All content © Bob MuIIins

Enduroland's 'Chacombe 10', the annual ten-hour blast at Chacombe in Oxfordshire, grew in size significantly this year, both in entries and size of the course set out by Nigel Wheatley.

As usual the event ran on a Saturday, which gave riders plenty of time to recover ready for work on Monday. This is a good move because many riders were unable to move at all come Sunday morning.

This epic, tough ten-hour event saw a bigger entry than last year and had around 90 riders on the start grid at 9.00am for a Le Mans style start as a rocket exploded in the sky above them.

The short run to the bikes and quads made it quite memorable with riders jostling amongst each other to get away. Some riders sat and rested following a full 10-metres of running, before firing up their machines to begin the race in earnest.

The event proved to be very tough. The course had been fully graded and was in the best possible condition but the nature of the Chacombe venue is relentless and the open sections that had been added to break up the 'no break' hillside still had whoops and tricky areas so even this became a no rest zone.

The flattish whoop fields at the start of the course lead to a slick and rooted hillside, which then saw the course disappear over the treeline and into the hidden valley at the far side of the venue. Steep slopes awaited the riders, leading to grassed areas and then tight turns between gorse bushes before heading back in the direction of the pits and lap scoring area.

The pits area was alive with constant activity, buzzing with riders from two and three man teams all eagerly awaiting their chance to get out onto the course. Ironman solo riders had the toughest challenge but some of them, decided to make things really tough, Toby Hall for instance. He rode a Kawasaki 500 2T for the full 10 hours and won the Ironman Clubman class although his arms were four inches longer by the finish. Andy Cooke also had a notable ride as he took the win in the Ironman Veterans class, both riders completing 48 long and testing laps.

Phil Deardon topped the Ironman Masters class while Rory Bishop was top Ironman Sportsman rider. William Bowman somehow managed to get his 990 around the tough course 36 times to take the Ironman Adventure class win.

Nikita Miller won the Ironlady solo class, finishing with a very creditable 35 laps to her name. Nathan Upton really had to push himself to win the Ironman 85cc class, it was hard work on such a small machine.

The main contenders for the overall win were two pairs of brothers, both in the solo 2-man team class. It was Jacob and Ash Bowden versus Dan and Matt Boam with the Bowdens initially getting the best of it. Jacob Bowden got as great start as Matt Boam was swamped on the start line as competitors ran across the front of him, forcing him to wait until the crowd had cleared. He soon picked up the pace and was charging hard to catch Bowden at the head of the pack. Luke Rudd was in the mix at the head of the field as riders settled in to complete their first stint.

Differing strategies came into play as some teams opted to rider for two or three laps before changing while others decided that they would change on the hour mark. Everyone was constantly involved, even those team riders asleep in the summer sunshine 'replenishing energy levels' apparently!

The lead chopped and changed between the two teams until Jacob Bowden took a hard fall near the end of the race, which saw his team lose a significant amount of time and virtually hand the win to the Boam brothers. Dan and Matt Boam completed 58 laps to take the win as the Bowdens recovered to take
Second spot on 55 laps with Luke Rudd and his 'Pin It To Win It' team taking third place overall.

Brad Sullivan's Team BDP nailed the 3-man team competition with 53 laps to their credit and took fourth place overall which was quite an achievement.

Hayley Rilings and Carol Ann Maxwell did exceptionally well considering it was Carol's first 10-hour enduro outing and she was on a new bike. The pair settled in with a good pace which saw them complete 35 laps for the all-female team win.

The quads were out in force and Darran Bridge, paired with Mitch Couzens, took the top quad spot on 44 laps in the quad 2-man team category. Mark Walthall, Ali Holmes and Jack Holmes nail the quad 3-man team win with 39 laps under their belts. Shaun Murphy was top Ironquad Elite class winner as Wilz Booth took the Ironquad Youth win.

This was a cracking all-day event with festivities continuing long into the evening as Enduroland's Ciderfest began shortly after the race ended.

The whole weekend was fun, entertaining and very enjoyable and raised nearly £500 for the Macmillan Cancer charity. A massive 'Well Done' to Nigel Wheatley and his Enduroland crew, it was all great entertainment and riders really got value for their money across the whole weekend.