News: TweedLove Kicks off with the Glentress Seven
24.05.2014
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Scotland’s biggest mountain bike festival kicked off today in fine form, heralding the start of 10 days of exciting events and international racing! Peebles once again plays host to the TweedLove Festival, now in its 4th year, and what better way to showcase some of the Tweed Valley’s finest single track than the Glentress Seven, a unique seven hour MTB race for individuals and teams of two or three. The battle for the lead was fierce all day but the emphasis was firmly on great trails and tons of fun, attracting riders of all levels, excitement was high and everyone was keen to give it a go!
The idea was to complete as many laps as possible within the seven hour time limit, and with an 11km course with roughly 450m of up and down, it was going to be a mammoth effort. The top solo riders were clocking up 11 laps, and if you do the sums, that is some achievement! The long final descent that crowned each lap was a total classic, made even more special as it was only available for the day – taking in some trails that are normally reserved for walkers!
A huge thank you should go out to the team behind TweedLove who have been working tirelessly for months to make all this happen, and all the marshals who volunteered their time, and kept riders spirits up as they took on the climb! Here are some pictures from the exciting event!
With a sold out entry list, riders traveled from all over the UK to take part in the awesome event!There is always time for coffee and cakes before getting into the hills!The Tweed Valley Bike Patrol, breaking hearts and saving lives!7 hours of racing about to begin. Riders could choose to compete as a solo, or in relay groups of two or three!The TweedLove van leading out the charge! For the front runners it was time to get in position!Sinuous dry single track awaited the downhill leg!The Tweed Valley made for a beautiful backdrop to an exciting days racing!It was local XC machine Greig Brown that led the charge in the early stages, could he hold on to the end!Racing at the front was tight all day!
Foot out, flat out!After a long climb, it was nice to be bombing down!It takes stamina to hold pace for 7 hours, with over 450m climbing a lap, the top of the solo field squeezed in an astonishing 10 – 11 laps!All smiles here, but this field was a strength sapper!Flat and grassy, thankfully it was dry or this corner would have seen a lot more action!First laps in the bag! Time to hand over the baton!There was plenty of tales of carnage from the first laps!For the entire seven hours the racing was intense!
Scotland’s single track at its finest, dusty and just plain fun!This wee section caused some impressive acrobatics at times!The climbs took in some of the smooth trails that have made Glentress famous!Big smiles as the downhill was about to begin!Scottish weather is always a lottery, but today the odds were in everyones favour!The Peebles Cycle Club was out in force, and all fully pinned!The racing was fun for all species!Some of the best trails in the borders, Glentress is well worth a visit!Alpine Bikes were on hand to provide free assistance to racers!Rob Friel was the man with the legs today! The thousand yard stare says it all! 11 fast laps!At the end of the day everyone agreed, it had been awesome!Rob Friel celebrating like a pro!
There are still many more exciting events to come over the next 10 days, for more information, check out TweedLove’s website.
Words and photos: Trev Worsey
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