I think there can be a line between hard and overdone to a point where riders can’t get down safe because they have no time to...
I think there can be a line between hard and overdone to a point where riders can’t get down safe because they have no time to recover.
seems like half of the riders i follow on IG have something negative to say about the liaison times, so it’s not like this is a single opinion. At the end of the day the best riders won, doesn’t mean you should disregard all of the rest.
Right. It’s not just Bex. Richie indicated it was tough as well in his post race interview with Sven. This has been an issue before in the past as well, though often it’s a single transfer that people feel is too tight, not every single one.
Cramming too many riders into a 5 stage race is far off from having an epic 2 day race. Nobody is complaining about climbing it’s about the time they expect you to do it in and then race down at maximum.
World cup enduro racing requires a lot of endurance, who would have thought? The clue is in the name. I don't know anything about Bex but this is only the second time I hear the name and the first time it was also whining about something.
World cup enduro racing requires a lot of endurance, who would have thought? The clue is in the name. I don't know anything about Bex but...
World cup enduro racing requires a lot of endurance, who would have thought? The clue is in the name. I don't know anything about Bex but this is only the second time I hear the name and the first time it was also whining about something.
You must be really a fan of the sport if you have not heard of a racer who won WC EDR #2 and ended up 5th overall last season. So I think it is fair to assume that she is fully aware of the endurance part in the name and not adverse to training for it.
World cup enduro racing requires a lot of endurance, who would have thought? The clue is in the name. I don't know anything about Bex but...
World cup enduro racing requires a lot of endurance, who would have thought? The clue is in the name. I don't know anything about Bex but this is only the second time I hear the name and the first time it was also whining about something.
You must be really a fan of the sport if you have not heard of a racer who won WC EDR #2 and ended up 5th...
You must be really a fan of the sport if you have not heard of a racer who won WC EDR #2 and ended up 5th overall last season. So I think it is fair to assume that she is fully aware of the endurance part in the name and not adverse to training for it.
You're right, I don't follow enduro racing and can't name many racers off the top of my head. Maybe 5 male and 2 female without thinking too hard about it (I like to follow DH instead). I'm sure she's also aware of the endurance aspect of it which makes it more surprising.
You're right, I don't follow enduro racing and can't name many racers off the top of my head. Maybe 5 male and 2 female without thinking...
You're right, I don't follow enduro racing and can't name many racers off the top of my head. Maybe 5 male and 2 female without thinking too hard about it (I like to follow DH instead). I'm sure she's also aware of the endurance aspect of it which makes it more surprising.
Maybe… just maybe,,, now stay with me here… she (and the other pros saying the same thing) has a valid point that the liaison times were unrealistically short and us armchair racers should refrain from speculating on her (and other pro athletes who do this for a living) fitness levels and take them at their word that they know what they’re talking about and the liaison times were, indeed, unrealistically short.
Yeah you're probably right, we're just guessing here. I was just amused that both times I've heard the name has been whining about something. Like I said I don't follow the world cup enduro since it's impossible without investing time I'd rather spend riding my own bike so I wasn't aware that other riders were complaining. I'm sure those finishing closer to the top aren't complaining as much though.
There is a always the season before the season and the racers know it. They are guinne pigs, and we should anticipate those more likely to speak out to continue to be vocal and say things with information on mind that most of us do not know.
Best way forward: someone needs to call out Cris Ball and ESO and get them on record that actual enduro will be around next season. If not, what's the point.
Enduro is sick...it's not a loss just because it cannot be covered like DH.
The first World Cup of the season and think they were trying to kill us! Best way to sum up the course was as an xc marathon. The day turned very quickly into a race to just make your stage start times, with the first stage only a few minutes at the top straight off the shuttle, little did we know but it was about to get a whole lot worse as the day panned out.
It’s the first race in a long time, for me, that felt like pure survival. I remember every race being like this in my early days of EWS racing but that was because I never trained and was not fit enough for the racing. But that’s not me now a days, this race made me feel unfit but I train my arse off for this. I think the race course and strategy just missed the mark and they got it wrong.
I wasn’t really thinking about how to be fast on the stages but more just trying so hard to make myself eat and drink when I could, otherwise I know my body would have shut down. With the heat over 30 degrees for most of the day and no time to stop for water or look after yourself, it was a hard task.
