I'm always up for a challenge, and the latest one I've set myself is to tackle the EWS-E and EWS-100 in the Tweed Valley. This will be my first Enduro race since 2018, my first EWS since 2015, and my first ever E-Bike race. I'm excited, but I'm also feeling quite apprehensive about the task.
The Tweed Valley Enduro World Series is arguably the biggest and most high profile mountain bike event in Scotland, and it will be held on some of the most technically challenging trails around. I can't wait to get between the tape and see if I'm up to the intensity of racing these tracks, and also if I can back up these serious days of bike time and elevation gain. Looking at the course maps and stages from last year, I'll be tackling around 189km and 10,620m of climbing over 4 days during practice and competition!
My main motivation is to experience this awesome event and to push myself physically and technically on the trails. However, another benefit is to accumulate four big and intense days on my mountain bike. I'm delighted to announce that I've been selected for the Great Britain Cycling Team to compete at the European MTB Marathon Championships in the Czech Republic on the19th of June. Racing the EWS will be a great training overload in preparation for this goal.
I'm really looking forwards to getting my hands on a Santa Cruz Heckler e-bike, and I got a new Santa Cruz Bronson last week too. This week I'll be doing my best to get comfortable on these bikes, as well as preparing for the fourth round of the Schwalbe UK National XC MTB Series at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire.
'til next time,
Over and out,
Rab