Check your emails, all the info is now out (Bar the courses themselves)
race notes
Check your emails, all the info is now out (Bar the courses themselves)
So none of the info anybody REALLY wants 😉
Though it does state Cademuir & GT, and 4 stages, so the previously suggested 2 Cademuir from last year, Spooky>Broon Troot then the Fort seem reasonable?
Where does it state 'Cademuir & GT, and 4 stages'? I can't see that. Website says at least 5 stages, which like last year, would be 5 stages.
it says 4 stages with some transition on tarmac road so very much points towards Cademuir
well i dont know about any of that, only ever been to GT the once... it does say full course open for practice on the saturday tho!
Where does it state 'Cademuir & GT, and 4 stages'? I can't see that. Website says at least 5 stages, which like last year, would be 5 stages.
Under the timing/dib stations section it lists 4 stages. In the intro section it also states "The race uses a big variety of great trails - man-made and natural. It features four timed stages, with untimed linking stages between them, taking riders on a tour of some great mountain bike riding in this part of the valley"
Then under the "Withdrawal" section at the end, it states "The event will take place on the Forestry Commission Scotland’s Glentress and Cademuir Forest trails."
****in' hell. I was looking at the website. Not the Riders Notes PDF. Aw, dang, was hoping for 5 stages again, that's a shame. Still, no idea what the route is yet, they might be longer sections.
And a lot less climbing than last year
Hopefully, being a wee bit shorter will mean folk aren't totally done in come race day and can feel good enough to ride their best on the timed stages. A lot of events have been getting seriously long, so with any luck it'll be fun and a right good charge down the hills.
I agree, it needs to be a challenge but shouldn't be so long/tough that by race day you're too goosed to give it the beans!
I like a big brutal enduro tbh, I can ride mediocrely all day, a lot of faster riders seem to fall apart after about 30km, generally the later in the race it is the better my stage results are. It's good to test more aspects of riding- fitness is a legit part of the competition, so's racecraft- judging how much effort you can put in etc.
But, it's still sad to see people unable to complete, it's one thing to do badly and another to dnf. And if they're finishing up at cademuir that is an absolute bollocks of a climb/push. Obviously I don't have a side in this one but I think there's an argument for both, it just depends on what sort of race you want to have. Just the same as any other difficulty aspect.
(and that's my one criticism of the king/queen- it's never really clear who it's [i]for[/i]. First year was relatively all-abilities, second year raised the bar and caught a lot of people out... A problem lots of enduros have, to be honest.)
Last year's King of the Hill was the longest, hardest "gravity" Enduro I've raced - and the most enjoyable.
It was a great test of bike set up and component choice, endurance and technical riding ability.
Riding a 30km+ course like that two days in a row (if you do a day's practice) without breaking yourself or bits of your bike really is a challenge.
I did feel sorry for the people doubled up with cramp on the push up to stage 4th Cademuir though.
Really wish I was taking part again this year.
Was last year the only 2nd time of the event? First time doing it last year and had a blast. I never enter races, but enjoyed it so much, hence why doing it again this year. Hoped for 5 stages again, but we shall see what the 4 consist of this year!
How long was last year? This year it looks like 2 at GT and 2 at Cademuir with a pedal up Janet's Brae to start with...... so the only big change appears to be that we're not racing up Janet's Brae
How long was last year? This year it looks like 2 at GT and 2 at Cademuir with a pedal up Janet's Brae to start with...... so the only big change appears to be that we're not racing up Janet's Brae
Last year was 3 stages at GT (Berm Baby Berm>Electric Blue, Boundary Trail, Ho Chi Min>Zoom or Bust>Fort), there was no racing up Janets Brae.
My race day Strava tells me it was 39.7km
there was no racing up Janets Brae.
huh, I thought there was an uphill stage last year. Am I thinking of the year before, or was there never an uphill?
2 uphill stages in the first year- though the slowest stage of the day dropped and I think a lot of people just decided that'd be one of the climbs in advance 😆
I'm maybe getting the years mixed but I think 2012 was
Janet's Brae climb timed to top of skills area
Berm Baby Berm into Electric Blue
Timed climb up Anderson Road to start of boundary trail
Wee offpiste descent to spooky woods to hitsquad hill
Broon Troot
Ho Chi Minh/ZORB/Fort descent
Sound right? Have to say, I really liked the blue route stage, it sounded like a terrible idea but I loved how much the experience of riding easy fast trails changed under the clock. I think I overcooked just about every corner on electric blue...
yes 2 climbs the first year, I think there should be a good chunk of climbing in any enduro, takes the bike out of the equation a bit and puts a bit more on rider fitness, I was passing people pushing or hauling huge rigs up, my positions on the two climbs were twice has high as on the descents.
