California Enduro Series Round 6 & Golden Tour Round 2: Northstar Enduro

Marco Osborne (Cannondale/WTB), winner of the 2017 Northstar Enduro.

The 2017 Northstar Enduro – round 6 of the California Enduro Series’ fifth year – delivered a five-star weekend of racing this past weekend, August 26-27. The sold-out two-day race held at Northstar California Resort in Truckee was the second round of the CES Golden Tour. The event was also an EWS qualifier and the IMBA National Enduro Series finale.

The event boasted a dazzling roster of enduro’s top talent, including Marco Osborne (Cannondale/WTB) – 2015 CES Pro Men champ – who returned to the mountain that never seems to let him down, taking 1st place despite being sick in the days leading up to the race. Curtis Keene (Specialized), Zakarias Johansen (Ibis), Kyle Warner (Marin) and Evan Geankoplis (Marin) all gave Osborne a good chase. 2016 series winner Geankoplis currently leads the Golden Tour for Pro Men, defending his 2016 win, and stands in 2nd place for the series overall.

The star-studded event also welcomed top EWS contenders Carolin and Anita Gehrig – affectionately known as The Gehrig Twins. The Swiss duo has been taking the enduro scene by storm, and are two of the top Enduro World Series (EWS) racers for the past two years. Both took the podium for pro women, with Carolin Gehrig (Ibis) coming in 1st and Anita Gehrig (Ibis) in 3rd. Amy Morrison (Marin) – 2015 and 2016 CES Pro Women champ, and currently 4th for the series overall – stood between the twins in 2nd, in a win that defends her lead in this year’s Golden Tour. Teal Stetson-Lee (Scott) and Essence Barton (Santa Cruz/VP Components) rounded out the Pro Women podium, in 4th and 5th place respectively.

Northstar California Resort is renowned for its burly, technical trails. Racers tackled long transfer climbs at altitude and steep, loose, and rocky timed stages consisting of blue, black and double-black terrain. All categories raced a total of six stages over two days (three stages each day), covering over 33 miles total with over 13 miles of timed racing including 7,000 feet of descent, and 19 miles of transfer including 5,100 feet of pedal powered climbing.

Practice day.

Packet pickup at the Village.

Sweet race swag!

CES director Steve Gemelos and Northstar Enduro director Eric Whitaker address the racers at the Saturday morning rider meeting.

Race day stoke.

The Gehrig Twins (Ibis) – Anita and Carolin – all smiles on a transfer climb.

Matthew Koen (Marin) and Evan Geankoplis (Marin) having fun with their transfer.

Pro Women winner Carolin Gehrig (Ibis) taking on a Stage 6 waterfall.

Curtis Keene (Specialized) gave Osborne a run for the money, and landed in 2nd place Pro Men.

Zakarias Johansen (Ibis) took 3rd on the day for Pro Men.

Amy Morrison (Marin) charging her way to 2nd place Pro Women, maintaining her spot at the top of the CES Golden Tour leaderboard.

Anita Gehrig (Ibis) pinned on her way to 3rd place Pro Women.

Ryan Gardner (Kona) currently leads the series overall for Pro Men, and came in 6th on the day.

Current Pro Women series leader Janea Perry (Marin) took came in 7th on the day.

Open Men winner Tyler Weyman (Giant) is currently in the lead for the series overall.

Riders check their standings between stages at the CES Live! tent.

Liam Ruff (Whyte) takes on the rocks with ease.

Refueling at Clif Bar between stages.

Zephyr Sylvester (Mike's Bikes/Yeti) focused and determined as always.

Damian Gonzalez (Michael David Winery/Cranked Naturals) crushing the rocks.

Parker Robinson rails a long, loose turn.

Kenda Tires was on hand to showcase its new enduro tires.

Canyon offered its enduro bikes – the Strive and the Spectral – to demo throughout the weekend. CES founders Steve and Megan Gemelos didn’t miss this chance to shred on these extraordinary steeds.

Swag toss!

Kali Protectives generously donated helmets to be raffled off at the event.

Big thanks to FOX for donating 2018 forks to be raffled at each CES event of the year. Winner Gregg DT poses with CES founders Steve Gemelos and Erik Saunders (far left).

The top ten Pro Men shared $4,000 in Golden Tour prize money: 1st Marco Osborne, 2nd Curtis Keene, 3rd Zakarias Johansen, 4th Kyle Warner, 5th Evan Geankoplis, 6th Ryan Gardner, 7th Evan Turpen, 8th Michael Lee, 9th Mason Bond, 10th Parker Robinson.

The top ten Pro Women also divvied up $4,000 in Golden Tour prize money: 1st Carolin Gehrig, 2nd Amy Morrison, 3rd Anita Gehrig, 4th Teal Stetson-Lee, 5th Essence Barton, 6th Rachel Strait, 7th Janea Perry, 8th Whitney Sutak, 9th Tasha Thomas, 10th Amanda Propst.

Open Men podium: 1st Tyler Weyman, 2nd Christian Ferrone, 3rd Soren Anderson, 4th Joe Pridmore, 5th Brian Butler.

Junior Expert podium: 1st Max Sedlak, 2nd Lee Faraola, 3rd Jake Yackle, 4th Myles Morgan, 5th Hayden Wenger.

Here’s to another great event – colossal thanks to the riders, sponsors, and volunteers who make it all happen. Up next: Round 7 – the Kamikaze Bike Games Enduro at Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes September 14-17. The Kamikaze Enduro is the final round of the CES Golden Tour.

About California Enduro Series

CES is a for riders, by riders non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to promoting world-class enduro events that everyone from amateur to pro can enjoy, at a geographically diverse range of venues. The series is renowned for fostering an exceptional sense of community and encourages its participants to be involved in its planning.

The series is grateful for the support of VP Components, FOX, Clif Bar, WTB, Canyon, Kali Protectives, Michael David Winery, Cranked Naturals, Kenda Tires, DHaRCO, KMC, Adventure Sports Journal, Gamut, Voler, ESI Grips, Mike's Bikes and TrailWorks.

Check out the 2017 schedule and learn more about the series at californiaenduroseries.com.

Words by Michele Charboneau
Photos by Scott and Melody McClain
Video by Mitch Nuyens and Sebastian Bauer