Was so close to pulling the pin in the middle of the day but there was a part of me that wanted to see how much I could physically take, I felt close to my limit. I’m sure you can figure out that by this point it didn’t exactly feel like racing.
Got a whole bunch of feelings after this event and still a bit baffled to what actually went down yesterday. But here is to praying that Round 2 next week is better!
I want to say thank you to everyone that puts a lot of effort into this sport, there are SO many people doing different roles, riders, teams, staff, coaches, promoters, investors, fans and the team of organisers…I just wish the riders were heard, yesterday could have been a different story if they listened to our concerns on the tight transfer times.
See you in Poland and hoping to report a much brighter story next week 🤪
Just shows how much of a beast Rude is. The guy does not have the physique of an XC racer by any means, and he absolutely...
Just shows how much of a beast Rude is. The guy does not have the physique of an XC racer by any means, and he absolutely crushed it.
Enduro as a race format isn't going anywhere, lots of really good races and series in the US.
But the EDR/EWS whatever you want to call it is on life support.
If Enduro at the world level dies off, I fear all other forms of enduro racing at a lower level will as well. If they want to only have E-Enduro, that is where the budget will go. The same happened when they killed 4X, lots of people migrated to other forms of racing.
If Enduro at the world level dies off, I fear all other forms of enduro racing at a lower level will as well. If they want...
If Enduro at the world level dies off, I fear all other forms of enduro racing at a lower level will as well. If they want to only have E-Enduro, that is where the budget will go. The same happened when they killed 4X, lots of people migrated to other forms of racing.
The good news is there's a big difference between Enduro and 4X. Enduro is probably the most available and economically possible way to ride gravity sports. 4X trails aren't easy to make and the number of willing participants is definitely not as high.
I really believe this is an issue of trying to Make Enduro something like downhill because there's a crossover in athletes.
E-enduro will never exist internationally because of the logistics costs of moving heavy ass parts about. Compare that to the fact any place in the world with 400 feet/175 meters of vert can throw an Enduro race.
Enduro is not meant to be covered like road racing or xc or dh. It's too slow and too...in the woods.
Stop wasting money trying to make it glamorous and start spending money to improve the sport and voila....
Really frustrating is that for the last 7 years the industry did nothing but feed kids nothing but long travel bikes...
DH fans should be trying to save enduro as well. It's the feeder sport for almost any from bike wise and race wiSe... Most parents aren't buying their kid, a $6,000 bike. They're going to ride a few times at a race or park but they will buy them a bike That's all Mountain and most kids aren't willing to jump straight into downtown racing.
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike the spirit of enduro to race a full on DH bike.
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike...
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike the spirit of enduro to race a full on DH bike.
She did the same at Tenn Nats this year. A lot of people push sections of the climb up to Windmill and the higher stages there even on enduro bikes. So yeah… maybe that’s error in the other direction where you have to force a certain bike choice and level of fitness with your liaison stages. But doesnt need to be so crazy that you can’t pause.
Back in the day some of the best coverage would be riders getting interviewed after stages and before starting liaison. Sounds like no one would have time for interviews at Finale this year.
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike...
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike the spirit of enduro to race a full on DH bike.
She did the same at Tenn Nats this year. A lot of people push sections of the climb up to Windmill and the higher stages there...
She did the same at Tenn Nats this year. A lot of people push sections of the climb up to Windmill and the higher stages there even on enduro bikes. So yeah… maybe that’s error in the other direction where you have to force a certain bike choice and level of fitness with your liaison stages. But doesnt need to be so crazy that you can’t pause.
Back in the day some of the best coverage would be riders getting interviewed after stages and before starting liaison. Sounds like no one would have time for interviews at Finale this year.
Was there even anyone to interview them this year? (Sarcasm of course, the world could use more of it)
When I saw the course release for finale I said to myself " thank god I am not doing this one".. cause I know more the area pretty well , the liasons are monster ones.. I would not make it never... being a weekend warrior with a few EWS under my betl...but anyway, if you are a pro you know you would pace accordingly..I bet many did it..and may be a few got gassed out... may be finale being at the end of the season the riders are cruising and now they started with this one and got surprised... perhaps it was bad, yeah, but not to make a rant like that one.. Im sorry..
