Ard Rock - Britain’s Biggest, ‘Ardest and Most Popular Mountain Bike Festival

The Ard Rock has a fearsome reputation as a uniquely tough Enduro race that doesn’t just bring in riders from all over the country but all over the world. Whether it’s the ‘in at the deep end’ loose and jagged rock chutes and rock, root and loam chaos of stage one, the Alpine feel of stage three or the flat out, wall launching, ragged edge celebration of stage five, Ard Rock was already established as an event that had people reliving and reloving for months after the final beep of their timing chips. Nobody improves by standing still though so this year Ard Rock amped up the challenge even further with a steeper, sharper, tighter and more technical stage two that took even the best riders to their limits and some beyond them. A new stage three also stirred up the mix with a steeper, rockier ‘Grand Canyon’ section that took some serious bottle to drop into, and serious skill to come out upright with tyres still inflated.





Rockin'

That meant the serious riders started turning up on Thursday ready for a full day of practice on Friday, so this year the whole event arena was hopping before it normally even starts. The expo was packed with the latest products from Santa Cruz, Maxxis, Stif, Mavic, Exposure, Sweet protection, RWD, Intense, Enve, Mojo Suspension, Flare Clothing, O’Neil, Polygon, Crank Brothers, Clif Bar, Cotic and Seal Skinz plus tech support from SRAM, Shimano, and Hope. Live music and local brews made for the biggest Friday night out in Swaledale history and a few sore heads for the Enduro event on Saturday morning. The registration dream team made sure queues were minimal as nervous newbies and experienced elites alike signed on before legendary Ard Rock microphone maestro Greg set them off in eager waves for a big day in the big hills. With all the Enduro competitors heading out to pit themselves against five stunning natural challenge trails, the Sprint riders headed out to put the hammer down on Stages 1-3 before blitzing back home down the bonus single track descent into Reeth.




Saturday was a blisteringly hot sunbathing treat for spectators but turned the brutal climbs of Fremington Edge and Turf Moor into sweat fests that meant riders were even more grateful for the chance of a pint at the Red Lion in Langthwaite or the water stop at stage three. Whether it was winners Tracy Moseley and Leigh Johnson or the last off, last back heroes who got herded up the final hills by the infamous Grim Sweeper tandem, the final full gas, drift finish descent meant everyone rolled back into the event village absolutely buzzing. Beers flowed, burgers vanished the riotous raffle saw riders scooping everything from wheels and forks to socks and shirts and the bands rocked out. Mates compared times and riders hooked back up with new pals they met on the hills or just chilled out with their families and friends on the straw bales in the marquee.


As the crucial marshal and mountain rescue crews headed out onto the hills it was obvious that Sunday’s weather was going to make things even harder for the riders taking on all five stages in the weekend’s biggest event; the Ard Rock Sport. A welcome tailwind halfway up the road to the first stage turned into a brutal headwind that also made the already technical quarry descents of the first two stages even more tricky, particularly for lighter riders. The stage three climb turned into an even more brutal slog than ever but the heroes who pushed and pulled their way to the top were rewarded with a welcome wind assisted shunt all the way home through stages four and five. As ever the spectators shouting themselves hoarse at the end of stage five saw the full range of riders and rides that make the Ard Rock such an inclusive event. Steel hardtails fought for final corner positions with state of the art carbon weaponry. First time riders were helped home by the wise words of passing pros. Bonds were forged fighting the fiercest winds and fists bumped with brand new mates at the bottom of every whooping and hollering descent and it was clear that the wonderful Ard Rock Festival spirit was alive and well even at the biggest and toughest edition of the event so far. And that is the most important part of all, whilst the tracks pushed riders to the limit and festival hit record numbers, it never lost the super friendly festival feel from the first Ard Rock.



Ard Rock would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to everyone who made the 2016 event such a great thing to be part of. Every rider who came and rode their hearts out, closed gates, finished with a grin and left the camping fields clean to make sure we’ll be welcome back on this incredible landscape again. The legendary lads and lasses from Swaledale mountain rescue for patching up the riders who pushed their limits a bit too far. Course building, registration and marshal teams who worked flat out to get the event and riders onto the hills and get them home again, the local community and the legendary Dales Bike Centre. Everyone who came and cheered on the riders, chowed down at the food stands and made the festival a proper celebration of why mountain biking is great.



Please note that the Ard Rock event takes place on a private estate and farm land and the trails are built especially for the event. Do not attempt to ride them outside of the event. Check out www.ardrockenduro.co.uk for more info and until next time...

---

Visit the gallery for more amazing images from the 2016 'Ard Rock Enduro.

---

---

MENTIONS: @prorideguides

---