Saturday May 7th saw the 2016 running of the Macavalanche enduro.

Macavalanche is a three stage enduro race that takes place on Glencoe mountain in Scotland. It’s renowned for its big scenery, friendly vibe and a ‘mass start’ stage down a snow slope!

The name of the event itself is derived as an homage to the French Daddy of all mass start snow-field mountain races – the Megavalanche.

(Photo: Andrew Mee)

The snow slope mass start stage is actually the third and final stage of the enduro. The riders’ results from stages 1 and 2 are factored in to give them a place in the starting grid of stage 3.

>>> How to prep your bike for enduro

The racer’s verdict

This year’s Macavalanche has generally been regarded as a particularly good year.

Male Veteran winner Andrew Mee (RideWithMee MTB Skills) is a stalwart of the UK enduro scene but this was his first ever Macavalanche, he said: “I seriously didn’t know what to expect. Snow, mud, rocks and rickety chairlift uplifts were mentioned and were all in attendance. The banter was amazing, lots of buzz, lots of chat, and the stages were great too.”

(Photo: Andrew Mee)

Mee continued, “Amazing stages, snowy starts, lots of off piste, fresh cut before dropping into the red run at Glencoe. Passing places a plenty and loads to catch people out. The atmosphere was great. None of that macho Mega bull, just loads of fun. The weather was pretty good and the views even better, just remember to keep your eyes on the track ahead!”

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History of Macavalanche

The Macavalanche was first staged in 2011 and although the stage routes vary every year, the race format itself has remained true to its first incarnation. As well as the infamous mass start stage the other fairly unique feature of Macavalanche is its ‘blind racing’ format.

(Photo: Andrew Mee)

‘Blind racing’ simply means that no practice laps or section sessioning is allowed. The racing run is the first time each rider has ever ridden the stages. There’s no course inspection allowed. The organisers call this “the original Enduro format”.

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We can’t show you nay course maps because there aren’t any. Stages are only decided and finalised quite close the date of the race. This is to “maximise the mountains and the conditions of the [race] weekend”.

(Photo: Andrew Mee)

Epic enduro

It’s one of the more remote and wild Enduro races out there on the UK scene. Riders need to be self sufficient and must carry on them such dramatic-sounding items as: first aid kit, emergency foil blanket and whistle.

There’s also no feed stations on the route. Riders therefore also have to lug around enough food and water to keep them going over five hours of riding.

2016 Macavalanche podium results

Full results can be found the SportIdent event page.

Female Junior 15-21

1st 173 Hannah Saville Rother Valley Riders 00:43:34

Female Senior 22-39

1st 229 Roz Newman 00:35:59
2nd 41 Gill Davies Rex Racing 00:36:31
3rd 51 Nicola Fell Felldoon race team 00:38:39

Female Veteran 40+

1st 52 Julia Ferguson Magnatits 00:46:38
2nd 154 Emma Parton Highland Soap Company 00:49:23
3rd 124 Eva Mccartney Team Edelweiss 00:55:00

Male Junior 15-18

1st 144 Gregor Nixon Wheelology Racing 00:31:23
2nd 120 Greg Mathieson Monsterbike 00:32:08
3rd 74 Ryan Higginson Middle Seat W….er 00:34:58

Male Master 30-39

1st 224 Donald MacPhie 00:28:21
2nd 9 Nick Barber Rex Racing 00:28:59
3rd 162 Dave Read Team Dave 00:29:01

Male Senior 19-29

1st 142 Calum McCubbing Ae Bike Shop 00:27:12
2nd 46 Ronan Dugan Pies Takeaway 00:28:21
3rd 61 Matthew Fretwell Escape Bike Shop 00:28:31

Male Supervet 50+

1st 76 Robert Holding Lofty Peaks 00:40:09
2nd 171 Kevin Ryan 21 degrees 00:40:46
3rd 187 Chris Stoddart Team Loam Rangers 00:42:55

Male Veteran 40-49

1st 132 Andrew Mee Ride with Mee 00:30:02
2nd 146 Simon Nuttall Downcuntry Boys/Cycle Addicts 00:30:43
3rd 209 Wayne Westwood Gravitate 00:31:46