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike...
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike the spirit of enduro to race a full on DH bike.
I love lining up and seeing what others are rocking. From single speed hardtails to dh rigs with droppers slapped on. It’s run what ya brung. To me that is what enduro is all about.
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike...
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike the spirit of enduro to race a full on DH bike.
I love lining up and seeing what others are rocking. From single speed hardtails to dh rigs with droppers slapped on. It’s run what ya brung...
I love lining up and seeing what others are rocking. From single speed hardtails to dh rigs with droppers slapped on. It’s run what ya brung. To me that is what enduro is all about.
I felt the opposite about this, until I read your post. Something about it hit home. Ha, probably one of the handful of time in my life i held a strong opinion on something and it changed....go figure.
I suppose if you can do the transfers in time, then it's run what ya brung.
Quite a juxtaposition to the Bex situation. Funny, the way the world works.
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike...
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike the spirit of enduro to race a full on DH bike.
I love lining up and seeing what others are rocking. From single speed hardtails to dh rigs with droppers slapped on. It’s run what ya brung...
I love lining up and seeing what others are rocking. From single speed hardtails to dh rigs with droppers slapped on. It’s run what ya brung. To me that is what enduro is all about.
I felt the opposite about this, until I read your post. Something about it hit home. Ha, probably one of the handful of time in my...
I felt the opposite about this, until I read your post. Something about it hit home. Ha, probably one of the handful of time in my life i held a strong opinion on something and it changed....go figure.
I suppose if you can do the transfers in time, then it's run what ya brung.
Quite a juxtaposition to the Bex situation. Funny, the way the world works.
Huh. I also felt the opposite until now! If you can do the transfers in time, and if those transfers happen to be all shuttles, then I guess yeah run what ya brung!
Self certified internet doctor of downhill injuries here.
GM's Instagram story has his missus saying his shoulder's so "buggered" he can't do simple housework, but here he is doing DH laps. Having just about fully recovered from the "can't do household chores" shoulder injury...I'm diagnosing Mr. GOAT as having a completely torn supraspinatus aka rotator cuff.
You heard it here first.
If I'm wrong you can take my practitioner's license.
On the EWS "complaint", a top 20 EWS female rider would stomp a fitness mud hole in most people.
If an elite athlete has no time for water between climbs, that's not trivial. That is not weakness.
And the "season" isn't sneaking up on anybody.
Promoter crammed too much of one thing in and not enough of another.
I love lining up and seeing what others are rocking. From single speed hardtails to dh rigs with droppers slapped on. It’s run what ya brung...
I love lining up and seeing what others are rocking. From single speed hardtails to dh rigs with droppers slapped on. It’s run what ya brung. To me that is what enduro is all about.
I felt the opposite about this, until I read your post. Something about it hit home. Ha, probably one of the handful of time in my...
I felt the opposite about this, until I read your post. Something about it hit home. Ha, probably one of the handful of time in my life i held a strong opinion on something and it changed....go figure.
I suppose if you can do the transfers in time, then it's run what ya brung.
Quite a juxtaposition to the Bex situation. Funny, the way the world works.
Huh. I also felt the opposite until now! If you can do the transfers in time, and if those transfers happen to be all shuttles, then...
Huh. I also felt the opposite until now! If you can do the transfers in time, and if those transfers happen to be all shuttles, then I guess yeah run what ya brung!
2017 EWS at Whistler, dubbed crankzilla two, I dont even remember how much climbing we had to do but it was massive. Also before eagle really landed so most of us were rocking 45t cassettes and a 32t chainring. Oh hey these guys say everything way better: https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/RESULTS-2017-Enduro-World-Series-Cra…
Anways, mega day. After practice day, Ben Furbee or Nate, I get those two mixed up, decides that the course is fucking gnarly and rocks up on his v10 for race day. Dudes no slouch and made all the transfers by sheer willpower and lots of running. Was it the best choice for the race? Probably better than my friends 111 but homie was suffering. Looked like he was having a blast on the downhills though.
