Have a look at this vid and word below from the organisers:

‘ARD ROCK ENDURO – THE UK’S PREMIER NATURAL ENDURO AND ALL MOUNTAIN SPORTIVE 

- June 29th & 30th 2013, Swaledale, North Yorkshire

Combined mountain bike Enduro and All-Mountain sportive in the stunning Yorkshire Dales National Park. Our exclusive route takes in 100% natural rocky descents incorporated into a big day out in the Dales. We obtained one-off access to private land, which means ‘Ard Rock Enduro can take in gnarly, rock strewn terrain only rideable in our event. Our chip timing system is provided by industry leaders SportIdent.

Expect plenty of rough and ready terrain – no groomed trails here.

There will also be camping, a BBQ, beer and fantastic spot prizes from event sponsors Santa Cruz, Hope and Mavic. All entries before Monday 10^th June are automatically entered into a prize draw for a £600 set of Mavic Crossmax ST wheels.

www.ardrockenduro.co.uk

@ardrockenduro

Dales Bike Centre – supporting the event along with a host of other sponsors. There will be a BBQ and plenty of beers here.

There are still riders finishing the final stage of the race but at this point none of them will be able to challenge at the top end of the results sheet.

Click over to the Superenduro (organisers of this round of the World Series) website for full results.

Anne-Caroline Chausson unfortunately had a big crash early in the day and is in hospital with one or two broken ribs, get well soon to her. On a lighter crash-related note, Britain’s Josh Bryceland had one of the strangest of the day on the first stage as he crashed over the bars and in the process lost a shoe in the bushes… Don’t you hate it when that happens?

It was exciting stuff watching some of the world’s most talented and proven mountain bikers battle it out with relative unknowns such as Martin Maes (who finished fourth overall and he’s still at school!) and more interestingly to see some of the sport’s big names suffer somewhat in a discipline which is unknown to them. Steve Peat was unfortunately one of those riders as was 10xWorld Champion Nicolas Vouilloz, both finishing outside the top 15.

We’ll have a full report later and a rider’s report coming this week so stay tuned.

Take a ride through the streets with Kona’s Alex Stock from yesterday’s prologue:

Seeing the pedal to the metal style of the full-time enduro racers, particularly Jerome Clementz and Alex Lupato, was not only inspiring but also an insight to their intentions on race day. Nicolas Vouilloz showed his almost scientific approach to downhill racing (which won him 10 world titles) as he was adjusting his forks mid-run. Fabien Barel proved his all-round prowess as he finished in runners-up spot and flamboyant Cedric Gracia scorched the hill to round off the podium, both are likely to be finishing near the top of the results sheet today.

Anne-Caroline Chausson took the women’s prologue and expect to see her at the top of not only her category but also the overall results today.
Photo © Superenduro

As a final note before we go chasing the riders around the four stages today, it’s worth mentioning that Steve Peat and Nicolas Vouilloz will spend the whole day (the race will take around 5 hours) riding together as they are seeded together…

UCI World Cup XC 2013 kicked off last night with the Eliminator race in Albstadt, Germany. Stay tuned for the main race on Sunday over on RedBullBike.
Photo © Sven Martin

Red Bull’s live racing coverage of XC World Cup round 1 starts at precisely 10.18 on Sunday 19 May.

If you want to fast-track to the results, click over to the UCI’s round-up of the racing here.

Words: Rachel Fenton
Stage 1 report: here.

To say the last 2 days have been tough is somewhat of an understatement. I have literally done nothing that is as hard as this race in my life.

I have discovered the joys of stage race face and stage race stomach! The former being the puffy face you wake up with (in my case a great trout pout from sun-burning my lips – whatever I do I seem to be unable not to burn some parts of my body!) and the latter your stomach’s dislike of all things energy drink and gel-like after day 2.

Stage 2

Stage 2 was the queen stage at 145km with 2350 metres of climbing. For me this was mentally really tough. I’m not one for just trucking along with no real climbing or singletrack and that’s exactly what this transition stage was all about. Dirt road mile-munching.

