Blaenau 600 2023

As we entered the fourth and final day of racing on the Blaenau 600, a steady stream of riders made it home throughout the day, with only three left out on the trail in a race against time to make it back for the evening pizza party.

Although nothing is ever guaranteed in ultra racing, and it really isn't over until it's over, talks of scratching felt well behind everyone now. For all intents and purposes they were into the final push, although they would soon learn that the terrain never gets easier. Many riders surprised by the sting in the tail of this route, dragging their exhausted minds and bodies up steep climbs and back through the woodland one last time.

"That is such a fun route, a rollercoaster of enjoyment". Words nobody but Hannah has ever used to describe it!

...and just like that, the race was over for another year. The calm after the brutal and beautiful storm.

As darkness descended yesterday, and the final night shift began for the rest of the field, we had more finishers roll in.

First up was Lucas Ashworth, who put in a seriously impressive ride to cross the line in 4th in a time of 60hrs 45mins. A first time ultra racer, and one of the coolest, calmest characters around! He climbed his way up the leader board over the final 24 hours, and definitely surprised a few people. A seriously impressive ride, we have a feeling it may be the first of many for him!

After a thankfully uneventful and scratch free night, we had a steady roll of finishers today, and got to catch up on tales from those elsewhere on the trail.

Our second rider to complete the route was Ewan Partridge in a time of 53 hrs 43 mins, after an incredibly strong performance throughout the weekend. The pace he set on the bike was impressive, and with two proper sleeps during the race under his belt he was still looking incredibly bright at the finish! A big smile on his face, just as he had every time we saw him out in the wilds of Wales.

A conversation with Daniel Mills as he paused at the foot of an unpleasantly steep climb, talks of scratching came and went. Sticking to the rule of not stopping at night, he had awoken from his slumber this morning and pushed on through dawn, ultimately feeling better as the hours ticked by. It’s a mental game as much as it is a physical one, and keeping the faith when you’re really hurting is never easy. But, no feeling is final and he’s covered many more kilometres, and a mountain, since he thought it was all over.

Andrei Tereskin, our first rider home on the Blaenau 480 route, looked more like he was stepping off the bike from a recovery ride than an ultra. He told tales of a botched attempt at riding a river crossing (we all know how that can end), luxury nights of sleep, smugly avoiding the midges, and cursing the route makers on a long grass climb that we honestly can’t even remember.

We have a winner!

The most consistent rider of the race is also the first home, with Rob Gardiner crossing the line in a time of 49 hrs 20 mins! Knocking 3 hours off the men's record from last year, he also bags a new FKT in the process.

Chatting at the finish, he was fresher and chattier than you might expect. A fairly drama free ride for him, and one where the plan was pulled off to perfection.

Instead of opening on scratches we’ll open on starters, withTudor Gillham and Tanya Kaehler setting off at 9am to chase down the race. A combination of a cancelled flight and best friends wedding making yesterday a busy one away from two wheels for the pair.

Onto the days dramas…

We began the day with three leaders, and we ended the day with three leaders. Aside from that fact it was all change out there over the last 12 hours!

The still unsolved absence of Lee meant that the podium places shifted, with Ewan Partridge storming into second place and Steve Chapman climbing the ranks into third.

In the women’s race, Rebecca Richardson has continued to pull away our front and is now 8th overall. Catching her after a big resupply in Machynlleth, she hadn’t lost any of the positivity and happiness she had 300kms ago. Telling tales of beautiful scenery, plans gone awry, and thunderstorms dramatically dodged, the learning curve has seemingly been as steep as the roads out there, each challenge confronted with a coolness most only aspire too.

In some better news, we’ve now seen all remaining riders pass through checkpoint two, an achievement that can’t be underestimated. It’s exciting watching the fun at the front, but there are always unsung heroes and stories of overcoming throughout the field.

A special shout-out to Sam Bennett, who celebrated her birthday ultra styley today. For anyone concerned, we have had reports that happy birthday was sung to her more than once along the trail by fellow riders and dotwatchers alike!

Tune in tomorrow for an update on the nights pedalling, we’re hoping for a few fairytale endings in the early hours!

As dawn broke on the Welsh mountains, there had been a reshuffling of riders throughout the whole field.

The race leader is still Robyn Llewylln, who after a sensible and steady start rode himself to the front of the pack during the afternoon yesterday. He continued to pull away throughout the night, with a stoppage time of only 14 minutes in total so far!

