The second round of the UK Enduro is now well and truly over. A vast network of trails on a small set of hills in the Quantocks was the venue for round 2.
Triscombe has featured in a few races and videos over the years but this round managed to capture every part of Triscombe in the seven stage race. The trails consisted of long sprints, steep technical switchbacks, fresh cut trails and flat out bike park jumps. Something to excite everyone.
Here is how the event went through the eyes of Wideopenmag’s roving South Western racer Ollie Hooper:
So, the second round of the UK Enduro is now over and it managed to deliver again with some of the best trails I have ridden at a race in a long time! I rode the Saturday and Sunday race and there wasn’t a trail that took the smile off my face. Riding around with your mates having a laugh, no transition time to keep you worried about missing your slot, just a great chilled out vibe.
With a lot of rain on the Friday before the race the trails quickly turned muddy and sloppy in places. What I love about these races is the fact that they build trails specifically for the race, making it a challenge, even for the locals.
So the format for the Saturday was practice 4 stages and race the same stages in the afternoon. A quick loop around in the morning showed us that it was going to be much more difficult than we first thought. The mixture of physical sprints and dropping into steep technical section made it hard not pushing it too hard on the pedal so you were dead for the technical section. Stage 4 being my favourite trail of the weekend consisted of some awesome slick corners into a freshly built bottom section, it had everything you needed for a blast!
After racing the stages we were all happy with how we got on, a small over the bars for me on stage 3 put me behind a little but apart from that I was happy with how I got on. A quick ride back to the arena and scan in our chips we got a receipt of our times. Comparing with riding mates seeing who beat who on each stage was great! So after day one I was sitting in 6th place in Senior which was a surprise for me just moving up a class.
Day 2 came along fast and the 1 day racers joined the 2 day riders. There was a buzz around the arena, the sun was out and riders who raced on Sunday were letting people who were riding blind know how good the stages were. We quickly got a group of 7 together and set out for a long day in the saddle.
7 stages was going to be tough but we were all up for it. After completing stages 1 and 2 we were informed by a rider that stage 3 was closed due to some scumbag stealing the time device. This was a little annoying but speaking to Neil on the way up there wasn’t much anyone could do about it.
It was a long day but not having any transition times allowed us to chill between stages and having at least 45 minutes to chill in the sun and chat about how we were all getting on.
Stage 7 quickly came along and after being red flagged due to a rider falling on the steep section we got a second chance of putting our best time in. We decided to take a look at the top section and see the best line. A huge group of riders were looking at a massive cut line taking out every single corner on the top section giving those who saw it a huge advantage. A group of riders decided to do this line and speak to Neil when they got to the bottom.
Cutting a long story short Neil decided to cut out stage 7 due to it being too much of an advantage to riders who took the cut line. This wasn’t an ideal decision for everyone but the UK Enduro team have now put a message out on Facebook promising riders that they will resolve the issue for the next round.
Overall it was an awesome weekend and ignoring the issue about the tape the race was spot on and I can’t wait for the next one! Chatting to people in the arena after the race it seemed like everyone really enjoyed themselves racing with their mates and enjoyed the chilled out atmosphere the UK Enduro race brings. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to getting into enduro as well as having a chilled out vibe with their mates.
I was really happy how I got on throughout the weekend. I managed to keep it clean on Sunday and tried to put some the best time possible to move me up a couple of positions. Waiting for the podiums I was shocked that I managed to secure 2nd place in senior. Can’t wait for the next one cheers to all the UK Enduro Team for putting on an awesome event!
Words: Ollie Hooper | Photos: Dan Wyre Photography