That said the scenery was simply stunning for some parts. Mid-stage we rode through a boulder strewn grassy landscape with rocks seemingly teetering on other rocks. The singletrack through this section was brilliant too. Hiking trails put to good use, flowing in and out of the rock formations.

Then there was the final descent! After 130km of grinding your ass into the saddle on dirt roads to be able to stand up and roll down for 5km was awesome. I had my downhill head on and was shouting for riders to clear the trail so I could say I’d ridden all the rock slabs and step downs (Tracy Moseley eat your heart out). Collyn was not far behind, which, given she was on a hardtail was even more impressive.

When we got back yesterday though I was cooked. I just ate dinner and went to bed!

View from camp.

Stage 3

Fast-forward to this morning and my face was puffy and breakfast was a chore and a half (Mike Blewitt, who has much experience of this kind of thing, said I was suffering a bit early in the race). We headed off up a couple of short climbs, very slowly before some more lovely flowing singletrack called the Tulbach trail (South Africans build good trails). Unfortunately we were slightly further back today so had queue for some ‘technical’ sections – which were not very hard!

We basically went around the edge of a bowl today, with mountains on all sides. We never climbed to the top, just high enough for it to be tough. To top it off a lot of the valley bottom trail was either ploughed field or pebble track – both of which are pretty miserable when you already can barely sit on the saddle!

About 55km into the 94km stage my stomach began to hurt. I told Col and she guided me around to 2km from the second water stop at which point I paused and was sick everywhere. I sat in the shade eating electrolyte tabs with everyone checking on me (nice people) for about 5 minutes. I then felt better, got back on the bike and rode on. I stocked up on casava crisps, water and coke at the feed and on we went. I was back!

Unfortunately the heat was now pushing 40 degrees and we were heading for the worst bit of the day – 2 steep hills. Collyn was struggling a bit now so we took it pretty easy given the heat. The climbs were rideable, just, unlike the sand dunes from stage 1 but pretty brutal for the end of a day!

To say we were pleased to finish was an understatement! If I never see a pebbly track again I’ll be happy.

Quick update on results after stage 3:

- Bulls team lead the men’s category

- Team Energas lead the women’s category

- RE:CM lead the mixed

Full results can be found on the 2013 Absa Cape Epic website.

Follow me on twitter @Fentinator or read my blog www.rachelfenton.blogspot.com

Thanks to Canyon Bikes UK for supplying Rachel’s test bike.

A weekend ticket (for the 4th and 5th May) will set you back £40, and in return you can spend 2 days getting filthy in Newnham Park, taking part in a host of activities and leaving your husband/boyfriend putting up the tent and looking after the kids.

The main attractions:

Mountain bike event (15km and 25km options)
5km trail run
Outdoor circuits
Runner V Rider hill challenge
Mountain bike skills sessions
Mountain bike maintenance seminars
Coached rides of the event loop

Why not get yourself along to a great sounding women’s event on May 4th and 5th?
(Photo taken at Stilettos on Wheels 2012)

Supporting activities:

Specialized women’s demo bikes
Skills area
Elite athlete Q+A
Under 12s races (girls and boys)
Support races (we’re thinking along the lines of a cake eating challenge dressing up obstacle races)
Free camping for competitors and their families
DVD sessions and other activities for kids

All this is included in your weekend ticket, and the timetable will ensure that you can do every activity if you want to.

The mountain bike loop will be 5km long and will be beginner friendly.  There will be one long hill, plenty of enjoyable singletrack, and one long flowing descent.  After each lap you will return to the start finish area to be cheered on by supporters, and to refuel.

Mountain bike hire will also be available for anyone who does not have their own (pre-booking only).

For more information, online entry and a provisional weekend timetable see www.fullysussed.co.uk

It’s great to see new events and the popularity of the sport on the whole seemingly on the up. One such event was the 2012 Gravity Rally on Exmoor – a relaxed event which maximised fun and minimised the priority of getting a result. With such an emphasis on having a good time the event could be compared to the ‘classic’ MTB festivals of the sport’s previous heyday. 

