Manx E2E, a unique enduro event

Shop racer, Matt Clinton tells us about the Manx End to End Challenge, this forthcoming weekend.

For the second year running I'll be heading off to the Sleepwell Hotels Isle of Man End to End Challenge.  As you might expect, you ride from one end to the other, mainly off-road with a distance of about 42miles.

Still nowhere near the top!

Brian, one of my work colleagues and former GB team manager has been going to the island for many years and has pretty much participated in every E2E Challenge, which is where I got roped in last year!  Really, I didn't know what to expect, it came as quite a shock!

There'll be 4 riders sporting Mike Vaughan Cycles kit this year, myself and Brian, as well as local mountain bikers Steve and Paul.

The first 12miles of the event is on the road, luckily I'd snuck in on the front row last year. I told the marshall there was no-way I was heading to the back of 1500 riders - and it was a good decision.  At the gun the 1500 rider bunch navigates some narrow lanes, I'd been getting kind of itchy feet as I felt it was pretty steady (others tell me it's eye-balls out!), but stayed well within the bunch until we got within a couple of miles of the climb.  This was probably my downfall last year, I was overkeen on the first climb, little did I know after the road section you'd continue upwards for another 35minutes off road! Multiple National Champion and Olympian Nick Craig disappeared up the road and Elliot Baxter's local knowledge kept him ahead of me, I had to settle for 3rd in a time of 3h08min, some 11 mins off Mr Craig's winning time. Still, I won the senior (23-29) prize on my first attempt, so a worthwhile weekend!

So on to 2011, I've just got back from a few days in Barcelona, so despite a lot of walking, I'm well rested. Last weekend's 6th place at the British TT Championships was at the end of a fairly hard block of training, so I should have some form into the weekend.

I've not ridden my mtb for a couple of months since the Midlands XC at Hanchurch, but it's all running smoothly. I'm on a Trek Superfly Elite this year, it's a much better fit than the borrowed Trek 9.8 last year, as well as being about 4lb lighter, despite being a 29er.

Now I love 29ers, I can't see myself going back to 26" and the first thing I said on reflection of the E2E last year that the course suited one down to the ground... so we'll see what it can do!

Another advantage of the Superfly is the 2x10 gearing, I kept losing a lot of momentum and torque last year dropping into the granny ring, so the larger 26 ring should help, hopefully stopping me getting off and walking! (And yes, that's coming from me!)

Tyre choice has changed somewhat since last year where I used Bontrager XR2, these were great on the fire-roads and road sections, not so great on the slippier bits such as the moors. Tyres this year will be XR3, they won't be as fast on the road, but that's where the 29" wheels come into play, I'm just planning a bit more grip where I need it!

A muddy Superfly!

So, once again the target time is 3 hours, it's be tough keeping up with Nick Craig, but having ridden the course once is a huge advantage, I'd say into the tune of at least 5 minutes (especially if I don't ride the first ascent as if it is a hill-climb!)



One of my highlights of the year, I can't wait for Sunday!