Enduro World Series - Round 2 - Val d'Allos

Having freshly graduated with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering after a hard 5 years of work, I headed out to Europe with my girlfriend Niamh as head mechanic and chef; destination Val d’Allos for the second round of the Enduro World Series. Arriving late Thursday evening after a long drive we came across the Col d’Allos which deserved the hype it got, with steep drops each side and tight switchbacks it made for quite the adventure at 11pm.

The week before I left had been quite hectic - securing a deal with Cube bikes. The 650b Stereo arrived the Thursday before I left. I had to build, tune and get it set up in just a matter of days but on the first ride I felt great on it and loved the feel of it. The big wheels rolled fast and smoothed out the bumps, and the suspension was buttery smooth, pedalling like a dream. The full build pictured weighed in at only 12.7kg. After a hectic week of building, riding and travelling, Friday was purely a rest day and a chance to walk the lower sections of the track since no practice was allowed.

I awoke early on the Saturday morning eager to get up and do a run. The format of this round was 1 practice run with an immediate race run afterwards. I was positive this was a good scenario as no one had the option of additional practise. Stage 1 was great fun, really fast and flowy. My race run was okay with no crashes or mechanicals but due to their being no prior seeding I caught and passed around 15 other competitors with some allowing me to pass, although others were more hesitant. I finished a disappointing 102^nd.

I headed up to stage 2 and had a practice run, the track was also good, fast and flowy with a good climb in the middle. Again a similar problem occurred but this time a rider was unwilling to let me pass. I eventually passed and put in a solid lower section finishing 115^th which was rather frustrating. Time for stage 3, this was totally different to the rest, with the loose loam and massive Alpine pistes creating some serious speed. In preparation for the race run, I had a quick word with rider x who had been resistant to let me pass, explaining my situation. In this race run I was held up by catching other riders again but put in a consistent effort and finished 104^th position. After a long day and feeling that my results didn’t justify my riding I finished 100^th overall. I headed to the bed looking forward a new seeding on the Sunday.

Sunday morning came around and it was another beautiful day, the day consisted of racing stage 4 twice. It was one awesome stage, very long and had just about everything an enduro stage should have; tough climbs, fast descents and loamy turns. I was seeded  100^th which was more promising and I headed up in the chairlift in the hope of not catching too many people, although with 10 second intervals it was still likely. 

Stage 4 was my best stage with a result of 61^st, even with passing 10 competitors. Stage 5 went ok until I had a massive mid section crash where I went over the bars twisting my bars, brake levers and shifter. I got going as fast as I could and finished 82^nd. Stage 6 was more bike park based and was really good fun, by this time it was around 26 degrees and I was beginning to struggle with the heat. I rode the top section really stiff until the climb where I loosened off and attacked. I finished 88^th in that stage.

The event was great fun and the stages were unbelievable! This weekend I’m headed to Les Deux Alpes for the 3^rd round of the Enduro World Series, where hopefully I’ll be seeded better!