To dovetail this back into the relevant talk about Finale, to me enduro is about big days out on the bike. It is not about having to do an XC race between timed stages. It seems like this is the concern with most of the racers. The E Bikes had no problem getting between stages but the regular bikes did. All racers seem fine with how big of a day it was, just allow for more time to get to each stage. They are trying to run too big of a race. When the entry list climbs above 300 you have a hard time getting everyone through the course in a day. So naturally you squeeze the transfer times down to help elevate this pressure. I'm not trying to stir the shit but the e-ews on the same day just doesn't work. I know why they are doing it, no one's going to show up to spectate the E Bike race if its on a seperate day. But by adding in essentially a whole other race to the day adds way to many racers to the already crowded race day.
I felt the opposite about this, until I read your post. Something about it hit home. Ha, probably one of the handful of time in my...
I felt the opposite about this, until I read your post. Something about it hit home. Ha, probably one of the handful of time in my life i held a strong opinion on something and it changed....go figure.
I suppose if you can do the transfers in time, then it's run what ya brung.
Quite a juxtaposition to the Bex situation. Funny, the way the world works.
Huh. I also felt the opposite until now! If you can do the transfers in time, and if those transfers happen to be all shuttles, then...
Huh. I also felt the opposite until now! If you can do the transfers in time, and if those transfers happen to be all shuttles, then I guess yeah run what ya brung!
2017 EWS at Whistler, dubbed crankzilla two, I dont even remember how much climbing we had to do but it was massive. Also before eagle really...
2017 EWS at Whistler, dubbed crankzilla two, I dont even remember how much climbing we had to do but it was massive. Also before eagle really landed so most of us were rocking 45t cassettes and a 32t chainring. Oh hey these guys say everything way better: https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/RESULTS-2017-Enduro-World-Series-Cra…
Anways, mega day. After practice day, Ben Furbee or Nate, I get those two mixed up, decides that the course is fucking gnarly and rocks up on his v10 for race day. Dudes no slouch and made all the transfers by sheer willpower and lots of running. Was it the best choice for the race? Probably better than my friends 111 but homie was suffering. Looked like he was having a blast on the downhills though.
To dovetail this back into the relevant talk about Finale, to me enduro is about big days out on the bike. It is not about having to do an XC race between timed stages. It seems like this is the concern with most of the racers. The E Bikes had no problem getting between stages but the regular bikes did. All racers seem fine with how big of a day it was, just allow for more time to get to each stage. They are trying to run too big of a race. When the entry list climbs above 300 you have a hard time getting everyone through the course in a day. So naturally you squeeze the transfer times down to help elevate this pressure. I'm not trying to stir the shit but the e-ews on the same day just doesn't work. I know why they are doing it, no one's going to show up to spectate the E Bike race if its on a seperate day. But by adding in essentially a whole other race to the day adds way to many racers to the already crowded race day.
Thank you for attending my ted talk.
Nailed it.
As I said, the timing was a test for 2025. They need to measure the liaison time for e-bikes (motor bikes) and no chance were they going to offer two different liaison times to 1) highlight this and 2) point out the differences, which are enormous.
I just need the mopeds to start blatantly cheating. Want a dude to show up at the bottom of mega pedally stage not even breathing hard a minute ahead of everyone else.
Better yet, a hacker annihilate the charging stations halfway through a hot day and all the Eebs have to still make the cut off powerless.
Huh. I also felt the opposite until now! If you can do the transfers in time, and if those transfers happen to be all shuttles, then...
Huh. I also felt the opposite until now! If you can do the transfers in time, and if those transfers happen to be all shuttles, then I guess yeah run what ya brung!
2017 EWS at Whistler, dubbed crankzilla two, I dont even remember how much climbing we had to do but it was massive. Also before eagle really...
2017 EWS at Whistler, dubbed crankzilla two, I dont even remember how much climbing we had to do but it was massive. Also before eagle really landed so most of us were rocking 45t cassettes and a 32t chainring. Oh hey these guys say everything way better: https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/RESULTS-2017-Enduro-World-Series-Cra…
Anways, mega day. After practice day, Ben Furbee or Nate, I get those two mixed up, decides that the course is fucking gnarly and rocks up on his v10 for race day. Dudes no slouch and made all the transfers by sheer willpower and lots of running. Was it the best choice for the race? Probably better than my friends 111 but homie was suffering. Looked like he was having a blast on the downhills though.
