Race Report and Video: Welsh Enduro Series 2015 - Penmachno

No matter what level you compete at, racing a mountain bike takes dedication, time, effort, energy and money. The day to day responsibilities of general life often get in the way, leaving little time for practising and even less time for racing. A difficult balancing act at best!

However, the guys at Boarderline Events have hit the nail on the head with the Welsh Enduro Series. The one day (three stage) enduro event ran like clockwork. Practice in the morning followed by the race in the afternoon at the well known mountain bike mecca of Penmachno, deep in the heart of Snowdonia. Most riders just turned up on the morning of the event, while some of us made use of the option to camp opposite the trail-head, and head into Bews-y-coed to ensure the local Purple Moose beer was in good order. It was!

Riders set out in groups so the banter with your mates continues throughout the day and leads to a relaxed racing atmosphere.


After a steady fire-road grind to the shoulder of Penmachno woods, you hook into the wooded single track transition to whet your apatite before catching another fire-road to the beginning of stage one.

Stage One: A tentative scan of the timing chip and you are off like a scalded cat into the flowing single track which is not technical, but taking it at speed without incident is only possible if you find your flow early on and keep it. The singletrack opens up and the newly surfaced roller-coaster of kickers, rollers and berms make it difficult to restrain the whoops and hollers’!


You are then thrust back into a wooded single track descent where the odd 'enduro' short cut can be found, but its mostly pedal, pump and jump, your way to a final sprint up a short hill to the finish line. Catch your breath and you are off to stage two.

Stage Two: From the off you are on the gas, traversing through the woods along Penmachno’s signature single track which leaves little room for error at speed. As the eyewear begins to steam and the legs begin to scream, the trail changes to a series of rollers, hips and berms. However, this offers little remorse as the constant pumping to keep the well earned speed you have gained breeds lactic acid in every muscle.

Cross the fire road and its back on the gas as the technical winding ribbon of rock infested trail traverses the hillside, grabbing at the pedals of the wary.

The riders who have pushed hard are notable at this point by the staccato blinking in efforts to rid stinging sweat from their eyes. A hairpin bend leads into a steeper gradient with constant meandering between woodland hazards. The change in pace combined with tired legs catches even some of the better riders out here and patches of churned earth mark each side of the trail where competitive race runs have ended abruptly.

As the taste of lung butter becomes omnipresent and the legs are plotting mutiny, the finish line comes into sight. A welcome relief. A short climb later and the starting tape for stage three emerges in the woodland. Once there, it is clear that stage two has left temporary scars on your energy reserves as the thought of one final push is tough. However, the promise of a pint of Snowdon's finest at the finish is enough to galvanize.

Stage Three: The stage opens with a wide and flowing mix of berms and hips through the woods before a bank of rollers and a rock outcrop gives several line choices. Table tops give way to the huge 'S' bend berms which spew riders onto a short fire road sprint before ducking back into the woods.


The latter part of stage three poses the ultimate question, 'slow in fast out' or 'foot out flat out' around the several hairpin bends? Whatever your preference, there is no time to dwell on it now as the final section of trail requires a sharp mind. There are endless hard earned seconds to loose here amongst the hidden dips, jumps and intruding woodland banks (as I found out).

The finish line couldn’t come soon enough as by this point you have emptied the tank and burned the fumes. Once you have found your breath, the finishing area offers hive of activity with podium hopefuls eagerly watching the screen, as the faster riders finish and log their times. Others tell tales of secret lines and brutal crashes around the butty van, before viewing the podium elite collect their prizes and heading off home.

Either way, when Monday comes and your work mates asks what you got up to at the weekend, it’s probably best to play it down as few will ever understand how much fun can be had racing bikes with a gaggle of likeminded, muddy, sweaty folk in a woods in the middle of North Wales!

Results can be viewed here.

Words by Tom Makin, Steve Peat Syndicate Enduro Team. All photographs courtesy of Stewart Mackellar. Video by Dan Struthers.

---

MENTIONS: @tommakin / @ContinentalMTB / @Lapierre-Bikes / @welshgravityenduro

---

Posted In:
Racing and Events Race Reports