Welsh Enduro Series Round #1- Coed Y Brenin

The first of the Welsh Enduro Series took place at Coed Y Brenin. We’ve got a race report from Ed Roberts of Evolution Bikes.

Strapping a number board to the front of the bike at round one of the Welsh Enduro series this weekend signalled the start of the race season for Evolution Bikes Gravity Racing. After several months spent training in the dark cold mountains of North Wales it was finally time to see how the legs were going.

Confidence was high coming off the back of last season and I have felt like my riding and fitness have continued to improve over the winter. However I was concerned that I had forgotten how to put it all together for the runs that matter. I always get nervous before races but as I span my way up to stage one I was more nervous than a bee keeper whose left his fly’s undone. I was just hoping that it would all come flooding back to me when the start beeps went. Unfortunately as we were using the dibber timing system at this event I had to re-create the start beeps in my head before I could even get off the line.

Stage One:
Stage one was a stage that would appeal to those sort of people who…, well I’m not really sure who it would appeal too actually. Four minutes of gut busting pedalling was how we were to open the 2015 race season. After getting off the line fairly cleanly I followed with tradition by getting off trail as quickly as possible, putting the bike in the undergrowth and losing a couple of seconds in the process. This slight moment seemed to help flick a switch and I was back into racing mode, pedalling as hard as my legs would allow and hitting most of the lines that I had checked out in practice. The stage really began to hurt with about a minute left to go. The edges of the trail began to blur as I assume my body began to enter into oxygen debt; amazing considering I was breathing so hard that I’m pretty sure Coed Y Brenin experienced a slight hypoxic shift. Thankfully the stage did come to an end and after quickly dyeing for a minute or two it was time to push on to stage two.

Stage Two:
Stage two was the best stage of the day as far as I was concerned. Some sweet techy singletrack before a quick fire road blast. Then it was into some freshly cut trail before opening up onto some of the oldest trail centre in the UK, aptly named Snap, Crackle and Pop. After managing to negotiate the top section of the trail and keep a fairly high tempo on the fire road it was time for the business end of the stage. At this point I should have been on commission from National Geographic as I’m pretty sure I made a visit to every bolder on the rice crispy trail as well as visiting some of the rocks well off trail. Happily though, however loose the riding was it felt fast and I was feeling good heading on to the final stage of the day.

Stage Three:
This was a mixture of both stages one and two; however unlike a delightful mixture that you might see Marry Berry whipping up, it was instead a combination of horrendous pedalling followed by a physical lower section that required some serious concentration. Thankfully I managed to make it to the bottom of the stage unscathed and I was pretty satisfied with my riding throughout the day.

Results:
Having ridden well all day I was optimistic of a good result, however you never know how you have really got on until you hand in your timing chip. BOOM! When the results came in and I was stoked to find out I had taken top spot in the Pro category an also bagged fastest time of the day, a perfect start to 2015.

Results

Grand Veteran
1st – Dafydd Roberts (Old Skool MTB)
2nd – Tegid Humphreys (Beics Brenin/Summit Cycles)
3rd – Nick Wilkin (Twisted Automotive / Moonglu)

Under 18
1st – Jim Topliss (Steve Peat Syndicate)
2nd – Ollie Hooper (Wideopenmag/Pedal Progession)
3rd – Sam Hockenhull

Master
1st – Hywel Silvester
2nd – Simon Price
3rd – Mat Wright

Pro Men
1st – Ed Roberts (Evolution Bikes Gravity Racing)
2nd – Chay Granby (Cotic)
3rd – James Metcalfe (Yorkshire Bike Guides/Muc-Off/Nuun Hydration)

Senior
1st – Phil Roberts (1868 RACING/ANTUR STINIOG)
2nd – Matt Hockenhull
3rd – Ryan Dutton (oneplanet adventure Llandegla)

Veteran
1st – Scott Stephenson
2nd – Joe Hayward
3rd – Adrian Bradley

Women
1st – Sian Roberts
2nd – Sarah Barnwell
3rd – Anna Walters (Bike Park Wales)

I would just like to make a quick shout out to all the sponsors who are going to be helping me out this season: Evolution Bikes, Mavic, Torq, Continental , Cube, Gamut, Troy Lee & Purple Moose Ale

Next race is the 1st round of the Irish Enduro series, cannot wait to get racing…..

Words by Ed Roberts
Photos by Stewart MacKellar www.stewartmackellar.co.uk