The 2026 racing season is off to a thrilling start with the Valleys Xtreme race taking place over two days, January 10th & 11th at Walters Arena in South Wales. Set in the Welsh Valleys this race offers some of the hardest and most challenging riding in the UK Enduro Calendar. This is a top quality event and with a dedicated team behind the event continuing to bring the same passion to this year, it was set to be a great start to the calendar.
Having experienced extreme weather conditions in the weeks leading up to the race, this year was truly a noteworthy sight with Walters Arena presenting a cold, snowy, icy and wet track. With rain on the forecast, many riders hoped it would melt the ice but one thing was for sure, it would be a slippery race and a long slog to the finish.
The racing schedule consisted of qualifying on Saturday morning which was a fast, 7 mile loop. Riders had the first lap as practice, and laps 2 and 3 would being timed. In the afternoon was the Valleys Lite race. Heading into Sunday we had a morning race of 2 laps or 2.5 hours and the main afternoon race of 3 laps or 3.5 hours. With money on the line, riders had a chance to walk away with a grand prize of £1000 and the prestigious name "KING/QUEEN OF THE VALLEYS".
@Kara Thomas Photography
Qualifying
The Plews supported riders we hade were Radfrod Chugg, Charlie Frost and Jason and Jed Balmer. Looking at the qualifying we had Radford in 2nd, Charlie in 3rd, Jason in 7th and Jed in 16th. The top 10 riders would make it to the shootout where Charlie lost first by 7 seconds to Bert Boam, Radford came in 5th and Jason in 10th.
Main race
Heading into Sunday our Plews supported rider, Charlie Frost who has raced this event 8 or 9 times shared that anything can happen in a race like this and what his strategy and tyre choice would be: “My tyre of choice 100% is The tough One. For me, because there’s obviously less tread depth it will sit on the flat rock better and obviously with the Tough One and the Factory 50 Mousse, it’s just gonna be like a pancake.”
@Kara Thomas Photography
Radford Chugg has a big season ahead as he plans to attend all 9 rounds of the HEWC. He will also be doing the British Extremes and mentioned that compared to the world riders, there is tough local competition. For him the Valleys event comes down to training, it’s a good event to attend to build speed and fitness. With a trials background, speed is something that he struggles with and is looking to improve. “the harder it is the better it is for me”. For this race his tyre choice would be: “Tough one, 50% cut mousse, nice and soft which gives it a flat surface area needed on slippery rocks in the river beds. ”
Looking at the main race it was a combination of slick and flowing riverbeds, slippery rock sections, gnarly uphills and a fast arena section.
@Kara Thomas Photography
Overall results:
Completing all 3 laps, Radford Chugg finished in 3rd overall and makes it to the podium. Just behind him in 4th we have Jason Balmer and Charlie Frost finishes in 5th overall. Rounding out the team we have Jed Balmer in 9th who completed 2 laps.
@Kara Thomas Photography
Reflecting on his race, Charlie Frost felt good, he took his time and composed himself. Unfortunately he was gutted but also happy at the same time. Suffering with arm pump for the first two laps meant he needed to push on the third but ultimately felt good heading to the finish. He couldn’t help but race about the Plews Tyres saying the combination of the Tough one and Flat factory mouse was exactly what he needed. Charlie finishes in 5th.
Jason and Jed Balmer has some great racing over the weekend. Jason would race consistently and cross the line in 4th behind Radford and ahead of Charlie Frost. Jed would have an unfortunate situation where his front brake got stuck at the last checkpoint without him realizing and resulting in not only a bike that will need a lot of attention but also crossing the line 2 minutes too late for a gold finish. Jed finishes overall in 9th position
@Kara Thomas Photography
Many riders will take this event as a warm up to the season before heading straight into championship races from next week!