Bluegrass International Enduro Tour, Ballyhoura

So the last round of the Bluegrass international tour took place in Ballyhoura on the weekend. The race was a slightly different format to the format of racing I'm used to. There was 2 days of racing with no practise at all compared to practising on the Saturday and racing Sunday which I'm use to. The weekend started late Friday evening with Dad and I travelling down to the lodge we were sharing with my team mate Max Power, Shona and Brian in Ballyhoura. Saturday morning was an early start as we wanted to get signed on early to get a good wave for the Sunday in case we didn't get seeded. After signing on we headed back to the lodge to get some food. We were back in Killfinnane at 12 to get ready to head out on course. At 1:30 I was the first rider through scrutiny but held on for Max and then we headed out on course.

Stage 1 Saturday

Stage 1 was the same stage as the first stage of the Munster Enduro so I had a good idea of where I was going before I set off. Out of the star I felt fast enough and got to the first forest quick enough. As I turned into the forest I found Gavin Carrol on the ground In front of me and just about managed to avoid him. Hit the switchbacks next but felt a little slow through them. Got down onto the road and sprinted my guts out to get to the next section of trail. I rode the last section of trail down through the trees and off-camber fairly quickly and tagged out at the finish. I finished 1st in My category on the stage. I waited for Max to come down the mountain behind me then we made our way up to stage 2 which was only a 15 minute transition. Once we got to the top we didn't hang around for long.

Stage 2 Saturday

Stage 2 was once again one of the Munster Enduro stages. It was shortened down though. I was the first person to ride the stage on the day. It began with fast open mountain singletrack before riding up over a fallen tree and into the woods. In the woods it was straight and flat out and I got a nice smack from my saddle about half way down from a natural double I didn't quite make. Out of the forest and i was a quick sprint down a fireroad into a bus stop and the a small sprint to the finish. 2nd in my Category for the stage. After finishing and Max finishing we rolled back to Killfinnane and were the first 2 to time out for the day.

I took the win for Saturday beating Conor Lavelle by 6 seconds.

 

Sunday

It was a early enough start on Sunday. The house was up and we all cycled from the lodge to the trail centre for the days race. Theres always a great atmosphere hanging around before you set off out onto the course. At 10:15 the Pro's and seeded riders were let out onto the course. Max and I made our way up to stage one with the rest of the Pro's.

 

Stage 1 

Stage 1 was one of the shortest stages of the day. It started with some fast coillte single track weaving down through the forest. After about 40s it was of the coillte trail and into some big berms and out onto the fireroad. I put in as much pedalling as I could down the fireroad and then it was back into coillte trail. This section was a bit peadlier and there was a good few places you could huck big rocks that were on the inside of corners to carry your speed. There was a slightly up hill sprint to the finish and that was that. 1st in category. Max and I regrouped at the bottom and headed to stage 2

 

Stage 2

Stage 2 Started in the open mountain. Down through the grass and into a big gully which was completely over grown with grass so you couldn't really see what was coming up. Out onto a straight blast down a double track and out onto the fireroad. It was a good 400m sprint up the fireroad before re-entering the coillte trail. The trail was fairly flowy but you had to do a lot of pedalling to do it quickly. I got to the end and nearly collapsed with all the pedalling. 1st in category on the stage.

Stage 3

Stage 3 started with a big straight chute witch was super fast. After that there was quick fireroad sprint and into coillte trail. The section of trail was fairly pedally but had really good flow and you could pump hard out of some of the corners for just that little bit extra speed. By the time we got to the end I was knackered. Finished 1st on the stage in my category.

