Southern Enduro Milland Round 2 2020

Southern Enduro Milland Round 2 2020

Round 2 of Southern Enduro went down yesterday at their Milland venue. Unlike last year which was very wet this year saw sunshine and dry trails, even dusty corners in some spots.

The round was made up of 5 stages with a total course length of around 8km. The morning started with practice from 9-11.45 which was immediately followed by the race where categories were sent out individually.

The Southern Enduro team was taking Covid-19 precautions seriously with digital check-ins, social distancing and they even added an additional transition to reduce queuing.

Stage 1

Stage 1 started in the open at the top of the hill where the trees had been felled. The first part of the stage was dry, sandy and exposed to the wind. Riders needed to pedal fast across the hill and be careful not to wash out in the sandy berms. Shortly you entered the woods and race through some tight corners, slight climbs and short sprints to the finish. For me personally, this was the hardest stage as keeping on pace was quite exhausting and it was very easy to stall in a corner.

Stage 2

Stage 2 similar to stage 1 also started in the open. Again riders would pedal along the side of the hill with a few features such as natural step downs, sandy berms and then a road gap drop that may or may not have been possible to clear (I didn’t see anyone clear it). Again similar to stage 1 you would come into the woods with some tight berms. Then riding through some technical single track with roots and rocks to manoeuvre. Finally, you ride off a small drop and sprint across a wooden bridge to the finish.

Stage 3

Stage 3 started with some fresh cut berms which because the ground was so dry quickly turned into ruts. Taking the right lines in the top of this stage made all difference allowing you to cut out many corners. Quite a lot of off-camber riding on this stage. For me the was my favourite stage and my times reflect that.

Stage 4

The top of Stage 4 was quite fast with lots of straights to sprint. Big berms to rail and lots of sneaky lines to take. Halfway down the trail gets tight with a drop-through two trees which your handlebars barely fit through then into some tight corners, sprints and berms.

Stage 5

Another fast stage with a few jumps, big berms and a fire road crossing into tight trees and a very soft berm that caught a lot of riders out. Lots of tight single track through the trees where keeping momentum and careful braking was paramount to a decent result.

Southern Enduro has two more rounds scheduled for this year. Round 3 Pippingford and Round 4 QECP. Tickets are selling out fast so don’t leave it too long if you want to get in some racing this year.

Southern Enduro Round 2 Milland 2020 Results

U14 Boys

U16 Boys

U18 Boys

1st	Josh WILLIAMS (u19)
2nd	Robby JOHNSTON
3rd	Freddy BIRCHILL

Hardtail Men

18-29 Men

30-39 Men

40-49 Men

50+ Men

Fun Men

E-Bike Men

U14 Girls

U18 Girls

18-29 Women

30-39 Women

40+ Women

Fun Women

For the full list of results and all the photos from the event head over to Roots and Rain. 

What do you think of this article? Want to read more race reports? Have you raced any Southern Enduro events? Did you race Southern Enduro Champs Minehead 2020? Let us know in the comments below.