantly volunteers was a huge challenge but it never felt anything but well organised with lively banter with other riders and the marshals between stages. This friendly and relaxed feel with the ethos of an event for all riders of all abilities/experience is one of the main reasons that we made sure that we turned up to all three races. We were very surprised with the generosity of all the sponsors involved not only for our X-Fusion velvet forks that we won but all the teams and individuals that placed walked away with either a set of Schwalbe tyres or Time pedals. The spot prizes was also a nice touch as arriving you might walk away with something like a lezyne pump which is always nice!

Again, a huge thank you to all who made the event possible and we will be back next year for definite!

Full results and report on the Enduro1 website under race three.

Thank you all and I wish you all the best in the future and many, many happy trails.

Photo Credit: Sam Tate (iVisualise)

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