Lee Williams Blog: Winning the Wiggle Enduro Six 2009

Wiggle Enduro 6 2009

My usual race distance is just over two hours, so I was both aprehensive as well as looking forward to the fresh challenge of a six hour solo endurance race. It was also an opportunity to meet the rest of the team and the chance to “hang out” and talk about all things biking over the whole weekend.

I arrived at the venue late Fri night and after setting up camp I was able to while away a couple of hours with the Wiggle support team Ben, Rob and Jason who had been setting up the Focus tent in the main arena. They were pretty relaxed and friendly which allowed me to immediately feel at ease right from the off.

Saturday turned out to be a busy day with the 10k Thunder run in the morning. Well done Carolyn for a great result! The team photo shoot and a few practice laps of the course passed most of Sat afternoon, as well as eyeballing the latest range of Focus bikes on demo. The day just flies by on a biking weekend and the evening came all too quickly with the second event of the weekend, the one lap night time, time trial. Luckily for me, I didn’t enter this event as I’m clumsy enough when I can see where I’m going, so me and Matt Page were able to sit this one out and watch the spectacle.

My team mate Ben Simmons put in a strong ride, and not wanting to be outdone, the support crew of Ben, Jason and Rob made a pretty good effort of it themselves.

But the main event of my weekend came with the Wiggle enduro 6 on Sunday morning. Looking at the photos at the start I look real cool in my Wiggle kit, dhb Pro triple lens sunglasses and Las Victory helmet with my team mate Ben. Suffice to say I didn’t look or feel quite so cool after over six hours in the saddle.

Not being used to riding for this long I relied on my High five and bananas to keep the cramps away and my DZnuts to keep the saddle sores from biting. The gun went and we were away, running for the first 800m before picking up our bikes in the pits. I’m not used to this type of start but it certainly added to the occasion.

I wanted to race at a quick pace and give it my best, even if I tired badly at the end rather than keeping it steady and Finish thinking I could have done more. The first couple of laps went according to plan and I managed to get a lead until a puncture left me having to go into the pits to change a wheel and this left me chasing the leaders again. There were a lot of thorns about, particularly if you overtook outside the racing line so I made every effort to take more care afterwards. I soon again took the lead and made an effort to get a good gap which would cushion me if any further mechanics did occur. Luckily they didn’t and with the bike working like a dream I was able to get safely to the Finish and take the win. It was made all the better for me by having the team there and I’m sure their support gave me an extra edge on the day.

Taking The Win!