Sleepless in the Saddle 2007
11-12 August 2007
Catton Park
Report: Joolze Dymond
Detailed Results Analysis (all excel downloads, ranging from 50-950kb): Solo Men | Solo Women | Men Pairs | Women Pairs | Mixed Pairs | Expert Men | Sport Men | Sport Women | Veteran | Mixed |
While Mountain Mayhem is regarded as the daddy of enduro racing, SITS has taken on the mantle of the laid-back little brother. You're still faced with great riding, in the company of your mates, over the whole 24hours, but somehow the whole feeling of this event is so relaxed, at times I half expected only to see a few people out there belting along while the rest of the competitors took their time taking in the scenery sampling the exotic coffees and ambling round the trade village bagging a bargain or two. However despite the serene ambiance the battles for top spots were still close and on times too intense to bear.
It's a busy scene when everyone is on site
With entries capped at 1400, the event sold out well in advance a sure sign of the healthy and growing popularity of enduro racing, with novices and keen amateurs mixed in amongst the hardened enduro rider. The course laid out this year by Ag McNichol, team manager of the Pipedream/Singletrack team, was an absolute corker, mixing all the usual sections with some unexpected wicked singletrack, a bit of off-camber rooty stuff and a steep chute, which proved extremely popular for spectators as they cheered riders through, especially those that didn't quite make the sharp left hand turn at the bottom!
Weather-wise we were treated to blazing hot sunshine, a real welcome change from recent weather and a pleasure to be mountain biking. However true to form we had some rain, but fortunately it wasn't anything to major. I for one called it a day at 2am when it started and was pleasantly surprised when I work up a few hours later to a return of some more rare sunshine!
Classic start shot
As 2pm neared, crowds were gathering at the barriers, as the competitors got ready to surge forward for the start of the 7th SITS. With the sound of the hooter, well nearly, it didn't quite hoot more peeped and the race was on under blue skies and some more than welcome warmth.
The competitors ran out of the arena in the typical Le Mans style start, hoping they'd remember where they left their bikes. It was the RAF that zoomed in first to pick up the bike as they took off in earnest in pursuit of the Sports men's crown. Behind them the small trickle of riders running in soon turned into a deluge and the race proper was on.
One of the biggest differences at SITS is the near absence of the pros - this is a deliberate ploy to make the event more low key and for 'the people' with the prizes for the masses rather than the elite few. For that reason there were only 2 teams in the Expert class and one of those was just racing for fun, even if it did contain Gareth Montgomerie and Richard Mardle! While Aircom Norwood Paragon went out all guns blazing, the Felt my Pipe team took a more relaxed line, conceding a 9 lap lead to the Aircom team, who racked up an impressive 39 laps. However as a consolation Montgomerie picked up the Exposure Lights title of 'King of the Night" with his super fast night lap recording 33mins 5secs to take home a cracking set of lights for his trouble.
Above and below - shots which sum up the pleasures of an event which welcomes riders of all abilities, as well as providing the spectators and families with a great weekend
Meanwhile the "Queen of the Night" title caused some confusion and much hilarity as Kim Burrow was named as the recipient?unfortunately Kim was male, a member of the successful Vets team PedalOn.co.uk. Eventually the real " Queen of the Night" despite protestations from Kim's team mates that he did in fact ride like a "queen" was announced as Kate Betts the last minute replacement lady, in the winning Mixed team Gateway Cycles Racing. Not a bad result considering she only agreed to ride on Friday and didn't really know her teammates. Still that didn't put her off and she threw herself into the whole event. The rest of the team consisting of Pete Turnbull, John Stenson, Mark James and Andy Baum, rode a strong race to complete 39 laps, giving them a 1 lap advantage over runners up Stoke MTB Club.
The real drama of this category had to be for the race for the final podium with Salsa racing having a real ding-dong battle with Fig Rolls racing, the 3rd place changing hands throughout the night. A crash leaving salsa team rider James Dalton with 2 buckled wheels, seemed to have scuppered the quest of 3rd. However undaunted the team piled on the pressure and went out with the words of team manager Paul Hore ringing in their ears that if they puncture they should continue riding on the rims, there was no time for a puncture in this race. After all their efforts they were rewarded with 3rd and a clear lap ahead of Fig Rolls, not bad considering that at one point the gap was down to just 2mins.
The veterans' race was dominated by the Pedalon.co.uk team of Nigel Grantham, Andrew Claridge, Steve Farmer and Kim Burrows, racking up a massive 37 laps, 3 laps clear of Banjo Cycles HRT, who only had a narrow 3min lead over 3rd placed Giles Cycles A team.
Despite a strong start by the RAF team in the Sports men category, the Army kept them in their sights and when disaster fell the RAF, with a crash and mechanical losing them 30mins, the Army took no second asking and romped off into the night with the win firmly in their sights. Meanwhile the RAF boys put up a fight to regain a potential podium, their crash putting them down in 7th but during the night they struggled back to 5th and kept on pushing on to finally take a well earned 3rd. The Army team of James Cooper, James Sanford, Rick Fielder and Scott Clipstone, held off a surge by the Black Riders of Mordor to take the win with 16mins to spare.
