POC Scottish Enduro Series | Round 4 Laggan Wolftrax
Laggan Wolftrax, it’s a name that strikes fear into the hearts of the meek and those afraid of ‘big feckin rocks’. Famous for it’s legendary Black trail that redefined what’s possible in a Scottish trail centre, Laggan has become a pilgrimage for riders from all over the UK. Now resplendent with a well-deserved visitors centre, complete with bike shop and Café, Laggan is the perfect venue for riders of all abilities keen to sharpen their highland riding skills without straying too far from civilisation.
Scottish Enduro Series 2015: Round 4 – Laggan from Scottish Enduro Series on Vimeo.
The Scottish Enduro Series visited Laggan last year, surprising everyone with amazing natural trails, and the 2015 round would be no exception with four brand new stages (six in total). The classic Black and Red trails were still included, but the real highlights were the brand new stages that were best described as ‘naughty’! Off-camber, slippery as a greased weasel and devilishly steep, the new natural trails kept everyone on their toes, and mainly on their arses. Practice day was wet and slick, so corners were mainly approached side-on or backwards, but come race day the trails were drying out and conditions looked great for an exciting day of racing. Thomas Mitchell of CUBE UK, talks us through the day:
If there was ever a race that was the complete and polar opposite to the previous round at Glenlivet, it was this. POC Scottish Enduro Series round 4, Laggan. 6 stages, 19miles and just short of 3000 feet of elevation gain. It was going to be a big day out. The rain had once again fallen on freshly cut and marked trails making for some very tough conditions. Here’s how the racing went down.
Stages 1 and 2 were a concoction of trail centre gnar, mixed with natural hand cut lines. Stage 1 took in most of the famous Laggan Black before spitting riders up and tough, punchy climb and surfing the mud to the finish. Fresh from Whistler, Canyon Factory Enduro team rider, Joe Barnes took a convincing win ahead of overall series leader Ben Cathro.
Stage 2 saw the longest stage of the day at 7 and a half minutes for the top guys. Joe once again taking the win just beating out ex world cup cross country, turned world cup downhill racer, Kenta Gallagher.
Stage 3 took us across the road into the “other forest” at Laggan. The “Brown Trails” as they are known locally are hand cut, steep and technically challenging trails. Named Captain Ahab, Stage 3 had a lot of riders scratching their heads during practice. If you had to define this stage in one word it would probably be “awkward”. Deep ruts and tricky climbs littered with sniper rocks made this one of the harder stages the Scottish Enduro trail team have taped into a race. A lot of riders had problems on this stage and even the elite riders were running sections. Joe once again showed pure class smashing the stage win by 15 seconds. In the women’s, Roslynn Newman took charge leading the chasing pack by winning the stage by 36 seconds.
Stage 4 was a much better example of the natural riding at Laggan with flowing corners and steep sections helping riders carry their speed through the mud. Barnes was on a charge again. Even with an over the bars crash at the start of the stage he still took the stage win ahead of Chris Hutchens who was also fresh off a flight from Canada. Hutchens managed to take a very respectable 4th overall for the day. He now sits just 10 points behind Ben Cathro in the overall.
Stage 5 was a short and sharp walkers path finished with some loamy cornered goodness. One of the shortest stages of the day it had a punchy climb in the middle, which was vital to carry speed into. This stage was all about horsepower and determination.
The final stage of the day was Moby Dick, stage 6. It was quite the topic of conversation on Saturday practice. ¾ of the way down the trail was what can only be described as a serious mud bog. It was almost impossible to carry speed through the section so emergency work was carried out on Saturday night to make it safe for riders to race. Some large rocks placed over the biggest puddles seemed to do the trick and riders were pleased with the results, something we could actually ride because we like pushing our limits, not our bikes!
Barnes was again on another level, leaving the rest of the field wondering how he went so fast taking the win on the stage for total stage domination and winning the day by 1 minute and 17 seconds! Joe was pleased with his result, and had a great day “I was loving the SES in Laggan. A couple of new trails and some great linking sections continue to put it up there as one of a Scotland’s top riding locations. Perfect dirt, varying woodlands and techy rock features all day long. The guys out digging in preparation did an amazing job. I had some great fun on Saturdays practice lap after some rain made things a bit slick and slidy. Then with drying conditions on Sunday things got a bit quicker and a bit less sideways. Still plenty of wild moments to keep the spirits up and the grin stoking though. Happy to get a win and a good day out riding with the boys.” Kenta took a respectable 2nd for 777 racing and Canyon bikes’ Liam Moynihan rounded out the elite podium in 3rd.
In the women’s field Roslynn Newman took the win ahead of Kirstin Moynihan (2nd) and Scottish Enduro’s very own Fiona Beattie (3rd). Roslynn looks well placed to defend her 2014 title, “The stages at this years SES at Laggan had literally everything you could ask for in a MTB race from classic trail centre hardpack to freshly cut singletrack that couldn’t have been more than a few days old. The stages were very physically demanding and I really had to think about preserving energy for the later technical sections. It was obvious that the organisers had really gone out to push the boundaries in designing a really challenging course. Heavy rain on Saturday morning greased things up and a few folks took advantage of the popular new ‘lite’ option to cut out stage 3 and 6 but still stay in the race. It was a great weekend of banter both on and off the bikes, and I’m delighted to have managed to take top spot against some great female competition, and would like to thank the team and marshals for doing battle with the midges”
We should also give a big shout to the sponsors POC | 2pure | Singletrack Bikes | Basecamp Bikes | Laggan Wolftrax | Sick Skills | Hope Technology Ltd | WTB | Findra” | Ride Sierra Nevada for making it happen.
It was great to see growth of the Lite class, providing (in this case a rather spicy) taste of enduro without having to ride the full course. The Scottish Enduro team once again put on a great day, but the real winner was Laggan. With it’s new trail centre café, it has become a must visit location for those heading up or down the A9. The next round moves to Fort William on the 12th and 13th of September. For more information you can check here.
Podiums
Everyone deserves their 15 minutes of fame, here are the podiums. Full results can be viewed here
Words: Trev Worsey and Thomas Mitchell
Photos: Trev Worsey
Did you enjoy this article? If so, we would be stoked if you decide to support us with a monthly contribution. By becoming a supporter of ENDURO, you will help secure a sustainable future for high-quality mountain bike journalism. Click here to learn more.
