Race Report: The Whyte Scottish Open King&Queen of the Hill

In its third year now, the Tweedlove King and Queen of the hill has become a highlight on the calendar for the locals, with the date circled in red on many a Tweed residents training calendar. Aimed firmly at participation and fun, the event is all about smiles, good natured banter and some sweet singletrack. However, word had spread far beyond the kingdom, and there were plenty of folk lining up from all over the UK, some driving up from the Midlands just to take part. Looking at the course map it was clear this was to be no ‘watered down’ EWS, the team had handpicked some new trails that would test and reward in equal measure, and also thrown in some classics. This year UK bike company, Whyte, were the headline sponsor and they had brought along a selection of their 2015 bikes which were getting a lot of attention, and Alpine Bikes were on hand for last minute mechanicals, saving lives and breaking hearts.

Over 400 riders had turned up to enjoy the show, row upon row of sweet enduro machines lay scattered over the green. To top it all off, the Tweedlove team had obviously been saving up some serious bike karma as a true miracle had happened, it was sunny, in august, in Scotland!

The day started off in Cademuir forest, not used on the EWS, but it certainly could have been. Just 2 miles west of Peebles centre, Cademuir is one of those places where you would not be surprised if you ran over a wild leprechaun. A carpet of vibrant, soft moss lay over the ground like pillows, smothering sounds in a bewildering display of green, the atmosphere almost dripping with the musty damp of life itself. As we climbed, we past many old DH trails cutting down through the ancient woodland. What was a steady pedal soon became a tough push, but the trails were drying out, and there were no start times so there was no rush.

After a quick bit of banter with the cheery marshals it was time to engage race mode! Dropping into stage one, it was all fun times in the beginning, cutting sweet turns on a wide, pine needle covered trail. However, after pumping through a series of steep turns the trees suddenly jumped inwards and things got mighty tight indeed. Cutting left and right on narrow bench cuts, the speeds felt electric in the tight tree lined confines. A cheeky compression onto the fire road had more than a few face checking their front tread, then it was time to work the pedals over the flat middle ground. Just as you were almost out of puff, the trail plunged into a devilish scree slope marked out with slalom poles. Foot out flat out was working for some, while others simply went flat on the rocks, but it was not as bad as feared and after some sideways action it was into the final steep section. Scars on the trees showed that wide bars would be an issue here and indeed, I had a proper ‘moment’ where I hung up between two trees like a daft dog with a stick. After doing the hero pedal to the finish, I joined a crowd of excited, jabbering racers. It was an indescribably good stage, worthy indeed of a full blown EWS, 4 minutes of crazy, heart in the mouth fun.

Stage Two took all the classic ingredients of Stage One and mixed in some roots for good measure, you had to think fast on the greasy trail, not as steep but with plenty of crowd pleasing hazards. It had also totally changed overnight, and lines that had been practiced the day before were now laughably absent. There was a cheeky inside drop line that had caused more than a few to ‘soul search’ overnight, or a longer outside line. However come race day the entry was so slick you kind of got what you were given. I opted for sending the drop with my front wheel while the rear happily wandered off to seek the outside line, thank heavens for modern suspension. It was a real crowd favourite and there were plenty of tales of shenanigans going down while folks tucked into the excellent array of cakes from the Big Bear Bakery.

It was a fair old ride to Stages Three and Four, taking racers back up under the familiar pines of Glentress Forest. Stage Three was a megamix of trails, starting on the classic Spooky Woods trail it was unruly fun through the tabletops, before finishing in Brown Troot, a trail that defines ‘problematic’, you would either have it feet up and flowing, or if you messed up it would be the dabs of shame right the way to the bottom. Stage Four was the classic EWS descent, starting high on the open moor, you could see Peebles way down in the valley, and there was nothing but flat out good times to the bottom, over 10 minutes of action for most.

And that was it, it was over. For almost everyone it was perfectly judged distance, 3-4 hours, a great day out without being the ‘if it don’t kill you’ physical event that some enduro’s are starting to become. Once again the Tweedlove team killed it with the organisation, atmosphere and vibe, and again the timing was instant and the ‘race within the race’ analysis could begin straight away. The music was playing, the sun was shining and interested locals and tourists were milling around the race paddock, keen to see what was going on. The local kids were out in force, though it must be said they do seem to be getting a worrying taste for champagne, in 15 years time there will either be a whole generation of enduro champions, or very busy AA meetings.

In the end it was Chris Ball and Roz Newnham who engaged wizard mode and did enough to earn their well earned coronations as the new King and Queen of the hill. Special mention should also go to Crawford Carrick Anderson who just keeps getting faster, coming in 2nd, and young gun Thom Mitchell who almost upset the applecart coming in 3rd. Full results can be downloaded here.

Podiums

Words and Photos: Trev Worsey

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