The Keswick Bikes.co.uk team of women, consisting of Maddy Robinson, Victoria Ware, Emily Brooks and Christine Fischer fresh from the hills of the lake district took to the trails of Catton with confident taking the sports women's race with over 2 laps to spare racking up 31 laps. Meanwhile the Pink Heifers and a close call with the GoGoGo Girls taking 2nd with just an 18min lead.
Torq racing had quite a good weekend, especially in the pairs where team mates Marcos Schier and Anthony Rowland took the men's race by storm racking up 37 laps only 2 short of the expert team of 4 riders, plus 3 laps clear of 2nd placed pairing of Ex Bath Uni boys Matthew Ward and Paul Newton. Not far behind in 3rd, having decided early in the race that they didn't have much chance of doing that well were the Mammoth pairing of Shaun Pallister and Steve Kitchin, in hindsight they thought it might have been a better idea to have a real go as they only conceded 30mins to 2nd, a small gap in 24hr racing.
Cool night shot!
Meanwhile Torq took another podium position with a well earned 2nd with the Mixed pairing of Matt Loake & Lydia Gould despite a tense battle throughout the race, they had to concede the top spot to mixed pairing of Darren Koslicki and New Zealand visitor Amanda Brooks, riding under the Norfolk 'N Chance team name, with just 14 mins separating them. The Laurel & Hardy team of Yolande Wase and John Singleton took 3rd.
The women's pairs was only contested by the West Yorks Rough Riders team of Julie Jagger and Sarah Minchin, despite the lack of competition the girls didn't rest on their laurels and rode a strong race to take their place on the podium.
Once again the Solo class provided all the drama of the event as these dedicated men and women pit themselves against the full 24hours reliant on their team of helpers and the strength of mind to complete such a tough challenge. In the men's race, James Lister once more started as he meant to go on, with a fast start, with James Leavesley in pursuit. 6 laps in and Leavesley's race came to a dramatic end as he collapsed on course, the heat, coupled with the pace left him dehydrated and unable to continue. Lister continued unaware of the drama unfolding on the course, just riding with one aim in mind, the win. 31 Laps later and Torq racing had yet another reason to celebrate as Lister took the solo win.
Behind him the race was on for 2nd as 3 men all racked up an impressive 30 laps, however it was Shaun Wells who took 2nd just 12mins ahead of 3rd placed Simon Mueller, who in turn had just 10 mins over 4th placed Richard Holmes.
In the solo woman's race all eyes were on Sally Bigham, who took up the mantle but with Melanie Alexander close behind matching her pace for pace. However 18 laps and 15 hours later, Bigham's race ended with a trip to hospital, after she too collapsed. 15 hours of energy gels and no solid fuel had taken their toll and this left Alexander out in front and gunning for gold. However close behind and keen to deny Alexander the win was road enduro specialist Lynne Taylor, but 26 laps later completed by both ladies it was Alexander who held on for the win with Taylor picking up 2nd just under 14mins behind. Lorraine Staley picked up the final podium with a fine 22 laps.
Special mention has to go to soloist Tracey Miles, who finished 6th with a creditable 19 laps, however it was also the 3rd 24 hour solo race she had undertaken in just 8 weeks! A real glutton for punishment and something she is none too keen to repeat!
With the podiums over, tents and caravans were soon packed and the once bustling arena was starting to thin out as the thousands of riders, supporters and families made their weary ways home, soon the regular forums were alight with glowing praise for what turned into the most laid back and enjoyable 24 hour event of the year. The pleasant sunshine made a most welcome visit to the event and even when it did rain, (which of course we all knew it would at some point); it just dampened down the dusty trails and not the spirit of the riders. All thoughts are now turning to next year and rumours of fresh venues and new sponsors but still utmost in the organiser's minds is the aim to keep this event the fun filled, enjoyable experience it has evolved to be.
On another note I'd like to dedicate the memory of this SITS to Julian Wowk, he alongside Pat Adams helped make SITS what it is and over the years provided the excellent timing, Unfortunately Julian lost his long battle with cancer the week before SITS was run, I know I represent us all when I offer my condolences to his family and offer also our thanks for all his hard work over the years.
Rider comments:
Julie Jagger and Sarah Minchin - Women's pairs
Excellent race, great course, much easier than last year, but that might just down to me being fitter! We rode every single section and usually there's always something we can't ride but this course was just perfect. Definitely staying up for!
Anth Rowland - Men's pairs
It was a great course. I won my first novice race here back in the early 90's, so it always has fond memories for me. It's a good fun course, a lot of people slate it, but it's a good mix of bits you can enjoy and bits you can sort of rag up. Marcos and me worked really well as a team, we came together at the last minute, fancied a challenge and went for it. We started riding singles then switched to doubles and pretty much maintained that throughout. I didn't actually use much caffeine; I relied on Torq stuff and that kept me going.
Gareth Montgomerie - King of the Night
It was pretty wicked to get this tops off a great weekend. It always more fun riding at night. I didn't aim for this, I just came here to enjoy the event it came as a bonus especially as I needed a good set of lights.