Stage 4

Stage 4 started further up the mountain than earlier in the year. The new section added a nearly a minute on to the stage time. It started rocky and rooty but I got down through it well and got onto the coillte. The rest of the stage was coillte trail with a small section of singletrack at the end. I put in as many pedal strokes as possible and was thankful for the reverb, being able to sit up and pedal. I nearly ran of the trail coming out onto the fireroad but managed to hold it together. A quick sprint up the road and I blasted down thought the singletrack to the finish. 1st in category. Now it was time for the big climb to Seefin

Stage 5

The final stage of the day came around and after a 40 minute climb/walk. The stage went straight into flat out action with loads of jumps and blind drops into rock-gardens. I found some really fast lines thought the sections and quickly got to the fastest part of the stage. After hitting 65km/h down the section it was hard on the brakes into the compression onto the fireroad. After a flat out sprint down the road to the next section of trail. After some loose shaley action I hit the steel bridge which was nearly to narrow for my bars. Once through that it was a long pedally sprint to the finish. 1st in category.

Weekend Done and Dusted... After 7 stages of Blind racing I finshed up with a time of 29:30 minutes. It was good enough to take the win in my category by over a minute. I also took 3rd overall on the day. The amazing thing was after just one race I manage to come 2nd overall in the whole Bluegrass series in my category!!!! Got a lovely new 2014 Bluegrass Fullface helmet for my troubles!!! Pity there wasn't more people racing as it was a fantastic weekends racing.

 Big thank you to Expert Cycles for servicing my fork and going through the bike. Pity we couldn't get the creaking sorted in time but it didn't slow me down but it did annoy everyone around me!! Also like to say thanks to Niall Davis for organising the race and making the trip down really worth while. Only one more Major race to go this season. The Fox Hunt. See you then...

Gravity Enduro Rd4, Djouce Woods

The finale of the Gravity Enduro Series took place last weekend in Djouce woods. This was the fourth round of the series excluding the series champs. The weekend started early Saturday morning meeting Rob from MAD MTB at Expert cycles grabbing a few quick things then we hit the road to get to Djouce. After arriving we went and got signed up for the weekend. The bikes were then unpacked out of the van and we got ready to get rolling. We met up with the rest of the MAD Crew before heading out to do the stages. The stages included a mix of fast flowy trails, some tight technical sections and some long sprints. We got all of the stages done on the saturday and felt I knew the lines i wanted to know and try and get come race day.

Race day

So I arrived at Djouce at 9:15 on Sunday morning, got my self sorted and rolled into the race village. At 10:10 I left scrutiny and headed up to Stage 1. I felt confident going into the day as I felt I was riding well in the wet conditions after a whole summer in the dust and no rain in the run up to the race at all.

Stage 1

Stage 1 went well. I got a great start and felt fast through the berms on XTC. On Benchcut I felt I went as fast as I could. I got a bit caught up on one of the switchbacks but it didn't cost me much time really just felt I could of done it a bit smoother. I put in a good sprint on the fireroad, not sitting down at all. Went quick enough through Son of Benchcut. I caught Leah Maunsell at the end of the trail and we had a bit of a race to the finish poles. I finished first on the stage in my category (14-18) and took 5th place overall on the stage!

Stage 2

Stage 2 started fast and steep through one of the only dry parts of the forest. After that there was a short kicker climb before dropping back through the forest. Next across the fireroad and into a new section of trail built for this round of the series. It was slick enough before flying straight down a trail, bus stopping around a tree then dropping into a bomb hole. On the corner out of the bomb hole the front wheel washed out on me but I just about manage to hold it upright. I won the stage in my category and finished 12th overall on the stage.

Stage 3

Stage 3 was pedally. I went well through Toro(The first section of trail) and pedalled hard on the fire road to the steep section of the fireroad. I got down it fairly quick and was straight on the pedals. I put in a big effort on the long pedal across the bottom section of the stage to the finish line and it payed of with 7th overall on the stage and 1st on the stage in my category.