There’s been a general changing of the guard at the front end, with Rob Gardiner opting not to sleep and pulling ahead into second, with Lee Endres now comfortably in third.

There are some larger gaps now to those who opted for a bigger overnight stop - a tactic that often pays dividends in the long run, especially when it comes to enjoyment out there in the hills! We could even see a few dots in campsites and hotels along the route, perhaps their plan from the start, or maybe a choice made in the midst of the storm to take shelter.

Rebecca Richardson continues to move further ahead in the women’s field after hunkering down for the night, and has made her way up to ninth overall. There’s been a cool calmness about her ride that continues to impress.

Now for the morning scratch report, which unfortunately has a few more names than we were hoping. Pre-race favourite Andy Turner is now out after his series of punctures yesterday proved fatal to the tyre, and he’s joined by the in form Jon Endres for the same reason. Alongside them we have James Griffiths with a ride ending broken rear brake, and all of Mike Jacklin, Russell Jelly, and Rob Flack calling it a day in the early hours!

The weather is looking far more favourable today, with the rain clearing the humidity and leaving behind a warm, fresh feeling in the air. As we head through the Welsh desert and into the real mountains it will be interesting to see how the race evolves.

We’ll begin with the scratches, with both Jason Oliver and Webster Wickham struggling with the intense heat of the day, Barry Lynham unfortunately suffering one too many punctures, and Ben Yarnold succumbing to illness out there! It will have to be second times the charm for Jason, and third time lucky next year for both Webster, Barry, and Ben.

Robyn Llewellyn flew across the bridge first, taking himself clear into the race lead. Shortly after this the weather finally broke, with a big storm hitting the quicker riders first. A few made it to CP1 in quick succession, with all of Lee Endres, Jon Endres, and Andrew Turner choosing to shelter inside a kebab shop in the town and wait out the worst of the downpours.

This momentary pause in action from the trio allowed Steve Chapman and Rob Gardiner to catch up, and Robyn Llewllyn to add to his buffer ahead of second place.

The women’s field is still being headed by Rebecca Richardson, who was in incredibly high spirits when we saw her earlier this evening. All smiles, even when regaling tales of wrong turns and added climbs out there. At least she got to enjoy some more descents along the way, her words not ours.

Onto to the dramas (and narrowly avoided disasters) of the day!

The first of these being Andy Turner and his new pool noodle accessory (aka tyre insert) that is beautifully wrapped around his rear pack for the foreseeable future! A puncture, tubeless explosion, inner tube insertion, and failed attempt at finding an open bike shop, later and he’s cracked on with the ride kicking it old school.

To round off the day, as I type this the storm continues to blow through the countryside. Aside from some soggy chammy and shoes, this hasn’t dampened the spirits of the riders, and it might even have been a welcome relief from the intense heat of the last 12 hours.

Having said that, we have had live reports of a lightning strike on a building along the course, resulting in a road closure. Thankfully the firefighters are allowing riders through, and the worst is now behind them in terms of weather (well that’s what the forecast is telling us, which as we all know can often mean nothing).

And they’re off!

We’ve been blessed with some beautiful weather for day one of the Blaenau 600, with it looking hot and humid throughout the long weekend. There’s a chance of thunderstorms over the next couple of days, which added a nice element of uncertainty to the kit faff and morning rumblings amongst riders about extra layers and sleep systems.

Everyone has now made it up and over Long Mynd, the first serious bit of off-road riding (well, hiking) on the route, with the front few still within a kilometre of each other as things begin to really hot up.

Retuning rider Andy Turner (with some serious unfinished business after coming so close to pulling off the win in 2022), Ewan Partridge, Robyn Llewellyn, and Lee and Jon Endres (fighting it out for family bragging rights) make up the pointy end of the pack. They're all looking incredibly strong, but a couple have clearly made a more conservative start - plenty of time for chatter as we snapped photos, and smiles still plastered on their faces.

Hill climb champion turned adventurer Rebecca Richardson is fronting up the women’s field, and looked to be comfortable on the climb as you would expect given her pedigree! Close behind is Hannah Sargent, who with a quick wave was off into the distance, clearly in the zone already.

It's early days, and with the route being backloaded with some serious climbs including the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains a steady start may well prove to be a smart one.

Temperatures are rising, competition is hotting up, and if one thing's for certain it's that nothing is in ultra racing. We've already heard rumblings of drama out on course, from burst camelbak bladders, to bent rotors, and inner tubes being patched.

We'll be back this evening to update you on all the dramas of the day!