Photo Epic: Big Mountain Enduro - Keystone

Jul 13, 2015

by Devon Balet

The second in the series of Big Mountain Enduro took racers to Keystone Resort in Summit County of Colorado. The resort is known for being steep and rough. The long runs do a number to racers hands and bikes. This weekend was no different.

After an hour of racing Keystone local Alyson Cockrell came out on top in the Pro Women's race while Yeti racer Jared Graves took the win on the Pro Men's side. The race had it's fair share of carnage of bikes and bodies while pushing racers to their limits.

Jamie Landry drops into a steep section of Helter Skelter. It was awesome to see the number of ladies that came out to race.

Keystone is a rough and tough mountain, and it took it's fair share of riders down this past weekend. One rider took an unfortunate fall on a practice run before stage one.

Tyler Mitchell keeping it low and fast.

It seemed as if it wasn't steep and rocky, it was all out speed in Keystone.

This certainly cannot go well... thankfully this rider got up and rode away from this crash.

Wide open! Stage 1 was a 15 minute sprint on green trails that fed into Helter Skelter, a steep and technical track.

Curtis Keen quickly approaches Mike West on the infamous Helter Skelter left hand turn.

The tracks on Keystone were made for turning. It was a turning man's game this weekend.

Austin Hackett-Klaube rode smooth and fast all weekend earning the final podium spot in 5th overall.

Stage one finished out with tight fast turns in the deep trees.

Stage finishing jump, why not throw in a beautifully executed x-up while racing in a skin suit?

Rachel Throop has been edging her way onto the podium at the first BME races. Look for her to keep moving up the steps after finishing fourth in Keystone.

Anthony Diaz made the tight steep left hand turn on Helter Skelter look as though he was on tracks.

Jared Graves had the fastest turns this weekend, proving he is one the best in the world.

This relatively mellow looking section took down several riders over the weekend. A hidden pedal grabber at the top of the rocks sent a few racers for a ride. Roy Benge demonstrates a clean ride through.

Blasting into the trees on Sanitarium.

Beth Roberts dropping into Sanitarium.

Jon Buckell looking clean and fast.

Local shredder Nate Hills continues to preform finishing fourth in a stacked field of Pro Men racers.

Local shredder Nate Hills continues to perform finishing fourth in a stacked field of Pro Men racers.

Richie Rude eying down JHK on stage 3. Richie over took and passed Jeremy in the next turn. He came out of no where. said Jeremy.

Richie Rude eyeing down JHK on stage 3. Richie overtook and passed Jeremy in the next turn. "He came out of nowhere." said Jeremy.

Making a tight corner look like a massive turn. Jared Graves is a true pleasure to watch and shoot.

Chris Boice had a great weekend of racing finishing in 15th place. When asked about racing in a half shell all weekend he confidently replied, "I didn't come here to crash."

Yeti came out in full force this weekend in Keystone. Joshua Snow pedals out of turn on stage 3.

Amber Tinstman drops into the start of stage 4. Amber had a great weekend of racing taking the top spot of the Masters Women 40+.

Amateur Women line up to drop into stage four.

The future looks bright watching the young rippers here in Keystone. There was over 30 entrants for the U21 Men's class.

Blurring through the tight trees on High Speed Dirt on stage 4.

Heather was the lady to beat this weekend after winning the past two years in Keystone.

Flagstaff, Arizona local Scott Countryman was having a stealer race going into the final day sitting well in the top 20. A rough stage six sent him off trail after his rear shox stopped functioning properly.

Plenty of carnage on the six stages in Keystone. Thankful I am still quick on my feet to avoid collision, even with a broken hand.

Tyler Brady splitting the trees on Cowboy Up.

No shortage of great views in Keystone.

The one and only pedal transfer.

Keystone Resort is Nate Hills' local resort. He had a tough fight this weekend against a stacked Pro Men's field and finished in 4th overall.

How to: ride fast through a loose steep turn, with Richie Rude.

