Video: UK Gravity Enduro Series 2015 - Round 5 Dyfi

The final round of the UK Gravity Enduro series (as we know it in the UK) has come and gone. Everyone who made it to the final round was treated to 40km and 1400m of Wales’ finest trails. For those of you who have never rode the Dyfi forest it’s a must for the bucket list. Only one stage (stage 2) took part on the Climax trail, which is way marked in the forest. The rest were a mix of high-speed slate surfing, technical twisty woods and greasy muddy corners, which crisscrossed the forests network of fireroads. Most of the riders who had raced this round in previous years knew most of the stages apart from a little treat that Steve Parr and his team had been preparing. Unfortunately, the top of stage 4, which was rumoured to extend the stage to around a total of 7 minutes, became un-rideable during Friday practice, due to the claggy bogs that began to appear.



My experience of practice on Saturday didn’t start that well as I snapped my brake lever down to a finger width stump after the second corner of the first stage. This caused riding the rest of the stages a tad more challenging than usual. A big thanks goes to Dave Wills for rustling up a spare to get me back on track for seeding.



For seeding runs we were treated to blazing sunshine, so the grass field of the course was grippy as. Matt Stuttard, who was dipping his toes into the enduro world, took 1st by over 2 seconds from Leon Rosser.


Race day came and the weather didn’t look so promising, with a threat of rain later in the day. We were treated to a light drizzle but weren’t treated to the usual Welsh downpours, which made the final grass field even more challenging to ride. Spirits were high and the banter was flowing in the Elite category. Unfortunately, John Owen, who was in contention for the overall title crashed out on stage 2, injuring his shoulder and with it went his hopes of taking the overall. In the end, after tackling 5 technical and physical stages Matt Stuttard prevailed as the overall winner by an impressive 19 seconds.


Everyone who I spoke to after the race thoroughly enjoyed the event and were buzzing about the final UK Gravity Enduro. Shame this day had to come, but hopefully the future of racing in the UK will continue to grow under the supervision of the two (yes you did read that correctly) British Enduro Series that are proposed for next year.


RESULTS

Elite Men
1st Matt Stuttard
2nd Sam Shucksmith
3rd Joel Chidley

Elite Women
1st Helen Gaskell
2nd Carrie Poole
3rd Claire Bennett

U18
1st Nial Oxley
2nd Tom Parker
3rd Cai Grocott

Senior
1st Aiken Collinge
2nd Nikki Whiles
3rd Charles Jones (rode with a cast on his hand – fair play!)

Master
1st Ian Austermuhle
2nd Peter Jordan
3rd Andy Weames

Veteran
1st Marcus Jones
2nd Graham Sheldon
3rd Chris Blackmore

Grand Veteran
1st Howard Stuttard
2nd Tegid Humphreys
3rd Paul Jacobs

Women
1st Martha Gill
2nd Lucy Bell
3rd Gemma Ingall

Check out: https://www.rootsandrain.com/race3042/2015-sep-20-uk-gravity-enduro-5-and-nat-champs-dyfi-forest/ for the full results.

SERIES OVERALL

Elite Men
1st Sam Shucksmith
2nd John Owen
3rd Joel Chidley

Elite Women
1st Helen Gaskell
2nd Carrie Poole
3rd Claire Bennett

I’d just like to say, on behalf of all the people who attended a UK Gravity Enduro race over the past five years, a massive thank you to Steve Parr and his team for all the hard work and effort that they’ve put in to make the sport what it is today. Without their dedication to the sport it wouldn’t be what it has become. Many series have sprung from this one, as it set out to pioneer this kind of racing in the UK. Many people like to grumble about the series (and the organiser) but they can’t deny that this series led the way for others to tweak to their own format. So many are quick to criticise but few are willing to help and make something better. I wish Steve all the best in taking time to raise his family and getting out to ride his bike.

Happy off -season and see you out on the trails sometime.

James Green (UKGE 2015 riders rep).

A final thank you to my personal sponsors: The Trailhead, Cube Bikes, Invisiframe, Schwalbe tyres, Wenlock Water, Ballard Engineering, Baker Patterns, Royal Racing, Mojo suspension, Renthal Cycling, Leans Greens, Torq, Rockguardz & Sealskinz.