SCOTT Enduro Cup in Angel Fire: Race Report

Prime conditions and a stacked roster made for a first-class weekend of racing in Angel Fire. On day one, race organizers worked with the Camino Real Ranger District to host three backcountry stages in Carson National Forest. Brutal transfer climbs rewarded riders with 2,650 feet of raw and unfiltered Angel Fire descents. At the conclusion of day one, Scott Countryman, 24 of Flagstaff, AZ (09:24.714), and Kelli Emmett, 39, (10:56.323) finished in the lead.

Race day two was fast and rugged as pro/open riders took down four stages and expert, junior and amateur riders descended three stages at Angel Fire Bike Park. World Cup downhill racer and Angel Fire local, Chris Boice, 31, took first at 37:02.304 followed closely by former pro GRT champion, Shawn Neer, 24 of Arvada, CO, at 37:03.947. Former pro motorcross racer turned mountain bike racer Jubal Davis, 25 landed in third with an overall time of 37:10.478.

“Going into day 2, the standings from first [place] to seventh were within a handful of seconds so it was really anyone's game coming into today,” said Boice. “But I was able to make good time on the first four stages of today, and then almost lost every single second I had gained in stage five. Enduro is new to me. I am still learning the ropes. It feels really good to stand on the podium with people I respect. It’s a great thing to see things come full circle. I just consider myself fortunate. I’m also glad not to have thrown the win away today.”

World Cup XC racer, turned enduro rider Kelli Emmett held onto her lead in pro/open women taking home first at 42:19.762. Porsha Murdock, 24 of Bend, OR took second at 42:45.812. Alexandra Pavon, 22 of Flagstaff, AZ, finished in third with a total time of 43:24.744.

“I was most excited about the amount of talented women that are here racing, in the U.S.—just to see there’s this really big interest for women in enduro and now competition is getting pretty serious, so it’s cool. I’m worked. The stages were so demanding. Really the rocks and everything were tough. My arms on the last stage were burning so bad so yeah it was a really tough weekend and it was great," said Emmett.

Pro/Open Men:

Chris Boice 37:02.304

Shawn Neer 37:03.947

Jubal Davis 37:10.478

Macky Franklin 37:18.825

David Camp 37:36.814

Pro/Open Women:

Kelli Emmett 42:19.762

Porsha Murdock 42:45.812

Alexandra Pavon 43:24.744

Krista Rust 44:11.027

Lia Westermann 44:30.440

New this year, the Vittoria Bolt awarded the fastest downhill time on stage six. Chris Boice (06:16.896) and Kelli Emmett (07:15.993) were each awarded a $100 cash prize. This award will be featured at each 2016 race.

Podium finishers in the pro/open category shared prize money equally divided between men and women. The podium athletes in the expert, amateur and junior categories received gear from SCOTT Sports and Vittoria. All riders were entered into a raffle, with proceeds going to Del Norte Bike Alliance. Raffle prizes were provided by SCOTT Sports, Vittoria and ROTOR.

Round 3 of the SCOTT Enduro Cup presented by Vittoria is going down at the Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival June 23-26, 2016. The Sun Valley race is a part of the North American Enduro Tour (NAET), making it an Enduro World Series qualifier race.

A full list of results from the Angel Fire race can be seenhere.