Jon Buckell slashes through the loose rocky turn on stage 4. Jon finished strong in 8th place.

All Roy Benge seemed to be worried about was if anyone caught his crash. Sorry buddy, had to avoid your bike! Hope your elbow is feeling alright.

Andrew Dunlap keeps his eyes focused on the smooth line through the rock garden on Cowboy Up.

BME Operations Manager and part owner Mike Day took this weekend to put down the heavy pack and radio and strapped on a number plate. Happy Birthday and congrats on your second place finish in Vet Men 30+.

Keystone Ski and Bike Patroler Alyson Cockrell came into the weekend with an obvious local advantage. The mother of two raced on a rental bike and literally rode away with the win finishing a full 1:46 ahead of second.

Cait Dmitriew of Oskar Blues prepares to enter the rock garden on Cowboy Up.

Anthony Diaz is one of those riders that always looks super fast. His low riding style surely doesn't hurt his results.

What better way to enter a rock garden then with a little air?

Jared Graves making quick work of another technical section.

Lots of cheering and rasta colors for the award ceremony.

Nothing like a good ol' champagne shower. Pro Women's Podium; 1st Alyson Cockrell, 2nd Heather Irmiger, 3rd Krista Park, 4th Rachel Throop, 5th Leigh Bowe.

Keystone local Alyson Cockrell enjoying the sweet taste of victory.

1st Jared Graves, 2nd Richie Rude, 3rd Curtis Keen, 4th Nate Hilss, 5th Austin Hackett-Klaube.

Austin Hackett-Klaube earning his way into the podium celebration as Jared and Richie unload their champagne on him.

The next stop on the Big Mountain Enduro is in Crested Butte, Colorado on July 31 which is also part of the Enduro World Series.

Full results here.

Van life. Dig it!

MENTIONS: @devonbalet

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devonbalet
Member since May 5, 2007
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43 Comments

31 0

xignigenax (Jul 13, 2015 at 19:36)

That x-up tho.. Perfection.

prosauce (Jul 14, 2015 at 11:56)

When your speed isn't cutting it in Pro class, throw tricks... It makes the people happy. -Prosauce Team Rudeboy

20 5

ericw1775 (Jul 13, 2015 at 20:02)

All that Great Riding Action....AND Legal WEED!!

7 18

santacruzrider98 (Jul 14, 2015 at 9:31) (Below Threshold)

Yup...that's why our state sucks..it's filled with frickin potheads

charlie4lynch (Jul 14, 2015 at 10:29)

and i bet those pot heads ride faster than you..

taletotell (Jul 15, 2015 at 19:17)

If you aren't a fan of your state there is a similar one nearby with less pot. I personally have usually found stoners to be pretty nice people.

kdiff (Jul 13, 2015 at 19:47)

Graves is back?! F' yeah! He (and many other in enduro) seems like such a cool guy.

Great pics! I had no idea Keystone looked so cool. Just added to my must do list.

prestonDH (Jul 14, 2015 at 6:34)

keystone has some gnar, more than most bike parks out here.

zeerob FL (Jul 14, 2015 at 7:44)

For real though, they rate everything softer than most other mountains, i.e. black elsewhere is a soft blue here. Throw in the towel if it has rained though... dropped in the corkscrew on Sanitarium last summer after a drizzle and my steed got stuck 20 feet up in the trees. Took forever to get it down, not to mention the terror when you lose your rear that high off the ground. Love Keystone.

freeridermtb (Jul 14, 2015 at 10:40)

Yeah that cork is a nightmare in the wet

Smknjoe (Jul 14, 2015 at 13:23)

Sanitarium has the corkscrew, got it. After seeing a full-page ad in one of the bike rags for Keystone showing this feature, I swore I needed to go there and ride it someday.

prestonDH (Jul 15, 2015 at 9:02)

It is definitely worth the trip and if you want something more "parkey" (like jumps/flow/wood features) then just drive an hour or so north and you are at Trestle (Winter Park) that place is alot of fun too, just a different type of park. Either way you cant lose out here! It is the sole reason I moved here after grad school

MX298 (Jul 13, 2015 at 20:20)

No helmets on the transfer stages? Hope they set a trend!

bbbswan05 FL (Jul 13, 2015 at 19:12)

Awesome review of a sweet monster-trucking, high speed race weekend! And thanks for the sweet two photos @devonbalet ! Who ever said racing mid-pack amateur can't get you any pictures on the internet?!? Haha
Keystoner for the win!!!

