Flat, featureless terrain and a very dry climate meant that things were going to be very different from the week before in Portugal. The conditions were alien to me and could be likened to riding on concrete with a scattering of round stones on top. It was freezing every night and temperatures rose to mid teens through the day.
I stayed out between Portugal and Spain so had time to get some testing done, get the bike ready and walk the tests three times. There were three mx type tests, no enduro tests and no extreme tests. The course was nearly all on fast dusty tracks and roads - very boring. Fortunately the tests were all of good length and very well prepared.
On saturday I had no problems and finished 7th in class and 30th overall. On Sunday I finished 9th in class but moved up in the overall to 26th such is the competitiveness of the over 175cc two-stroke class.
My results were let down by the first test in the lap where I was off the pace.
I couldn't get to grips with the fast hard pack corners. The last test in the lap was 7 minutes of corners and was just a case of get in the rut and give it some. Here I was in my element as it was much like stubble field racing. I made loads of mistakes but still managed to put in some top 20 overall times on a standard bike - very satisfying.
When I look at the scratch results of day2 I finished 26th. I am the highest placed rider who isn't a full time enduro rider. Out of the 79 riders that finished Spain less than ten have to work for a living and most of us are British.
Why are there no British teams competing at World Enduro Championships? David Knight and Paul Edmondson could have amassed far more world titles with their talent if they were in a British based team and didn't have to contend with the Italian - English culture/distance barrier all the time.
And while I'm having a moan there are lots of clubs and venues in the UK capable of running a WEC or European round far superior to the event I've just been to in Spain. What's to stop a British World Enduro?