Singletrack Reader Awards 2021 – The Winners Revealed!

It’s time for the big reveal! We can now tell you who YOU voted for to win in this year’s Singletrack Reader Awards, in association with Kona. Thanks to all of you who came with us on this year’s doing-things-differently awards – we’ve been blown away by the number of amazing nominations and votes. It’s really highlighted the fact that while the tech and shiny products are interesting, it’s the people and communities that make mountain biking the activity that we all love.

Without further ado, let us reveal your winners of the Singletrack Reader Awards 2021.

Best UK trail stewardship initiative

Winner: Tweed Valley Trails Association

Finalists: Dean Trail Volunteers, Tame Valley Mountain Bike Association

On behalf of the TVTA Board, I’d love to give a massive and heartfelt “CHEERS” to all the riders, supporters, diggers and volunteers who have made it possible for us to even be in the running for this award, let alone win it! So much has changed within the wider world over the last year, that it is truly amazing to see the time and effort that people are still willing to put into making sure the trails they love to ride are there into the future. The increased number of Trail Associations across the country really shows that as a riding community, we are willing and able to step up and take responsibility for the long term sustainability of our sport. The best thing to see over the next 12months would be loads of new Trail Stewardship organisations springing up and challenging us for the award next year!

Gordon Smith, TVTA Chair

Best UK environmental initiative

Winner: Trash Free Trails

Finalists: Cargodale, Lakes Litter Tribe

Best UK community initiative

Winner: Ride Sheffield – Be Nice, Say Hi

Finalists: School of Rocks, TotalMTB

Best brand initiative

Winner: Santa Cruz PayDirt

Finalists: Specialized – Soil Search, Trek – All In

Best use of lockdown

Winner: TiRed – The STW Covid Guy, Daren Austin OBE

Finalists: Rob Belsom – The STW Zwift guy, Aoife Glass – Silverstrange Sessions

Best STW image

Winner: Singletrack 139 Cover – Pete Scullion’s Yellow Mountains

Finalists: 135 Cover – Pete Scullion’s selfie, 136 Cover – Birthday illustration by Isaac Orloff

For me, having one of my photos picked to grace the full wrap-around cover of Singletrack is an honour. To get two in the same year isn’t something you can ever plan for, you just have to give yourself all the chances, and self-shot dawn raids and sunset recon missions across a Highland waterbed definitely swing things in your favour. Being responsible for two of the three finalists in Best Image will keep me heading into the middle of nowhere at the ends of the day for sure.

Big thanks to Singletrack and everyone who voted for my celluloids this time around.

Pete Scullion

If you really love this cover, you can buy the print in our shop – and Pete gets a cut of the profits!

Best STW article

Winner: Be Nice, Say Hi, Ask Why – Hannah Dobson

Finalists: Wrongpacking, by Amanda, Kiwi Beervet, by Tony Hutcheson

Well, this is a nice surprise! Though I suspect the fact this article won is less to do with the writing and more to do with the topic. Riders in England see their Scottish counterparts enjoying incredible rights of access with the sport being actively promoted by a government supported DMBinS, and Welsh riders are eying up increased access just on the horizon. Yet, set foot (or tyre) of your door in England are you’re constrained to a few thread veins of countryside access through a landscape that has been transformed by – and is ever increasingly designed around – the car. That’s something that I think is worth getting cross about. I hope to continue to explore how we as riders might, in conjunction with other interest groups and the broader public, add our voices of dissent against the prioritisation of private rights over public benefit, and restrictions on public access.

Most Outstanding Human

Winner: Aneela McKenna

Finalists: Lachlan Morton, Rosie Holdsworth

Congratulations to all our winners and finalists, and thank you to everyone who nominated and voted for everyone who made the Singletrack Reader Awards 2021 such a success. Thanks also to our sponsors, Kona Bikes, who made these awards possible. In the absence of a big awards ceremony or gathering this year, we’re posting out the (hand made!) awards to the winners and finalists, but here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming their way.

To encourage you to vote (as if you needed it with such a great line up of finalists!), we had a Kona Bikes bundle of goodies to give away to one lucky voter. We’re pleased to let you know, the winner is @jumpinggeneene

Thanks again to everyone, and congratulations to all our winners.

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

More posts from Hannah