AROUND 500 mountain bike riders descended on Peebles at the weekend for one of the best loved enduro races of the season. Riders from all over Britain made the journey to Glentress to fight for the title at the Endura Whyte Bikes Scottish Championships, battling hard over four stages for the victory. Despite heavy rain overnight, the sun came out to heat up an exciting day’s racing, with some real competition going on in every category. Local riders as usual did extrememely well, with world number nine Katy Winton crowned as Scottish Open Enduro Champion for the women’s category. Mark Scott from Musselburgh was second in the Senior men, one second behind victor Greg Callaghan (Ireland), with third place going to Scott Laughland. In other categories, local legend Dik Hamilton took the top spot in the Men’s Veteran, and Peebles’ own Sarah Mulligan won the Women’s Veteran. Other notable podiums came from rising star Calum Grant who took second in the Junior Men, and Chris Ball (director of the Enduro World Series and last year’s winner here) who took second in Men’s Masters. A spokeswoman for the championships said: “It was fitting that Greg and Katy were crowned King and Queen of the Hill as they are real life partners.

“It was a fantastic weekend, many thanks to everyone who helped, and to those who came to support the riders. “This was the last TweedLove event of the season, and announcements for the 2016 calendar will be forthcoming shortly.”