Have to say, I really liked the blue route stage, it sounded like a terrible idea but I loved how much the experience of riding easy fast trails changed under the clock. I think I overcooked just about every corner on electric blue...
Same, Berm Baby Berm>Electric Blue was great fun last year and made for very close racing, didn't help that I'd forgotten I had my tyres at 60psi to try and get the tubeless to seat 😆
You wouldn't want a whole race like that but great for variety, I have to say the variety of last years event was spot on for me- Flat out smooth trails, a few punchy climbs on some stages, steep off the back stuff and a challenging overall length.
For all who wanted to watch the WC at Peebles, from Tweedlove on Facebook:
Great news for enduro-riding MTB World Cup DH fans - two pubs in Peebles have agreed to show the World Cup from Meribel on Saturday afternoon. Head along to the Crown (on the High Street) or the Bridge Inn (near the, er, bridge). So you can get out and shred all the stages in the morning and relax watching the DH after. Perfect.
Cademuir was quite busy yesterday evening with the locals....
Oooh - I like that idea - might pop in for a pint after I reccie stage 3 - its the only one I don't really know 100%.
Sadly can't get drunk as helping to wrangle marshals on the sunday, but we should definitely encourage This Kind Of Thing in Peebles.
Trails to pub to trails. What could possibly go wrong?
For the before, in between and after ride pint why not check out the beer festival on in town.
http://www.peeblesrfc.org/news/the-borders-beer-festival-1261082.html
Nearly time for the course announcement. 8pm tonight....
Weather looking perfect for race day, cooling with no wind. Not so much for practice tomorrow. 😉
Most of it is taped out now :-), still not sure if it's fear or excitement I feel, probably a bit of both.
Weather looking perfect for race day, cooling with no wind. Not so much for practice tomorrow
Weather looks grand to me (minus freezing myself in the middle of the night) http://www.yr.no/place/United_Kingdom/Scotland/Glentress_Forest/
[url= http://tweedlove.com/onthehillside/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Whyte_Alpine_ScottishOpen14_.pdf ]Course route[/url]
No surprises?
Aparently all is not as it seems up Cademuir......
"Tyres with grip an advantage on Stages One and Two in particular - enjoy!" 🙂
Cademuir is slippy t'is why..
Well obvs, just liked that it was the sole piece of info in the email
good long stages at gt! enjoy y'all
Really enjoyed today, I kinda reversed the order and found I had Glentress almost to myself, heading over to Cademuir later on after the tracks had seen a few wheels. The climb from stg1 to stg2 is nasty!
AND I was back in the house for 1pm, didn't miss any WC!
Good to see that trail etiquette is totally out of the window at this event! Folk pushing up the trail, folk standing in the trail, bikes left in the trail, groups of riders blocking the way onto fireroads - and none of them making a half decent effort to get out of the way. ****s. Definitely worse than I've seen at any other race
Course is ok. steep Tweed by numbers, and GT by numbers. Was mostly surprised by how bloomin dark it was on Brown Trout!
STAAAAAAVAAAA!
Should've done GT first, it was most chill.
Eh, not Strava when it's race practise. Just wanting to get a run in without having to stop to move ****s out of the way
GT was strangely quiet in the afternoon too. Hardly saw anyone
Big crash for me on stage two at the drop. Head first in to the big tree. Had to walk the final bit and also walked stage three due to the pain. Touch and go for tomorrow's race.
And thanks to the lady who helped me, whoever you were!
Stage 3 is my favourite, a bit of everything.
The start of stage 1 is a great wake up call. I'd stopped where it meets the fire road (well out the way before you ask), the comments I heard ranged from "it's nearly unrideable!" to "that's brilliant!". My impression probably sat in between those. I'd definitely like to see someone who's pretty fast doing it to see their technique.
I was coming down stg1 thinking it was much like 3g on the golf course but easier, the gritty top layer had tons of grip.
I thought stage 1 had loads of grip, surprised me and the mates I was with. Was great! Saying it's 'it's nearly unrideable!' seems a bit much though. Steep and twisty, yeah, but plenty grip.
Well that was an interesting day out! Stage 1, off the line, BANG as my two ride old chain decides it can't handle my huge torques! Made for an interesting combo of chainless riding, running and overtaking!
Grand day out otherwise 🙂
Argghh Legend - I tried to call you back but you'd gone down the trail - guessing you couldn't fix the chain then?
What an awesome day!
All stages were great fast and techy.
Big thank you to marshals and all those involved in the event! X
