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Big Picture | The EWS Emerald Enduro Opens For Practice
The Emerald Enduro is now well underway with stages 1-4 open for practice – living up to its name it was ‘fifty shades of green’ in the woods. Starting on rocky moorland with sweeping views, the stages dropped first through Gorse and Heather covered shrubs, before diving into Pine and Eucalyptus stands, and finishing in frantic turns through a Bluebell rich forest floor.
Niall Davis and the organisers must have worked some magic to create a series of stages that all feel very different, all based on the same hill. With a buzzing atmosphere and ‘fun to ride’ trails, it was all ‘big smiles and fast trains’. Let’s check out some of the action from the first day of practice.
Lucky charms, the weather looked promising as the marshals received their caffeine fixJet lagged Kiwi Jamie Nicoll was up early, or late? Depending on whos body clock you askedWe see plenty of race dogs. but this is the first ‘race cat’No takers for the airbag first thing! Gas to flat!Blink and you will miss it, a well camouflaged race hutThe atmosphere was chilled out like a grass roots race, only full of pro ridersNiall Davis (in car), the man with the vision
[cThe super fun trails had everyone playing about, Florian boosts one for the cameraBen Cruz, cruising with the tunes on! Backpack speakers are the new enduro!
There was a few wee mud holes on Stage 1A lot of the sections looked fresh cut, keeping minds focussedThe top of Stage 1 was flat out fast, the only thing slowing riders down was a healthy survival instinctBig views over Wicklow, Carrick Mountain is only small but its trails pack a punchThe top of Stage 2 was the place to be for line scoping, a naughty, chunky affairEveryone was having a laugh on the trials rocksAnneke put that 4X power to good use to pop through the rocksThe Emerald Isle delivered its amazing spectrum of greenCheeky rocks littered the fun trailsThere was plenty of flow, but power on the pedals will be keyThe enduro moustache, timeless and elegantThe climb to Stage 2 involved some ‘proper’ mountain bikingGood to see the use of the ‘safty’ mattress!This chute at the top of Stage 3 raised some eyebrows, no place for shrinking violetsEveryone loves a cheeky manualHannah Barnes, like most, was happy to be out of the rocksFlat out in amazing terrainThere was no stress during practice, just loads of fast trains and good timesStage 3 had some long pedals, racing will be tight come SundayStage 4 had a few sneaky obstacles to negotiateIbis main man Scot Nicol demonstrates the perfect 400mm bar turnDH shredder Andrew Neeithling is having a crack at enduro – he looked fast
Gorse, great colours but terrible to crash intoBluebells covered the floor of the lower forest sectionLoosedog getting, well – loose!Most were pumping this small rise, Sam Flanagan tweeked the life out of it!Fun tracks, and still 3 more stages to practice tomorrow. Sunday will be a big raceA star of tomorrow?
