Racing

ENDURA Whyte Vallelujah Race Report : There will be mud!

28.03.2016
by

After a spell of unprecedented summer weather in the Tweed Valley, Scotland, everyone was expecting the first round of Tweedlove’s Triple Crown enduro series to be battled out in the dry. But no. The Norse god of thunder was obviously angered and on race morning, Thor waved his hammer and dished out a lashing of rain over Tweedlove’s Vallelujah race, but the poor weather did little to dampen the excitement of the event. Local racer Addy Pope takes us through the action.

Vallelujah kicks off TweedLove’s season of events with a Spring enduro around the Tweed Valley. In 2015, the race was, er, wet and the trails were really muddy. Learning through experience, Tweedlove posted a new route for Vallelujah 2016 that utilised some of the firmer trails in the valley. Race HQ was at Glentress with 2 stages in the GT forest before heading through town and across the Tweed to Cademuir for 2 more stages before crossing back to GT for a quick blast to the finish.

The locals knew the score, rain was coming, it was time to hunker down and save as many you can!
The locals knew the score, rain was coming, it was time to hunker down and prepare for the storm!
After a night of Ez-Up gymnastics the Whyte team were taking no chances.
After a night of Ez-Up gymnastics the Whyte team were taking no chances.
Being the first big race of the season for many, the atmosphere was buzzing.
Being the first big race of the season for many, the atmosphere was buzzing.
ENDURA were on hand with waterproofs for those who were not prepared.
ENDURA were on hand with waterproofs for those who were not prepared.
The Whyte team were also there in force, taking some solid results.
The Whyte team were also there in force, taking some solid results.

The weather in the Tweed valley has been lovely since mid-march, the trails were actually dusty last week. But it was inevitable that, with a race coming, this wouldn’t last. 5 days out and forecast suggested rain Saturday and Sunday. It might change. 3 days out. Still showing rain all weekend. Friday – it’s raining. OK, it’s going to be wet, but, it’s going to be wet for everyone so best get on with it.

The morning brought cloudy skies, it could go either way.
The morning brought cloudy skies, it could go either way.
After racers had lost an hour to daylight saving time, Colin at Aye Coffee was the busiest man on site. Sweet caffeine induced motivation
After racers had lost an hour to daylight saving time, Colin at Aye Coffee was the busiest man on site. Sweet caffeine induced motivation
The Tweedlove crew always put on a good show.
The Tweedlove crew always put on a good show.
Yes it was raining, but nobody let it dampen the mood.
Yes it was raining, but nobody let it dampen the mood.

Saturday saw keen racers arriving at race HQ early to try and bag an early Sunday start in case the course deteriorated during race day. It was a gamble, the weather for Sunday suggested no one would get round without catching a shower. The tracks were holding up well to the weather and wheels and there was a surprising amount of grip. Most of our crew had switched to a Maxxis Shorty for the front and it was showing just how good it was. Seriously, if you ride a mix of trails through wet winters, you can stick a Shorty on in October and leave it for 6 months. Over at Cademuir it was always going to be a different story. There has been extensive felling and the top of the hill is open to the elements. The lower half got savaged during the winter storms and the trail team dug a new line into one trail to avoid the fallen trees. This resulted in one short stage and one longer, really exposed and muddy stage. However, there was still grip, except on the roots. The main issue was the wind which made it feel a bit like yachting at times as you tacked around tree-stump buoys.

The race started with one of the Valley's most beautiful tracks, Zorro.
The race started with one of the Valley’s most beautiful tracks, Zorro.
Riders were pinned through the many greens of Scotland
Riders were pinned through the many greens of Scotland
Tracks were holding up well to the weather and wheels.
Tracks were holding up well to the weather and wheels.

