The Scottish Open enduro has been a fixture for a number of years – you may know it better as the King and Queen of the Hill Enduro. As such, it swiftly became the most in-demand home-grown Enduro in Scotland, got appreciable sponsorship in the form of Whyte Bikes and Endura, and became the Scottish Open.
Last year, the race sold out in 2 days, and garnered a 150-strong waiting list to boot.
But it’s now poised to take another step up, as the race transmogrifies from a glorious many-hued Open caterpillar into an even more iridescent Scottish Championships butterfly!
Neil Dalgleish, organiser and TweedLove Bike Festival honcho, explains: “Scottish enduro organisers have been meeting to try and co-ordinate things better between us in Scotland, with Scottish Cycling pushing this forward too. The UK enduro scene is a bit wild west at the moment – anyone could organise an event and pretty much call it the World Champs or whatever they wanted. Having more structure and framework will be good for the whole sport here, so that’s what we’re working towards.
“We already have a solid Scottish Enduro Series, so the natural thing is to have a great Scottish Championship race too. Since the Scottish Open is the biggest home-grown enduro race in Scotland already it’s only a quick bunny-hop up to make it the Scottish Champs. We have the riders, the level of organisation and of course the trails – and we’ve learned a lot from organising the EWS races here too.”
The course is also promised to be of a standard worthy of a Championships race, but there’s a determination not to remove the fun aspects to the racing: “The course is a belter. This race was always about friendly racing but on a top quality course”, says Neil, “ and we have no desire to change that. It’s what makes enduro special – we’re all one big trail-loving community in these events. It doesn’t matter if you’re a weekend warrior or a top rider. Chris Ball, Gary Forrest and Katy Winton have all won this event in the past, but they’re in it together with the rest of us.” Also riding will be Our Glorious Leader, Chipps, and a certain Mr Joe Murray of considerable fame.
Instead of having strict stage start times like in the EWS races, riders this year will be given a looser stage start ‘window’. “People can ride with their mates but still have a structured schedule for the day which should keep everyone moving and help to avoid hold-ups. Riding the stages chasing your riding buddy is part of the fun for a lot of people, so as long as it’s safe, we want to allow that kind of thing to happen.”
And a new, official Scottish Champion’s jersey for the overall men and women’s winners will be produced by Endura.
The TweedLove team are also positive about working together with cycling’s governing body and other organisers. “There’s lots of room for moving forward together”, says Neil. “If we can have an agreed set of event rules and organisational guidelines that’s got to be in everyone’s interests. It’s very encouraging to see Scottish Cycling taking a lead in making it happen.”
The Whyte Endura Scottish Open Championship takes place in the Tweed Valley on 22-23 August. The start list features some top riders, including EWS stars Greg Callaghan and Katy Winton.
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