To dovetail this back into the relevant talk about Finale, to me enduro is about big days out on the bike. It is not about having to do an XC race between timed stages. It seems like this is the concern with most of the racers. The E Bikes had no problem getting between stages but the regular bikes did. All racers seem fine with how big of a day it was, just allow for more time to get to each stage. They are trying to run too big of a race. When the entry list climbs above 300 you have a hard time getting everyone through the course in a day. So naturally you squeeze the transfer times down to help elevate this pressure. I'm not trying to stir the shit but the e-ews on the same day just doesn't work. I know why they are doing it, no one's going to show up to spectate the E Bike race if its on a seperate day. But by adding in essentially a whole other race to the day adds way to many racers to the already crowded race day.
Nailed it.
As I said, the timing was a test for 2025. They need to measure the liaison time for e-bikes (motor bikes) and no...
Nailed it.
As I said, the timing was a test for 2025. They need to measure the liaison time for e-bikes (motor bikes) and no chance were they going to offer two different liaison times to 1) highlight this and 2) point out the differences, which are enormous.
Worth noting that Isabeau posted this "...at one point it felt like an enduro marathon where you can’t even stop to properly feed yourself."
Not sure this is the right place for this but on the Downtime Poland 2024 – Pre-Race Show they mentioned that Loci had surgery for arm pump about 3 weeks before Ft. Bill (Kilmurray called it a fasciectomy).
I know he's been really open about not getting along w/ the track but that's the first I've heard about him having arm pump issues
I just need the mopeds to start blatantly cheating. Want a dude to show up at the bottom of mega pedally stage not even breathing hard...
I just need the mopeds to start blatantly cheating. Want a dude to show up at the bottom of mega pedally stage not even breathing hard a minute ahead of everyone else.
Better yet, a hacker annihilate the charging stations halfway through a hot day and all the Eebs have to still make the cut off powerless.
at pisgah, too...
attach those "nut sacks" to the bottom bracket as well.
I just need the mopeds to start blatantly cheating. Want a dude to show up at the bottom of mega pedally stage not even breathing hard...
I just need the mopeds to start blatantly cheating. Want a dude to show up at the bottom of mega pedally stage not even breathing hard a minute ahead of everyone else.
Better yet, a hacker annihilate the charging stations halfway through a hot day and all the Eebs have to still make the cut off powerless.
I'm just waiting for hecklers hacking someone's ebike. Shut the motor off mid climb. Unlock mega power mode mid corner causing people to loop out. Turn on their bluetooth speaker and blast Britany Spears Toxic. Sky's the limit.
Right. It’s not just Bex. Richie indicated it was tough as well in his post race interview with Sven. This has been an issue before in the past as well, though often it’s a single transfer that people feel is too tight, not every single one.
Cramming too many riders into a 5 stage race is far off from having an epic 2 day race. Nobody is complaining about climbing it’s about the time they expect you to do it in and then race down at maximum.
How many racers finish something like the Erzberg Hard Enduro?
Lots complained that Crankzilla was too hard but those that were trained for it did just fine.
World cup enduro racing requires a lot of endurance, who would have thought? The clue is in the name. I don't know anything about Bex but this is only the second time I hear the name and the first time it was also whining about something.
You must be really a fan of the sport if you have not heard of a racer who won WC EDR #2 and ended up 5th overall last season. So I think it is fair to assume that she is fully aware of the endurance part in the name and not adverse to training for it.
You're right, I don't follow enduro racing and can't name many racers off the top of my head. Maybe 5 male and 2 female without thinking too hard about it (I like to follow DH instead). I'm sure she's also aware of the endurance aspect of it which makes it more surprising.
Maybe… just maybe,,, now stay with me here… she (and the other pros saying the same thing) has a valid point that the liaison times were unrealistically short and us armchair racers should refrain from speculating on her (and other pro athletes who do this for a living) fitness levels and take them at their word that they know what they’re talking about and the liaison times were, indeed, unrealistically short.
Yeah you're probably right, we're just guessing here. I was just amused that both times I've heard the name has been whining about something. Like I said I don't follow the world cup enduro since it's impossible without investing time I'd rather spend riding my own bike so I wasn't aware that other riders were complaining. I'm sure those finishing closer to the top aren't complaining as much though.
