Race Report | Welsh Enduro Series Round 1 – Coed Y Brenin
Coed Y Brenin has long been known as one of the top trail centre spots on offer in Wales. It has been going for many years now, with tons of visitors to it’s many tracks, ranging from small kids and family trails plus a pump track, to the longer notorious trail named The Beast, all 36 km’s of it! This three-staged race was held on the older site, where the original trail centre buildings were, these now abandoned and out of the way of the regular weekend warriors, us racers riding what are now known as the old tracks.
Coop and I, fresh on our new test bikes/race weapons, took the two hour drive down, feeling positive about what we knew was to be a peddaly race, we’d been training hard over winter and this time weren’t put off by the thought of busting a gut on the stages. It was a sell-out race put on by the new collaboration of Adrian Bradley (Director of Antor Stiniog Bike Park) and Mike Marsden (Director of Borderline Events and the PMBA race series). This was their first Welsh Enduro race and the race seemed to be packed with either Welsh or Northern riders.
The event was billed as a one-day format, three stages, practice in the morning and racing in the afternoon. Timing was of the mega-reliable wrist-worn swipe chips, so we had to remember to swipe on completion of the stages. We practiced the stages with the easy short climbs up and across to each, with a total distance of only around 15 km, but believe me it wasn’t the transitions that were the hard bits, to say the stages was a bit of a surprise to the legs and lungs was a large understatement! Stage 1 was around the four-minute length and a fucking horrendous pedal, I mean it seemed to go up as much as it went down. In my run I felt tired beyond belief, just praying for the relentless grind to end. Some bits of the rocky single-track were downhill, but so much sat down spinning of the cranks just took all my motivation away, wow that was tough!
The weather was absolutely perfect as the day went on, blue skies and the odd plant showing tiny glimmers of their green buds coming to life, spring was on its way and even after that massive leg burner of a stage, spirits really were high as we rode up the next transition to the second stage. This stage was tough again, very flat at the top, open rocky single-track, almost trialsy in places. It was a matter of keeping going across the flat before you eventually entered the fire-road for a blast down then across the open stone till you hit the fresh-cut section, this was the best section of the day. New loose stone, big rocks, jump after hole after rock, full concentration was needed to stay online here, as the big hits tried their hardest to fuck you off into the open harvested ex-forest fauna, this part was so cool to ride. Next up it turned a corner to join the older rough rocky trail, big baby-head sized boulders strewn the track, Coop and I had both punctured on this section in practice and with the trail tyres we had to run for the padal sections it was a real lottery if you could get through with tyres intact. Out of the end of the rocky section and it was across another fire road and down more single-track, rock-strewn, tyre killing terrain, a crash along here really could have been terminal!
Finally it was up for the last stage, this was the long one, and I’m talking ridiculously long, it took me just over 7 minutes in my race run, this would have been ok if it was all downhill! The start was mint, full speed down some rocky narrow bike-park type stuff, trying to gain speed by pumping the holes and lumps. Again the track flattened out, sit down and spin, downhill again and it was out into a very open, rocky, old fire-road, that seemed to drag on for ever, tiredness kicking in with the constant need for crank spinning. Next up it was on the anchors to be greeted by another uphill grind through the trees, lungs burning, just trying to keep momentum. Another flat fire-road and the track went across to a real fun and fast, tricky rock-strewn blast through the old forest. Cross another fire track and you were finally into the last (not downhill enough) section called the old duel track, here my lungs and legs had just given up the will to live as I crossed the line, gutted with my own performance.
It’s funny, but even when you are feeling fit, you can have real off days, I seemed to just feel knackered from the start of the day and never found the will or energy to push hard to get a result, was this because massive pedal stages just never suit me or just because I had over-trained in the week, either way I have vowed to avoid trail-center type races in the future, not my cup of tea!
On the up-side and whinging/dummy spitting over, the event was run to perfection, the timing chips worked a treat, riders seemed to really enjoy themselves and the chilled out atmosphere of the day. The format of no stage start times really did go down well with racers too. Big thanks to Mike and Adrian for putting the event on to and all involved. As for results, winners of categories were: Daffydd Roberts (Grand Vets), Scott Stephanson (Vets), Sian Roberts (Women), Jim Topliss (Under 18), Hywel Silvester (Masters), Phil Roberts (Seniors), Ed Roberts (Pro Men).
Coop too was disappointed with his 5th in Pro category, he also not seeming to find the power to push through the pain, it certainly was a quiet van ride home!
Full results: www.sportident.co.uk
Words: Jim Buchanan
Photos: Doc Ward
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