 

Stage 4

Stage 4 was another pedally stage but had plenty of gravity fed riding as well. I was fast on the opening section with no mistakes on the criss crosses across the bank. I got my line perfect on Gran Canaria. I sprinted hard down the fireroad and across the river and into Sliddery. I went good enough through it with only one small stoppage after getting caught in a hole. Got to the end of the stage and took 1st on the stage in the 14-18 category and 8th overall.

 Stage 5

I got to the top of 5 just as it started to spit rain. I didn't take much of a break before getting going. I found all my lines on the top open section and was fast down through the first steep section down onto earls drive. The next section of steep trail nearly killed me though as my front wheel slipped on a root and was sent down the trail lying with my stomach on the saddle and my feet up in the air behind me like superman! I some how manage to hold it together and pulled myself back onto the bike properly and put in the pedals to the finish. 2nd in my category a second of first and 11th overall.

Stage 6

Stage 6 was a quick 1 minute blast down a single piece of trail and then a sprint down a fireroad. It was a bit of craic and you couldn't really loose any time on it. 2nd in the category and 17th overall.

At the end of the day I came away with 1st place on the day. I also took my first top 10 finish overall finishing 6th with a time of 21:43. As It was the last race of the series there was also the overall prize givings. I took 2nd place overall behind Conor Lavelle in 1st.

Have to say a big thanks to Expert Cycles for all their help and support through the year. Couldn't of done it with out you guys.

Also like to say Thanks to Niall Davis and the Biking.ie/Gravity Enduro Crew for putting on a amazing race series and can't wait to do it all again next year.

Looking forward to the Bluegrass International Enduro In Ballyhoura in 2 weeks time! See you then. Scott

Atec Munster Enduro Rd 3

The final Round of the Munster Enduro Series took place on Sunday in Thomastown Woods Just outside Ballyorgan, Co,Limerick. The Race format is completely different from the gravity Enduro format. It's a one day race where you ride all the stages blind but you can have a second go at each stage if you want. Dad and I arrived down to the town around 10 and I then went and met up and had a chat with some of the rest of the Xc youth Development Squad that were racing as well. We then went and got signed on and collected our timing chips. We then headed up the road to the Forest and up to stage 1.

 Stage 1

Stage 1 was steep, fasts,loose and off camber with a big long fireroad sprint in the middle of it. My Blind run didn't go so well as I crashed coming out onto the fireroad and then got lost. So I did stage 1 again and gained a huge amount of time which I was happy with.

 Stage 2

Stage 2 was fast. It started with a open section through a felled wood area. i felt pretty fast through this section. Then it was over a fallen tree and into the woods. There was a straight fast chute down the forrest and then out onto a fireroad briefly before flicking right up a steep bank and back into the Forest. From there it was a pedal through the trees to the finish. I only made on small mistake on the stage where i came to a stop but it went well enough that I decided not to do the stage again.

Stage 3

Stage 3 was a mellow enough stage with one main forrest section and then a lot of pedalling. I didn't do a second run as it went well enough. I'll let the video do the taking on this stage!!

 

Stage 4

Stage 4 had to be one of the most challenging. Even the very first corner was catching people out. It was tight, fast and loose with a couple of switchbacks at the top. My blind run was alright but felt a bit slow so I did a second run which felt a lot faster but I had a crash near the top so I ended up with 2 identical times for the stage.

 

Stage 5

Stage 5 was the shortest stage of the day but was one of the most fun stages.It was flat out down the hill with a few jumps and small berms thrown in to add a little extra spice. My first run was fast enough and didn't fell like I need to do a second run but as it was the last stage of the day i made the hike back up to the top again and improved on my time by 5 seconds.

Overall it was a great day with some great racing, fantastic stages and deadly company. Was delighted to take the win over David Conroy and Luke Courtney who also rode well to 2nd and 3rd. Well done to Team Ballyhoura for holding a great event and to Jonathan Maunsell for building some great stages. Thanks to Expert Cycles for sorting my bike out during the week and who manage to retubelessize my front wheel 15 mins before closing on the Saturday evening!!
Scott