| 2005 Marin Dusk'til Dawn Thetford Forest |
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| EVENT REPORT | |
Event Photo Galleries hundreds of images of Dusk 'til Dawn action Dusk 'til Dawn Images
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Report/Pics: Joolze Dymond An alien invasion looked like it was taking place this weekend in Thetford Forest as surreal lighting illuminated the start and finish area of the Marin Dusk 2 Dawn 12 Enduro. Nearly 500 brave souls, in combination of teams of 4, pairs, solo and even a tandem lined up to commence battle on the newly created course. The organisers pulled out all the stops to provide over 10 miles of twisty, turny singletrack, interspersed with fast sections of fire road that flowed and undulated and was both fast and unrelenting.
Considering that one of the course's claims to fame is that part of it is actually below sea level, it wasn’t a pushover. It’s unrelenting nature, combined with the miles of singletrack and pitch darkness (apart from when the moon made a graceful and welcome appearance) made riders work hard and concentrate even harder as they wove in and out of the trees. Cheered on by the young cadets, lads and lasses that provided vital marshal points, the race seemed chilled and relaxed. Underneath though, there was a competitive streak that pushed the riders through the chilly night. As dawn, slowly crept up on them they breathed a sigh of relief.....that is until the rain started! With only 1 hour to go, the drizzle set in make it really uncomfortable for those with still one lap to do. Many team members rebelled at the thought of going out again, and slid deeper in their sleeping bags.
Titus Cycles UK pushed them hard but in the end, Supernova/Endorfin won by 1lap. Leeds Uni/Torq team had a series of unfortunate events, which deprived them of a podium place. One rider struggled to release his bike from the car (having forgotten the bike lock key) and in his rush to change over with his teammate accidentally rode out without his number board. For this misdemeaner the team were docked 15mins, which dropped them down to 4th spot, letting API/Metrow claim the final podium place. Four teams supported the women’s team race. Velocity Girls were the clear favourites and they did not disappoint, leading from the start and punching out a fantastic 15 laps. The Cosmic Frogs looked like they were delivering some serious competition but early retirement, left the way open for Velocity. Meanwhile Team Flumpettes, whose aim was to get in the top 4, seemed to find their race legs and surprised themselves finishing in a creditable 2nd spot, narrowly beating Team Bob Babes on Bikes. Team Extreme Endurance, containing newly crowned (30-34y age category) 24hr solo World Champion, Rob Lee, dominated the mixed team event, coming home ahead of 2nd placed Team Torq Bar 2 with a 42 min advantage. Extreme Endurance also scored a victory in the Solo men’s category, with Richard Wood clocking an impressive 16 laps, and winning with a comfortable margin of 25mins from Andrew Cockburn, with Adrian Scott settling for 3rd. Marin rider Lorraine Stanely in her 4th ever race, took the women’s solo race with 11 laps, 1 ahead of Amanda Seddon (Team PigDog).
German team Supernova/Endorfin tried to totally annililate the competition in the Men’s Team race and their Men’s pair’s team tried to do the same. Unfortunately, a combination of tiredness, a bit of tree hugging and the wearing bumpiness of the course took its toil and they were forced to retire after 8 hrs. Snapping at their heels were victory hungry, Simon Turner and Jeremy Olsen; Freeborn/Ellsworth/Torq, with all to prove after a disastrous Sleepless. Once the Germans had retired they had what looked like a clear run to the finish. However, Numplumz.com - Jack Peterson and Lloyd Bettles - had other ideas, pushing Turner and Olsen all the way, finally conceding the win, with a mere 3 mins separating them. As the hosts of UK’s only 12 hour race, the organisers at Thetford MTB put together a fantastic event with backing from their sponsors; Marin who provided bikes, Lumicycles who not only supplied the battery charging all night put also sponsored the huge tower lights, Torq Bar who provided sustenance all night and Tyrone and his lovely green rubber gloves of Tutto Bici and Embee who provided the landing strip lights at the start/finish. Combined with the hard work put in by the team, it all came together to provide a unique atmosphere of racing and a meeting of like-minded souls. In short, it was brilliant.
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Results: Solo Men
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