The Hope Downhill Endurance
The Hope Endurance Downhill
Stu Thomson / 28.07.2010
Enduro style Mountain Bike Events seem to be where it's at for both participants and events organisers at the moment. Probably spurred on by the huge success of the Mega Avalanche and the ability to create events that challenge both Pro's and Amateurs alike.The Hope Technology sponsored No Fuss Events 6 Hours Endurance Downhill is now into its 3rd year, and after a steady growth over the first two years 2010 saw entries capped and many who wished to compete left disappointed. It's become quite an exclusive competition; with only 150 spaces available due to Gondola congestion there is now a scrabble before the event to compete. Interestingly enough many major players in the UK industry seem to have identified with the event. With many employees from brands such as Hope (including owners Ian Wetherill and Simon Sharp), Orange Mountain Bikes, 2 Pure, LowePro, Hotlines and even a celebrity appearance from Motorbike racer and Isle of Man TT legend Guy Martin (seriously you need to youtube this guy!!). Not only are they competing but also there is most definitely an industry battle between brand employees for the top honours!
The principle of the event is that after a ‘Le Mans’ style running start, riders then ride/climb a few miles up the Nevis Range road before meeting a mid point of the legendary Fort William World Cup Downhill course. Riders then descend back into the finish arena and when the first rider crosses the line the clock begins counting down from 6 hours. Riders then have the challenge to complete as many timed runs of the World Cup DH track in the 6 hours. The winner is the competitor who manages to complete the most runs; in the case of a tie results are decided by whoever achieves the shortest combined time.
This event sees a wide variety of participants coming from all over the UK, there were obviously a few Enduro specialists such as local rider and pre race favourite James Shirley along with many more regular punters who in many cases had never even attempted the Fort William course. For the likes of Shirley, it was a case of relentless DH race runs being thrown down as quickly as possible. For the majority of the field though the Endurance Downhill represents the challenge of survival. Both the challenge for both the rider and machine are unmatched in the UK, it’s about finding a fine line between speed, smoothness and conserving energy for later in the day.
To give you an idea of the challenge involved in this event. As a downhill racetrack Fort William is renowned as the toughest and most physical track in the World. This is for the ‘normal’ DH race schedule of one timed race run. However, the record for the Endurance DH is 18 full runs of the track. Each run was under 5 minutes in time (World Cup Qualifying pace) and the course is 3km in length. This equals a total riding distance 54km, a vertical drop of just under 10,000m and covered in an average speed of over 35km per hour. Awesome!See All Event Posts
