POC Scottish Enduro Series | Round 5 Fort William
Fort William, a place synonymous with the downhill mountain bike community. The track here is the stuff of legend having been raced as part of the world cup schedule for over a decade. Everything from Steve Peat’s world cup win in 2005 to Ruaridh Cunningham’s memorable junior world championships victory in 2007 and every moment in between, Fort William is a special place. Being the second largest settlement in the Scottish Highlands, “The Fort” is a major hive of outdoor tourism. With Glen Coe to the south and Aonach Mòr to the north, Fort William is the perfect place to ride a mountain bike.
Scottish Enduro Series 2015: Round 5 – Fort William from Scottish Enduro Series on Vimeo.
Fortunately that’s exactly what we were here to do. The Scottish Enduro Series was in town to bring us round 5, the penultimate round before the final at Innerleithen in October. With a course of 6 stages over a distance of just under 20 miles it was going to be a big day out.
With many fast racers in attendance it was going to be another epic battle. Boasting a real mixed bag of stages taking in everything from blue trail centre to natural steep gnar.
Stage 1 was the least liked of all the stages its fair to say. Two punchy climbs along a narrow singletrack. High speeds were the name of the game. A really straight forward stage with minimal thought required. In the elite men’s field, current world number 8, Joe Barnes took the stage win. Fellow “Dude of Hazzard” and Canyon rider, Liam Moynihan came in just 2nd just 3 seconds back. In the female category, Eilidh Wells took a significant stage win taking it by 9 seconds.
Stage 2 required more thought from the riders. It was a section of blue graded trail centre trail. Loads of turns snaking their way down the trail. It was easy to blow these turns out and you had to be on the gas as soon as you exited the corners to get the horsepower down. Business as usual with Joe taking another stage win. In the Ladies, Katy Winton took her first stage win of the race.
Stage 3 was the world cup XC descent, the longest stage of the race. A real physical test for all the riders, it was fitness that would help you here. 6 minute times were common across the board in the men’s with Barnes managing to go sub 6 minutes and take another stage win. Eilidh Wells took her second stage win in the women’s race to keep things exciting in the battle for the lead with Winton.
Stages 4 and 5 were where things started to change. Now the trails became steeper, rougher and more technical. There was a course hold for most of the elite riders as there was a nasty crash on stage 4. As riders waited for the course to be cleared, it started to rain. With the rain coming down and the midges biting, riders set off in a hurry down stage 4. A rough rock garden greeted them. It was slick and any braking could result in disaster. It was flat out death gripping. Ducking and diving between the trees, a short climb and some off camber rooty goodness made up the majority of 4. Can you guess who won the stage? Do I even have to tell you? It was once again Joe Barnes, schooling everyone in how to ride a bike fast. In the woman’s race, Winton took the stage win by 3 seconds over Roslynn Newman. Both are regular riders in the Tweed Valley and their technical skills set them apart on this stage.
Stage 5 was perhaps the best loved stage by most people I managed to talk to. A heady mix of awkward rocks, loamy turns and deep ruts made this a real riders favorite. Early on in the stage there was a super awkward right hand corner, really tight and exiting across a stream, followed by a short climb. Riders struggled all weekend with this section and many choose to dismount from their steeds, take to their feet and run. Barnes was once again on a charge; even a snapped chain couldn’t stop him from taking the stage by 8 seconds. A stand out performance from Xtreme MTB’s Sam Flockhart put him 2nd on the stage. Winton took another stage win in the woman’s race coming in just ahead of local favorite Fiona Beattie.
The final stage of the day was a pretty chilled out and relaxed affair. Stage 6 flowed down a newly built jump line. The jumps were small but good fun. The stage then burst out onto the 4x track before finishing where the XC world cup usually finishes. Series leader Ben Cathro was the only man to deny Barnes total stage domination by taking the stage win. The big wheels of his Santa Cruz tallboy combined with his “Sick Skills” gave him a two second advantage against Barnes on the stage. In the woman’s Katy Winton took the stage win and with it the overall win.
Final results broke down like this:
Elite men
- 1st – Joe Barnes (Canyon Bikes)
- 2nd – Liam Moynihan (Canyon Bikes)
- 3rd – Sam Flockhart (Xtreme MTB)
Senior women
- 1st – Katy Winton
- 2nd – Fiona Beattie
- 3rd – Rosylnn Newman
Thank you to NoFuss and the Scottish Enduro Series team. The stages were an awesome mix and the sun even came out for a wee while. Heading into the final round at Innerleithen it’s still all to play for in many categories’ for the overall championship win. See you in the TweedValley!
Words : Cube UK Rider Thomas Mitchell
Photos: Glen Thomson
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