I think everyone is missing the point.
They are testing liaison periods for e-enduro.
There is a always the season before the season and the racers know it. They are guinne pigs, and we should anticipate those more likely to speak out to continue to be vocal and say things with information on mind that most of us do not know.
Best way forward: someone needs to call out Cris Ball and ESO and get them on record that actual enduro will be around next season. If not, what's the point.
Enduro is sick...it's not a loss just because it cannot be covered like DH.
Caption:
The first World Cup of the season and think they were trying to kill us! Best way to sum up the course was as an xc marathon. The day turned very quickly into a race to just make your stage start times, with the first stage only a few minutes at the top straight off the shuttle, little did we know but it was about to get a whole lot worse as the day panned out.
It’s the first race in a long time, for me, that felt like pure survival. I remember every race being like this in my early days of EWS racing but that was because I never trained and was not fit enough for the racing. But that’s not me now a days, this race made me feel unfit but I train my arse off for this. I think the race course and strategy just missed the mark and they got it wrong.
I wasn’t really thinking about how to be fast on the stages but more just trying so hard to make myself eat and drink when I could, otherwise I know my body would have shut down. With the heat over 30 degrees for most of the day and no time to stop for water or look after yourself, it was a hard task.
Was so close to pulling the pin in the middle of the day but there was a part of me that wanted to see how much I could physically take, I felt close to my limit. I’m sure you can figure out that by this point it didn’t exactly feel like racing.
Got a whole bunch of feelings after this event and still a bit baffled to what actually went down yesterday. But here is to praying that Round 2 next week is better!
I want to say thank you to everyone that puts a lot of effort into this sport, there are SO many people doing different roles, riders, teams, staff, coaches, promoters, investors, fans and the team of organisers…I just wish the riders were heard, yesterday could have been a different story if they listened to our concerns on the tight transfer times.
See you in Poland and hoping to report a much brighter story next week 🤪
Just shows how much of a beast Rude is. The guy does not have the physique of an XC racer by any means, and he absolutely crushed it.
Enduro as a race format isn't going anywhere, lots of really good races and series in the US.
But the EDR/EWS whatever you want to call it is on life support.
If Enduro at the world level dies off, I fear all other forms of enduro racing at a lower level will as well. If they want to only have E-Enduro, that is where the budget will go. The same happened when they killed 4X, lots of people migrated to other forms of racing.
The good news is there's a big difference between Enduro and 4X. Enduro is probably the most available and economically possible way to ride gravity sports. 4X trails aren't easy to make and the number of willing participants is definitely not as high.
I really believe this is an issue of trying to Make Enduro something like downhill because there's a crossover in athletes.
E-enduro will never exist internationally because of the logistics costs of moving heavy ass parts about. Compare that to the fact any place in the world with 400 feet/175 meters of vert can throw an Enduro race.
Enduro is not meant to be covered like road racing or xc or dh. It's too slow and too...in the woods.
Stop wasting money trying to make it glamorous and start spending money to improve the sport and voila....
Really frustrating is that for the last 7 years the industry did nothing but feed kids nothing but long travel bikes...
DH fans should be trying to save enduro as well. It's the feeder sport for almost any from bike wise and race wiSe... Most parents aren't buying their kid, a $6,000 bike. They're going to ride a few times at a race or park but they will buy them a bike That's all Mountain and most kids aren't willing to jump straight into downtown racing.
My two cents
BME in windrock just finished, Rachel Pageau just won on a v10… is that enduro? Ok sometimes races only have uplifts, but it seems very unlike the spirit of enduro to race a full on DH bike.
She did the same at Tenn Nats this year. A lot of people push sections of the climb up to Windmill and the higher stages there even on enduro bikes. So yeah… maybe that’s error in the other direction where you have to force a certain bike choice and level of fitness with your liaison stages. But doesnt need to be so crazy that you can’t pause.
Back in the day some of the best coverage would be riders getting interviewed after stages and before starting liaison. Sounds like no one would have time for interviews at Finale this year.
