Antur Stiniog DH Ffest 2014
The dust has barely settled on the 2014 DH Ffest at Antur Stiniog and we have a boat load of coverage for you!
As many of you will already know, Antur Stiniog is a community run project that is designed to revive Blaenau Ffestiniog as the industry that kept it alive slowly declines. Boasting 5 trails for most abilities from the cruisy Jympar to the outrageous rocky-horro-show of Y Du, and probably the slickest uplift in the UK, Antur is one of the hot tickets for Welsh biking, and adventure tourism in Wales. Also on site are ZipWord Titan (big zip lines) and a set of crazy underground trampolines – seriously!
The track chosen was the Black Powder run, a mix of fast open sections and more techy slabby rock sections to keep you on your toes. The lines were fun and plentiful, with a few sneaky insides appearing as Saturday went on. The uplift ran faultlessly, on Saturday morning I had time for 7 laps and a photo-walk down the track, and I heard many people “complaining” that they had managed too many runs! Sadly Saturday afternoon was a bit of a wash-out with low cloud and a stiff breeze, but as most people had managed plenty of riding this wasn’t a big deal – many took the opportunity to pop out in Blaenau for some re-hydration and looked a little worse for wear in the morning!
Sunday dawned a bit cloudy but this soon cleared to give dry weather and with only light breezes (by Antur standards!) at the top, racing was un-interupted. The boys from MIJ put on a storming show, with everyone who wanted getting two race runs, the uplift was spot on, and the atmosphere was wonderful with families and locals lining the track pretty much from top to bottom.
The first corner was one of the hardest bits of the course – a series of wonky rocky steps into a berm filled with loose rocks that saw plenty of carnage over the weekend.
The views from the top were superb, showing just how great Wales is (like we didn’t already know!)
Punctures were a frequent occurrence for those who were really pushing on. If you were lucky it was near the top and you could get a lift down, saving the long walk of shame off the mountain.
It’s a shame the weather closed in on Saturday evening – the rooftop BBQ is a favourite at Antur!
Jake “Hollywood” Hancock kept her lit for 4th in expert.
Team Antur Stiniog had an awesome weekend with Owain James 3rd & James Hughes 2nd in Elite, and Iwan Griffiths taking the Senior catagory to bits to finish in 1st over 8 seconds up on second place!
Matt Simmonds was the man to beat all weekend, and put down a stormer to take the elite win, and some beer money for fastest time of the day to boot.
Will Weston took the win in Juniors
Lindsay Hanley took the win in Females, with One Giant Leap local Sarah Staples (below) hot on her heels.
A totally stacked prize table thanks to Continental, Hotlines, Dainese, Purple Moose Brewery, Oily Dan’s Bleed Kits and Rockguardz.
Juvenile – Ossain Webber 3rd, Jack Cooper 2nd, Rhys Edwards 1st.
Youth – Ben Garrard 3rd, Matt Walker 2nd, Elliot Heap 1st.
Junior – Tristan Riley-Fox 3rd, Nathan Foster 2nd, Will Weston 1st.
Female – Vaska Prostova 3rd, Sarah Staples 2nd, Lindsay Hanley 1st.
Masters – Matthew Davies 3rd, Simon Pemberton 2nd, Steven Day 1st.
Veteran – Lee Pettitt 3rd, Malcolm Ellis 2nd, Steven Felstead 1st.
Senior – Connor Martin 3rd, Stephen Thompson 2nd, Iwan Griffiths 1st.
Expert – Thomas Owens 3rd, Perry Gardener 2nd, Ben Lovell 1st.
Elite – Owain James 3rd, James Hughes 2nd, Matt Simmonds 1st. (Matt’s time was 2.28!!)
Fastest non-elite time of the day – Ben Lovell (2.37.957)
A massive thanks to Buds and all of the team at Antur, the marshalls, and everyone who came out to race or support for making this race such a good time. For many people it was their first race, but I doubt it will be their last… Roll on 2015!
Antur Stiniog
Words – Tom Laws
Photos – Tom Laws and Ritchie Fernyhough