After the excitement of the previous days prologue, it was an early start for the racers. The weather leading into the event had been apocalyptic but the Scottish Enduro Series organisers had clearly been working some strong voodoo as the sun broke through early on and stayed for the duration. That’s not to say the trails were dry, oh no, there was a fair sprinkling of Scottish dust running through the stages.
The mud did not deter the racers though and everyone was giving it full gas down the first stage of the day, throwing out ‘safety dabs’ left, right and occasionally centre. It was a wild run down the steep and rooty clear-fell trails. From a distance you could imagine that the riders were riding angry animals, bucking and bouncing down the trail. It got faster as rider hit the steep sections as the wind has done its work and dried up the track nicely. With each of the trails heading down towards the ocean and fast transfers racers moved around the course quickly. Some of the trails were new for the race, and with the terrible weather leading up to the event most had held up impressively well. There was a lot of love for Stage 2,4,5 and 6, we had best not talk about Stage 3.
After the clear-fell stages, the final stage 6 was a treat. It would be a huge stage, running from the top of the hill right down to the town – a real monster. The start of the stage was ridiculously slick, pedaling became laughable and it was simply a matter of hanging on and trying to bounce off the trees rather than hit them square on. A very steep drop onto the fire road would have likely caused many to stop in fear, but stopping was impossible so most just slid straight over it, eyes on stalks or closed. After realizing they had indeed survived the stage they punched over an exposed traverse that would rival anything in the alps, it then got comedically steep again before the final dash into town. It was a great finish to a great day and Dunoon had played an excellent host.
When the results were in (you can download them here) it had been a close race. In the womens catagory, Roz Newman had clinched victory in the senior women with Fiona Beattie and Kirsten Moyniham in hot pursuit. However, it is now the age of the young guns and Ella Conolly took the overall fastest time in the Junior Women, we see a big future for her. The men’s category was stacked with talent and in the end nobody could stop a hard-charging Santa Cruz racer Mark Scott who smashed the course in 19 minutes 46 seconds, an awesome time. Ben Cathro and Chris Hutchens had to settle for 2nd and 3rd respectively. Credit must go out to all who raced, as conditions were tough and the stages were hard.
I think it’s safe to say that everyone who attended the race left feeling stoked, and not only because they had been in close proximity to Kyle Beattie, but from the welcome they had received from Dunoon. Faultless organisation combined with a forward thinking town that sees the potential of MTB tourism has created an event that defined a new age of UK enduro. We are sure that the event will grow and grow with repeated visits and chats to the passionate locals revealed there are many more trails hidden in the hills. If you are looking for a great weekend destination we would highly recommend Dunoon, offering something very unique and different. The final round of the Scottish Enduro Series heads back to the established Ae, and with an overall series to battle for, we are sure it will be a great race. For more information, check out the Scottish Enduro Series website.
Big thanks to all the marshals, locals, organisers and everyone involved in putting on such an awesome event. We will see you all at the next round. for the podiums check out the next page.
