The 7stanes mountain bike team stepped things up a gear at the weekend to pull off an impressive second place finish in a major 24-hour race.

The endurance event – Sleepless in the Saddle – saw the team compete against 1400 bikers from across the UK to achieve the highest number of laps possible – while riding non-stop throughout the day and night.

The race, through Catton Park, Derbyshire, started at 2pm on Saturday (August 12) and finished 24 hours later.

It followed a relay format, with riders passing the baton to another team member when they had completed a seven-mile lap.

The 7stanes team consisted of riders Julie Cartner and Chris Ross from Dumfriesshire with Steven Halsall, Ally Booth and Andy Wardman, 7stanes development co-ordinator, from the Borders.

As well as taking part in the race itself, the team were promoting the world famous 7stanes routes across the south of Scotland, where there are trails for all abilities.

The 7stanes project ties in with Forestry Commission Scotland’s Active Woods campaign to help improve the nation's health and well-being by encouraging more people to enjoy activities in Scotland’s national woods and forests.

Julie Cartner, 7stanes development officer, says the team were stunned to find themselves in the running for first place.

She said: “In the run-up to the race we were optimistically hoping for a top ten spot at best so it was amazing when we realised we were neck and neck with the leading team.

“The atmosphere was fantastic and the conditions were pretty good until about midnight when the rain started.

“That made the trails muddy and we had to stop and change tyres to cope with it and all this drastically added to the lap times

“Our strategy was basically for everyone to do two laps before passing the baton but when we realised we were doing so well, we switched things around a bit to give the fastest riders more laps.

“Finishing second was a great achievement for us.”

There was also success off the field for the 7stanes team, with huge interest among other riders in the 7stanes project.

Managed by Forestry Commission Scotland and a range of public bodies, the Euro funded 7stanes project is developing seven purpose-built mountain bike centres across the south of Scotland and aims to encourage more people to try the sport.

Julie added: “We provided the batons for the race and also manned a stall, promoting the 7stanes trails in Scotland and how much fun they are to ride.

“The interest from other riders was overwhelming and the majority of people we spoke to were keen to come up to Scotland and try the trails for themselves.

“Forestry Commission Scotland’s Active Woods campaign is encouraging people to take exercise in Scotland’s woodlands and mountain biking is a great way to improve overall fitness and well-being.”

The world-famous 7stanes routes are in Ae Forest, Mabie Forest, Glentrool, Dalbeattie, Kirroughtree, the Tweed Valley and Newcastleton.

For more information about the 7stanes project see the website – www.7stanes.gov.uk

For more information about the Forestry Commission Scotland’s Active Woods campaign log on to www.forestry.gov.uk/activewoods or telephone 0845 FORESTS (0845 367 3787).

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. Forestry Commission Scotland serves as the Scottish Executive’s forestry department and is the largest provider of outdoor recreation in Scotland. Each year, around 20 million people visit its forests and woodlands which cover over 17% of Scotland’s land mass – an amazing natural resource to explore.

2. The 7stanes project is being managed by Forestry Commission Scotland

with partners Scottish Enterprise Dumfries & Galloway, Dumfries &
Galloway Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Enterprise
Borders, Scottish Borders Council, Solway Heritage, Scottish Power and
VisitScotland. The Scottish Association for Mental Health has also been
supporting the project. The project receives half of its funding from
Europe.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Steve Williams, Forestry Commission Scotland press office 0131 314 6507

Julie Cartner, 7stanes lead co-ordinator – 07771 678 903