Race day dawned and the bleary eyes fools with the 0830 start times (that’s us) perhaps regretted their choice given the clock change meaning it felt like 0730. The weather forecast was predicting sunshine and heavy showers being pushed through by a strong wind. By the time, we had winched up the 375m to the mast the rain had turned to snow. Not a little snow flurry but the kind you used to get excited about when you were seven because you know school will be closed. Pushing off into the 1st stage was a relief as we could escape the worst of the weather into the shelter of the forest. Blasting down through the flat turns resulted in an ice-cream head! Stage 1 is known as Mast of Zorro and it’s a blast. Any thoughts of being cold and wet evaporated quickly as we plunged in and out of the forest round hairpin bends and off jumps. Everyone was whooping at the end of the stage. It was great.

Lower Zorro was a flat out confidence tester.
Lower Zorro was a flat out confidence tester.
Three downward arrows mean it's about to get spicy
Three downward arrows mean it’s about to get spicy
Ian Linton loves back wheel!
Ian Linton loves back wheel!

Stage 2 was where you could either pick up some time by being fit or fall out of contention completely. None of us were really racing for the podium, just the kudos of being fastest in the group. What none of us were prepared for was a hail storm on the back of 30-40kmph gusts of wind. I caught this on the fast, open descent between the two steep sections. It hurt, as I tried to use one hand to shield my face but running ruts at 20kph one-handed was a fast-track to A&E.

A shorter climb brought the riders back up to the start of Stage 2
A shorter climb brought the riders back up to the start of Stage 2
Everyone loves bar drag corner.
Everyone loves bar drag corner.
But...nobody loved sprinting up Sinner's Hill.
But…nobody loved sprinting up Sinner’s Hill.
The classic descent to Peebles, with the Hydro in the background.
The classic descent to Peebles, with the Hydro in the background.

A quick cake stop and it was off to Cademuir for the next two stages. If I am honest I was shaking uncontrollably after the stop. From this point on we kind of all made the unspoken decision not to stop and just keep rolling. Stage 3 has a flat start, a horrid off-camber quarry then an amazing but awkward section to finish. The long grind to stage 4 certainly helped the body temperature and we lucked out at the top where it was not raining. I reckoned stage 4 was my most likely place to have an off. It encouraged you to pin it, while being so slippery with numerous sniper roots. The wind was less severe than Saturday at the top and we all got out of the stage without hitting the deck. The lower section of the stage was a real hoot. Fast, banked and slippery.

The trails were fast and loose, wet enough to hold speed.
The trails were fast and loose, wet enough to hold speed.
Yeah! full gas in the mud!
Yeah! full gas in the mud!

All that was left was to pedal back across the valley to GT, passing lots of soggy riders heading out smug in the knowledge that we had 2 fewer stages left than them. The stage at GT was only from ½ way up the hill but to get there you had to ride up what is arguably the nastiest fire-road climb in the valley. Normally I love this 2-two type climb, but today it seemed steeper and draggier than normal. The final stage was fun in places but lacked the speed and flow of the GT7 descent it was based on. The flat turns in the field were mentally slippy, foot out and off the brakes before arriving back into the arena for the finish.

The fatigue of a long day was starting to show on the faces of the racers.
The fatigue of a long day was starting to show on the faces of the racers.
Back onto hardpack, the speeds increased and the style came out!
Back onto hardpack, the speeds increased and the style came out!
A final sprint (slide) over the field brought riders to the finish.
A final sprint (slide) over the field brought riders to the finish.
A great day in the Scottish dust!
A great day in the Scottish dust!
Spot the problem, someone put down too many ponies....
Spot the problem, someone put down too many ponies….

So that’s it. A manky weekend but pretty much smiles all round. I didn’t hear anyone complaining about the weather or the course. It was one of those character building weekends where you just have to get on with it and you know everyone else is suffering just as much. Thanks to all the TweedLove crew for making the event happen in spite of the weather. Special mentions to the marshals at the top of Cademuir who braved the elements for 5 hours, Whyte bike and ENDURA for supporting the event, and to the Tweedlove team for pulling off another great wee race in the valley. Can you book some sunshine for the TweedLove International in May?

Nothing left to do but sink a celebratory beer!
Nothing left to do but sink a celebratory beer!

Full results and rider photos can be found here, and for more information on other Tweedlove races, check out their website.

Words: Addy Pope Photos: Trev Worsey

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