<b>Love enduro. Cycling is fully embraced here with the Tweedlove Festival. It has been running for the last 4 years and now the EWS is part of the experience.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Josh Carlson descends above the Tweed Valley on one of the many fresh, race-specific, trails. It's no bike park.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Some new tires from Schwalbe on Giant and Cube bikes. A Nobby Nic first ride edition with new casings, compounds and a couple of valve stems.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>The sun may not shine all that much here in Scotland, but at least there always seems to be a full moon on the horizon.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Quintessential Scottish rock walls on the top of Glentress Stage 2. Cedric in audio.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>The tracks here are tech and slippy with plenty of wet roots, rocks and muddy sections. Cedric, never one to shy away from a little tweak of the knob.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>The woods here in Scotland hide some truly amazing trails, some which are far too dark for photographs. Luckily the points in between are equally as impressive.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Jared Graves in the Jurassic Park section of Stage 4 Day 2.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Local girl, Katy Winton, is one to keep an eye out for this weekend. Flowing through the beautifully green, rain-fueled trees.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Sometimes it's easier in the rain than the drying, goopy mud on the days between showers.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>A short selection of user-submitted films and images were displayed this evening. Ranging from a toddler's first mile on a bike to Flipper's fantastic photos.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>This year's winner in the amateur photo contest is Team Dark Cloud member and Vital-featured Paul Schmail, brother-in-law of Chris Ball. Ball is the rider in the photo from Nevado dos Chillan.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>After the movie night, photo contest and gallery showing, the crowds departed. That didn't stop curious walk-ins from the street. This festival is bringing community, culture and art all together with the bikes.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Loose shale, lush fields, and centuries-old stone walls highlight the middle part of Stage 1. Does it get anymore Scottish than this?</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>No magenta bikes for these two. A tricky decision riders had to make. I rate this EWS as the most technical and difficult one yet. Iago and Dylan explore their roots.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Tinder works well here. Sven and Cunny make it a double date with a few of the local stallions. #bromance</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Not surprisingly, Tracy Moseley seems right at home here in the steep, slippery and technical Scottish woods.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>The community is very integrated with mountain biking here. For a couple of weeks a year the festival inhabits the beautiful countryside.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Joe Barnes will be feeling at home here in the tight, supremely technical steep sections of the Tweed Valley. One of my podium pics this weekend.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Joe Barnes is my pick for the win on Stage 2. He rode the gnarliest bit of the stage as if it was a walk in the park and looks on another level in some spots #localknowledgeperhaps</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Long hours of daylight up here in Scotland means late nights and festive fire pits at the Baller residence.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Ruaridh Cunningham #fullenduro</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Ludo May, choosing the low line over the roots before a tricky tight left-hander.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Justin Leov on Stage 4 of Day 2 in the Glentress "trail centre." Good to see that the trail centre here in Scotland doesn't mean dumbed-down, groomer trails. Quite the opposite is true.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Up high on Stage 1 and 2 of Day 1 here in the Tweed Valley. </b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Tim Flooks is back in the SRAM tent for the first time in over a decade, bringing with him trays upon trays of parts! Which brake pad though for tomorrow? Jon Cancellier in audio.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>With long gaps between riders in some sections, Sven used his spare time wisely to dial in his lines and brake pads on the final stage of the day.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Matching socks, spokes and step up gear. Not bad. The conditions, terrain and bikes here are varied.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>The Tweedlove crew organized a skills clinic for the local kids featuring a few star riders as coaches. Even the pouring rain was no match for the kids' enthusiasm.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Richie Rude seems to be stealing the Grubby nickname from teammate Jared Graves this week.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Moody weather pulls in over the moors.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Mark Scott, another local, will be one to watch this weekend. Loose Dog Lewis and Mark threading the needles.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Cunny, wide open in the mossy greens, Stage 2 Day 2.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Neil Donahue practicing on Day 1 Stage 4 today. </b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Rosara Joseph, ex-Olympic XC racer, on one of her favorite stages on the Innerleithen side. Stage 2 Day 1.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Do you even manual bro? There are no dusty corners to be found in Scotland for Iago Garay.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Although Stage 4 starts with a climb, it is short lived and followed by mach 3 speeds!</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Bike wash facilities available on site.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>The final stage of the weekend will feature one of the best views of the Tweed Valley. The finishline in the town of Peebles way down below.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>My bike has not arrived, so I am borrowing one of the racer's spare XC bikes. Even the locals seemed to find this choice a bit interesting given the conditions.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Tracey Hannah had quite the adventure on Wednesday getting caught in wind and heavy rain as she waited for an injured videographer. She was still shivering 30-minutes after arriving back safely to the team truck.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Rene Wildhaber makes easy work of a rooty switchback that cought more than a few people out on the steep upper slopes of Stage1.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>With long climbs between stages and slick, sticky mud on the timed sections, picking the right tire for both grip and rolling restistance is a difficult, but extremely important decision.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Little known fact is that Jamie Nicol's father was born just up the road from here in Dundee.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>I took this photo two days ago just after crossing the Scottish border and have not seen the sun since. Stay tuned for more from Scotland!</b> -Dave Trumpore
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Description
The 2nd round of the 2014 Enduro World Series picks up in Peebles, Scotland as part of the Tweedlove cycling festival. Coming off an exciting opener in South America, riders face steep, wet, technical stages half a world away from that first race in Chile.
The pre-race expectation for most was that this event would feature pedally, physical, bike-park-style trails that lacked technical challenges. The first day of recon buried those expectations in the mud as the stages feature some of the steepest and most technical riding of any Enduro World Series race to date. There is a lot of pedaling during the liasons, but riders are running full grip tires or even spikes, and some are seriously considering running flat pedals. Race results are expected to be surprising and gaps will probably be bigger than previous races. This will truly be a race of excitement and drama.
Sven Martin, Dave Trumpore and Duncan Philpott deliver the sights, sounds and mud from the moors of Scotland.
The pre-race expectation for most was that this event would feature pedally, physical, bike-park-style trails that lacked technical challenges. The first day of recon buried those expectations in the mud as the stages feature some of the steepest and most technical riding of any Enduro World Series race to date. There is a lot of pedaling during the liasons, but riders are running full grip tires or even spikes, and some are seriously considering running flat pedals. Race results are expected to be surprising and gaps will probably be bigger than previous races. This will truly be a race of excitement and drama.
Sven Martin, Dave Trumpore and Duncan Philpott deliver the sights, sounds and mud from the moors of Scotland.
View replies to: Unexpected Gnar - Enduro World Series Tweedlove Recon Slideshow
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