Well we’ve just had news through about the return of the event, read the press release below then get signed up to receive your free brake pads and a pint of fine ale!

The ‘mountain bike rally’ returns for 2013.

Press release: Mondraker Gravity Rally returns to Exmoor!

The series, a seven-stop tour taking place over the course of the entire 2013 mountain bike season, will not run under the umbrella of cycling’s world governing body, and has instead been been setup by Chris Ball (formerly of the UCI) and the organisers of the Enduro Series (Coupe de France), SuperEnduro and Crankworx.

The Enduro World Series aims to build a lasting event series for riders, teams and the mountain bike industry.

“I’ve heard the demand for this type of series for quite some time,” said Ball, managing director of the Enduro World Series.

“Along with SuperEnduro, the Enduro Series and Crankworx, we want to develop the sport of enduro mountain bike racing so it can grow as a sustainable worldwide discipline.”

The racing calendar for 2013 will be released on Tuesday December 4. In the meantime check out www.facebook.com/EnduroWorldSeries

Five rounds from December to March

Earlier this year Hall smashed the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by bicycle, riding an average of 200 miles a day for 91 days.

The new Welsh MTB XC Winter Series will have five rounds from December to March. Rounds one, three and five will take place at the Coed Trallwm trail centre, while Nant Cerdin in Llanwrtyd Wells will host rounds two and four.

The format is simple. Riders race over multiple laps for one hour plus one lap over variable terrain made up of fire roads, woodland and a mixture of technical and flowing singletrack set among the stunning scenery that mid-Wales is famous for.

“2012 really was the year of mud tyres, dirty bikes, crud catchers and slippery fun,” the organisers told us. “However, as any true mountain biker will tell you, muddy trails improve skills and the wet toughens you up.

“It also happens to be the perfect preparation for a spot of winter MTB racing! After a summer like ours, there really are no excuses to not get out there and race this winter as mud is now, officially, your new best friend and rain is an everyday occurrence.”

Entry is £10 per round or £40 for the whole series with entries closing seven days prior to each round – there are no on-the-day entries. Full details can be found at www.redkite-events.co.uk

Welsh MTB XC Series

Round one – December 9 – Coed Trallwm MTB Centre
Round two – January 13 – Nant Cerdin, Irfon Forest, Llanwrtyd Wells
Round three – February 3 – Coed Trallwm MTB Centre
Round four – February 24 – Nant Cerdin, Irfon Forest, Llanwrtyd Wells
Round five – March 17 – Coed Trallwm MTB Centre

Porras and some 500 other riders took on a stage that included ascending nearly 10,000 feet up Irazú Volcano. Porras was followed to the finish line by fellow Costa Ricans Enrique Artavia and Lico Ramirez at one minute 26 seconds and four minutes four seconds respectively.

Defending La Ruta champ Todd Wells, who was sitting in second place going into the stage, was one of those feeling the burn left over from stage one. He dropped to fifth place and is now more than 19 minutes off race leader and stage-one winner Paolo Montoya.

Montoya now sits a comfortable 13 minutes 15 seconds ahead of Alex Grant with a total time of 8:45:34. Porras, meanwhile, sits in third place, only 13 seconds behind Grant going into Saturday’s final stage.

Men overall standings

1. Paolo Montoya CRC 8:45:34
2. Alex Grant USA +13:15
3. Dennis Porras CRC +13:37
4. Deiber Esquivel CRC +17:55
5. Todd Wells USA +19:05
6. Federico Ramírez CRC +19:08
7. Enrique Artavia CRC +23:41
8. Milton Ramos SPA +27:03
9. Moises Hernandez CRC +36:59
10. Jose Montoya CRC +44:52

Women overall standings

1. Monique Pua Mata (USA) 04:34:40
2. Jane Rynbrandt (USA) +49:52
3. Genevieve Evans (USA) +1:25:14
4. Cinthya Coto (CRC) +1:25:29
5. Ligia Madrigal (CRC) +1:29:27