Sports Men winners Army A
That was very good and so tight at the top. The RAF were out front first, the I thin after about 8 laps we took the lead and held onto it after that. There were some epic rides going on out there, the team did really, really well.
The course was a classic Kona/SITS course, or 24 hr course, you think it's easy, but as the race progresses it gets harder and your legs get tired and those little climbs start to really take it out of you. It's a good weekend for us as it's the first time the team has podiumed at this event, so that's good. And we beat the RAF, and that's all we come here for! The rain didn't really affect the race as it wasn't too heavy, maybe added a few minutes on per lap, but that's about it. It wasn't that bad and it wasn't a repeat of last year,
RAF sports team
We were in the first 2 places of the race for the first 8 - 10 hours with us ebbing and flowing with the Army for those first 2 places. Unfortunately a crash and a mechanical cost us about 30 mins and we went into the night in 7th spot. We rode hard at night climbed back up to 5th by the morning and kept on and got back to 3rd in the end. It was too much time to get back up to the army, but a fantastic effort by the team and the second team too coming in 60th???? Which was a great effort as well.
Keswick Cycles - Women's Sports team
Excellent team, we worked really hard together and it's our first time riding as a team, so it really worked well. It started off thinking 'oh here we go again?' but it got better and better as the race went on. We thought the course was boring to begin with but as the race went on we really got into it and it was fantastic, considering we're from the land of hills and it's a bit pancakey here we had a great time.
Gateway Cycles - Mixed team
We had a late substitution with Kate Betts coming in instead of Claire Bowens who is in fact pregnant. Kate only agreed to ride with us Friday morning and did an absolute stormer for us picking up Queen of the night as well. I think we lead the race from the very first lap, Andy did the run, our cyclo cross man. Oh and we're all Masters and Vets, we worked that one out, so we're a bunch of oldies with 3 masters and 2 vets. Not quite old enough to take us up to vets class; our combined age doesn't quite get there. We rode really well as a team, we really enjoyed it, and loads better than last year when they had all that mud, yeah we had a really good day. John got the short straw, every race he's done this year it's rained on his laps and it did it again at this one.
Kate Betts - Queen of the Night
Yeah that was a surprise. I rode the night lap as I would ride it during the day and I put two lights on so I could see really well and just rode fast and obviously it paid off. I went hell for leather! This is my first 24 and probably my last! I'm so tired, I need my sleep. But no in all honesty, the guys were brilliant, I'd never met them before and they made me feel really welcome, so yeah it was good we all got on really well. They let me sleep at night and rode in the rain so I didn't have to, so yeah it was a great weekend.
Pedalon.co.uk
It was a very good race, we really enjoyed it. The weather was good, it turned a bit dodgy in the evening but it didn't last so it was good. We thought it was going to be quite tight, then we made up 9 mins in the first couple of laps. We just carried on round the course putting in good times and ended up taking it by nearly 4 laps in the end. There's the temptation to ease off a bit when you know you have a good lead, but we kept on pushing and it worked. This event is a little less intense than some of the others, there's always a nice ambiance.
Darren Koslicki and Amanda Brooks - Mixed pairs
Brilliant event, the course was good and it was a really well run race and I'd advise anyone to come and do it. I'm over here from New Zealand, working and need to do some training as I'm doing the Cape Epic next year, so this was a good start.
Very enjoyable and we'll probably be back next year to do it all again.
James Lister - Solo men's winner
Yeah I'm very happy with that it was good. It was quite fast as per usual but slowed down the last couple of laps as I was suffering really badly. It was an excellent course good for all us 24hour solo riders plenty to keep you interested.
Mel Alexander - Solo Women's winner
Yeah I'm very happy with the win, but I'm in shock. It was really, really hard. It was quite close between Lynn Taylor and me, we kept changing the lead and in the end there was only a couple of minutes between us. Yeah the course was good, I think I enjoyed it; I didn't enjoy riding my bike for 24hrs. I only did it for the challenge, I wanted to know what it was like, I'd always admired the girls that have ridden these, so I though I'll see if I can do it. I wanted to quit a lot. I don't think I want to do another one, it hurt, it was horrible, however I am already forgetting just how horrible it was. I enjoyed it at sometimes and hated it at times as well but amazing I won.
Tracy Miles
It was a very educational experience doing these three 24hr races in 8 weeks. I don't feel the need to repeat this experience any day soon now. I don't think I need to do it again, I think I learnt what I wanted to know. It's difficult to try and compare the 3 as the weather has been so different at all of them, that's why I picked the 3 so I could do 3 very different events.
Russell Burton
Yes that was excellent. I was testing lights here and I didn't start the race with everyone else, but I wish I had now as it looked really exciting and then everyone told me they waited 15mins to walk through the woods so I'm glad I didn't do that, so my race started about 6pm. I warmed up and it was fast and it was great and it was probably the best event trail I've ridden, it had everything. It felt like you were doing more downhill's than climbing and I couldn't work that out, I guess it's because the up hills were nice twisty singletracks, which made it much more interesting. I worked testing lights till about 4 am then I got up this morning and thought I'd have a little race and probably upset people by going far too fast on a rigid singlespeed.