Was there even anyone to interview them this year? (Sarcasm of course, the world could use more of it)
When I saw the course release for finale I said to myself " thank god I am not doing this one".. cause I know more the area pretty well , the liasons are monster ones.. I would not make it never... being a weekend warrior with a few EWS under my betl...but anyway, if you are a pro you know you would pace accordingly..I bet many did it..and may be a few got gassed out... may be finale being at the end of the season the riders are cruising and now they started with this one and got surprised... perhaps it was bad, yeah, but not to make a rant like that one.. Im sorry..
I love lining up and seeing what others are rocking. From single speed hardtails to dh rigs with droppers slapped on. It’s run what ya brung. To me that is what enduro is all about.
I felt the opposite about this, until I read your post. Something about it hit home. Ha, probably one of the handful of time in my life i held a strong opinion on something and it changed....go figure.
I suppose if you can do the transfers in time, then it's run what ya brung.
Quite a juxtaposition to the Bex situation. Funny, the way the world works.
Huh. I also felt the opposite until now! If you can do the transfers in time, and if those transfers happen to be all shuttles, then I guess yeah run what ya brung!
Self certified internet doctor of downhill injuries here.
GM's Instagram story has his missus saying his shoulder's so "buggered" he can't do simple housework, but here he is doing DH laps. Having just about fully recovered from the "can't do household chores" shoulder injury...I'm diagnosing Mr. GOAT as having a completely torn supraspinatus aka rotator cuff.
You heard it here first.
If I'm wrong you can take my practitioner's license.
On the EWS "complaint", a top 20 EWS female rider would stomp a fitness mud hole in most people.
If an elite athlete has no time for water between climbs, that's not trivial. That is not weakness.
And the "season" isn't sneaking up on anybody.
Promoter crammed too much of one thing in and not enough of another.
2017 EWS at Whistler, dubbed crankzilla two, I dont even remember how much climbing we had to do but it was massive. Also before eagle really landed so most of us were rocking 45t cassettes and a 32t chainring. Oh hey these guys say everything way better: https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/RESULTS-2017-Enduro-World-Series-Cra…
Anways, mega day. After practice day, Ben Furbee or Nate, I get those two mixed up, decides that the course is fucking gnarly and rocks up on his v10 for race day. Dudes no slouch and made all the transfers by sheer willpower and lots of running. Was it the best choice for the race? Probably better than my friends 111 but homie was suffering. Looked like he was having a blast on the downhills though.
To dovetail this back into the relevant talk about Finale, to me enduro is about big days out on the bike. It is not about having to do an XC race between timed stages. It seems like this is the concern with most of the racers. The E Bikes had no problem getting between stages but the regular bikes did. All racers seem fine with how big of a day it was, just allow for more time to get to each stage. They are trying to run too big of a race. When the entry list climbs above 300 you have a hard time getting everyone through the course in a day. So naturally you squeeze the transfer times down to help elevate this pressure. I'm not trying to stir the shit but the e-ews on the same day just doesn't work. I know why they are doing it, no one's going to show up to spectate the E Bike race if its on a seperate day. But by adding in essentially a whole other race to the day adds way to many racers to the already crowded race day.
Thank you for attending my ted talk.
Nailed it.
As I said, the timing was a test for 2025. They need to measure the liaison time for e-bikes (motor bikes) and no chance were they going to offer two different liaison times to 1) highlight this and 2) point out the differences, which are enormous.
I just need the mopeds to start blatantly cheating. Want a dude to show up at the bottom of mega pedally stage not even breathing hard a minute ahead of everyone else.
Better yet, a hacker annihilate the charging stations halfway through a hot day and all the Eebs have to still make the cut off powerless.
Worth noting that Isabeau posted this "...at one point it felt like an enduro marathon where you can’t even stop to properly feed yourself."
Not sure this is the right place for this but on the Downtime Poland 2024 – Pre-Race Show they mentioned that Loci had surgery for arm pump about 3 weeks before Ft. Bill (Kilmurray called it a fasciectomy).
I know he's been really open about not getting along w/ the track but that's the first I've heard about him having arm pump issues
at pisgah, too...
attach those "nut sacks" to the bottom bracket as well.
I'm just waiting for hecklers hacking someone's ebike. Shut the motor off mid climb. Unlock mega power mode mid corner causing people to loop out. Turn on their bluetooth speaker and blast Britany Spears Toxic. Sky's the limit.
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