Report: The Hope Endurance Downhill

Article & Photos: Courtesy of NoFussEvents
Posted On: 29 July 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, rider 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 descent 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 renound 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!

The weather gods certainly didn't grace us with sunshine this year. A low thick mist had descended over Aonach Mor for the event giving riders an extra challenge with very poor visibility, particularly as the race runs from 3pm into the evening with riders completing their final runs near to 10pm.

The start is always entertaining, 150 testosterone filled Mountain Bikers running for their bikes is the perfect recipe for carnage! After a huge amount of laughter and a little bit of pushing and shoving the competitors headed up the climb. After a few tough miles of climbing it was Huw Oliver who proved to be the strongest on the climb as he dropped through the finish a few seconds ahead of Shirley.

With the main race underway the field began to spread out and strategies became apparent. It was clear from the off though that a three way battle was evolving, with Huw Oliver, James Shirley and young Northern English pinner James Scott battling it out for the lead.

Not far behind this trio was my vote for rider of the day. Fort William Local Jesse Wigman chose to attempt to complete this event on a hardtail bike. Now for most of us, just completing this super tough event on such a bike would be a substantial personal achievement, Wigman however, a regular Expert category downhill racer took this to a new level and achieved an incredible consistent 12 laps of the course, finishing in an unbelievable 4th overall!

Other stand out performances go to Orange rider and factory employee Dave Flynn who, competing on his Orange Five as part of a 3 event challenge (10 at Kirroughtree endurance XC, Endurance DH and the upcoming stage race The Tour de Ben Nevis) managed 12 laps finishing ahead of his workplace rivals.

All the action was at the head of the field though as the three leaders relentlessly smashed out super fast laps. James Scott proved to be the fastest rider on the course, setting the quickest lap of the day on his 4th run. However the event is not all about speed and Scott's consistency was not there to take the win. A few mechanical failures dropped him back from the leading 2 into a 3rd place finish.

Huw Oliver grabbed the 2nd place position in the end after finishing on 14 runs along with James Shirley. However Oliver's consistency and smoothness was there his lap times showed to, that his flat out pace was a little behind that of Scott and Shirley allowing Shirley to take a commanding victory aboard his Orange 224.
In the women's category Naomi Williamson took the close fought victory over Jenn Hopkins, both managing to achieve an impressive 12 runs down the course.

The Hope Endurance Downhill however was all about the participation of the masses, and on crossing the finish line it became clear what a physical and mental challenge this is. A swarm of weary looking competitors gathered at the finish amid a few hugs and plenty of excitable conversations no doubt about several near death moments experienced during the day. This truly is a one off event for riders in the UK and if you haven't competed already check it out in 2011, make sure you get your entry in early though or you'll be disappointed!

To top off a great day, the presentation held a big announcement from the No Fuss Events team. In 2011 they will host a ‘Mega Avalanche' style event at Glencoe. Starting at the summit on the snow the event will offer a helicopter drop at the top and a mass start DH race to the bottom.... Oh yes!!

For more information of No Fuss Events and full results from the Endurance DH log on to www.NoFussEvents.co.uk