Shimano Tweedlove International, the spirit lives on
When it was announced that the Enduro World Series would not be returning to the Tweedlove Festival in 2016, the bike mad community of the Tweed Valley was left a little deflated. Undeterred, events organisers TweedLove knew that they had the trails to tempt the best riders back to the valley, and to show the world that they could run a world class event – the Shimano TweedLove International was born!
It was not going to be an easy task to rival the amazing atmosphere and huge expo of the Enduro World Series events, but Tweedlove were confident if they pulled out all the stops the community would help deliver an awesome spectacle. How do you create an international event without the draw of the Enduro World Series title? The ingredients were certainly there, great trails, experience race organisers and a gap in the racing calendar. “Build it and they will come” is a famous movie quote and looking around the paddock they had certainly arrived!
The field was crammed with big names, World Champion Tracy Moseley, Greg Callaghan, Mark Scott, Gary Forrest, Katy Winton, Iago Garay, Ed Masters, Robin Wallner and Joe Barnes to name but a few. This was no ‘grass roots’ production either, the picturesque Tweed Green was decorated with hundreds of feather flags flying in the light breeze and hundreds of excited spectators surveyed the many trade tents and food providers. Throngs of excited children lined the start ramps and expo, jabbering about their favourite pros and keen to collect stickers from anyone who was handing them out.
Over 500 riders had descended on the valley to test themselves over two days of intense racing, featuring three hills and a course that would see the riders travel over 76 km. The opening day would see the riders visit the ‘king of Scottish trail centres’, Glentress, certainly a day that would test the legs more than the nerves. A 23 km loop with 833 m of climbing awaited the eager riders with 3 long and challenging stages that would put fitness and smooth riding to the test.
With a good forecast, many spectators had hiked up to the stages to see the pros doing their thing, and also heckle the amateurs as they did the same thing, only a little bit slower. There was lots of talk about who was going to win, would Trek Factory Racing’s Katy Winton be able to fight off her teammate on home turf for a victory, and what of Ibis Enduro Race Team’s Gary Forrest, would he be able to unseat Cube Action Team’s Greg Callaghan from his unstoppable form?
The first three stages certainly played to some riders strengths, those who were fit and good on the pedals pulled out ground on the pure descenders, but day two would be a very different beast. At the close of the day, the atmosphere was jubilant, it had been a long day on the pedals and the stages were long and physical but the shorter format day had left a little in the tank for the next day. Greg and Tracy had taken an early lead, but only just! During the night, as the clouds thickened many riders were sure to have spent a few nervous moments reflecting on the steep Innerleithen stages that Sunday would bring.
Day two saw a change of pace, a game of two halves if you like, as riders headed out for a much bigger challenge. If 53 km and 1210 m of climbing were not enough, the four stages featured some of the steepest and most gnarly trails that Innerleithen had to offer. The first stage of the day was a delight to all. A new creation that has been lighting up locals STRAVA feed and something very different from the classic Tweed Valley trails. Named ‘Flat White’ it was a hedonistic, flat-out-berm-fest, cutting down over the open hillside. The steep berms and heavy G-outs saw intense racing and some crazy shapes being thrown. Greg and Tracy again further their campaigns with a win. As the day rolled on the stages grew steeper and more challenging, and with the elite field being separated by mere seconds a crash could be costly. In the men’s race this is where the wild cards showed their hand, local DH specialist Ruaridh Cunningham was riding like a man possessed and stole victories on two of the last stages.
Results of the Shimano Tweedlove International Enduro
As the huge field of riders made their way around the stages, Scotland effectively demonstrated its diverse weather, at first sun, then heavy rain, then hail and finally back to the sun. The tracks changed too, the dust and loam slicked up and proved far more of a challenge when riders arrived at the classic downhill trails on the front of Plora Rig. Many riders put on a fine show for the crowd in the infamous bomb hole, using their helmet peaks as impromptu spades. The men’s race was intensely close with the top 2 places separated by only five seconds, but in the end nobody could stop Greg Callaghan (Cube Action Team) who took the win, followed by Ruaridh Cunningham (Unior Tools) in second and Mark Scott (Santa Cruz x SRAM) who fought back valiantly after a few issues on day one. In the women’s race, it was a Trek Factory Racing one-two, with Tracy Moseley showing she is still the one to beat, but Katy Winton is closing the gap year by year. Motorcycle Trials supremo Becky Cook debuted with a very strong third. Full results and stage times can be downloaded here.
At the closing of the day, as the expo was being taken down and empty bottles of Tempest ‘Totally Radler’ beer started to mount up, there was time for a moment of reflection. The passionate community of the Tweed Valley had done it again, from the TweedLove organisational team to the huge amounts of volunteer marshals who gave up their time to ensure that the event ran smoothly, it had been a mighty success. The EWS may have moved on, but its spirit lives on in the hearts and souls of the riding community that make the Tweed Valley so special, long live the International.
