After the successful debut of the standalone Wasatch Enduro last year, Mountain Sports International stepped it up for 2013 with the Enduro Cup three-race series.
Sticking with a one-day, multiple-stage format, last weekend’s first stop in Moab, UT, consisted of four timed stages and four neutral stages on the popular Magnificent 7 (or Mag 7) trails. The individual time trial format netted cumulative results hovering around 25 minutes, with total ride times for the day averaging a couple of hours.
The race stayed up high within the Mag 7 trail system, eventually looping back up to the initial start where burgers and brats were waiting for racers under bluebird skies.
Most riders opted to call it a day when they turned in their timing chips, but some completed the 26-mile Mag 7 system that drops all the way down to Potash Rd.
“This was one of the hardest enduros I’ve ever raced,” said men’s open race winner Ross Schnell. Indeed, the timed downhill stages were riddled with rocky, technical singletrack sections on a shallow grade, with multiple short, steep climbs around blind corners, all of which kept riders fighting to find flow and rhythm. “There wasn’t more than three or four seconds of coasting at a time on any of those stages,” said Schnell.
Ross Schnell took top honors at the first Mag 7 Enduro Cup
The pro/open classes split a $2,500 cash purse, while amateur winners walked away with Bell Super enduro-style helmets that bike shops can’t even get hold of yet. Combined with an impressive raffle including a set of ENVE carbon wheels, burgers, brats, and beverages, plus a fun, friendly, and casual atmosphere, it will be surprising if the next two stops on the Enduro Cup series aren’t equally on point for what enduro racing is all about.
Results
Open (men)
- Ross Schnell
- Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski
- Macky Franklin
Open (women)
- Heather Irmiger
- Kelli Emmett
- Heidi Rentz
AM Men 19-29
- Steve Goodman
- Bryce Straka
- Aaron Russell
AM Men 30-39
- Joseph Saperstein
- Joe Hanrahan
- Christian Gauvin
AM Men 40+
- Zach White
- Scott Crabill
- David Beeson
Junior men
- Dylan Crane
- Preston Bagley
- Joshuah Anderson
AM women
- Debbie Preller
- Carly Clifton
- Tschana Schiller