Harper80 (Jul 13, 2015 at 18:57)

Holy Blue Shoes!

migo2089 (Jul 13, 2015 at 19:04)

Great photo coverage! Also good to see Graves back on a bike and crushing it

herzalot (Jul 13, 2015 at 21:29)

Those appear to be some right-proper tracks! Lots of chunk and features for an Enduro - and the riders make it look pretty easy, as usual, even on "small" bikes. Great photos. Time to hit some of those trails!

Kenfire24 (Jul 14, 2015 at 8:30)

To anyone that says "bike parks are making paved highways and all easy trails" in every thread has never ridden at Keystone. The pictures don't do this place justice..... It's technical everywhere and crazy fun.

taletotell (Jul 15, 2015 at 19:18)

That rock garden looks like a friggin landslide. I could spend a couple hours just trying to find a winning line.

TheR FL (Jul 14, 2015 at 11:16)

I need to get up there. Haven't been in a few years. I remember the first time I came to the rock garden. I watched this dude get bucked everywhere before he finally got ejected toward the bottom. The top is pretty ridable, but then it gets kind of crazy toward the bottom.

rupintart (Jul 15, 2015 at 17:33)

I was there competing in the NATS North American Trials Championship...I can tell you, those pictures do no justice as to how gnarly that terrain was. Several times throughout the day the ambulance came past the trials sections for people wrecking.... On another note, Curtis Keene was staying down the hall from me in the Dakota Lodge...I thought he looked familiar. He looks different in person....the Red Bull helmet was the giveaway.

rudeboybl (Jul 13, 2015 at 22:03)

Thank you for supporting team Rudeboy. X-up perfection was none other than Adam pro-sauce Procise.

warrens (Jul 13, 2015 at 22:13)

Keystone is no joke! Bring back MSC by the way. Thank you

zeerob FL (Jul 14, 2015 at 7:45)

Amen, RIP MSC.

bigoecoiler (Jul 13, 2015 at 22:39)

I love Keystone. Trestle has great berms and jumps, but the builders at Keystone keep it technical. Sad to see the injuries, but it's still my favorite lift park to ride.

tempest3070 (Jul 15, 2015 at 14:46)

Keystone has builders?

bigoecoiler (Jul 15, 2015 at 20:38)

I suppose it's the weather...

Aengis (Jul 14, 2015 at 8:21)

Did anyone else read the headline and think "Pennsylvania had an enduro?" Then look at the pictures and quickly realize, no way that could be PA.

RideXCLikeEnduro (Jul 15, 2015 at 19:27)

They do have one it's part of the east coat cup. It's at blue mountain.

NitroDisorder (Jul 15, 2015 at 11:13)

That's Danny Bilot keeping it low and fast in the third photo down, not Tyler Mitchell. Hahaha

DanielB89 (Jul 13, 2015 at 19:52)

The rider in third picture is labeled wrong

devonbalet (Jul 13, 2015 at 20:10)

Can you help with the correct name? Sorry for the mix up.

DanielB89 (Jul 13, 2015 at 20:20)

Daniel Bilot

salespunk (Jul 13, 2015 at 19:55)

Great race coverage! Awesome to see BME getting this level of exposure.

zutroy (Jul 14, 2015 at 6:45)

Hmmmmm interesting Turner ride Anthony Diaz is on there.

rewob (Jul 13, 2015 at 19:19)

Go high & wide to go fast. Got it.

likeittacky (Jul 13, 2015 at 22:04)

Don't step on those blue sued shoes!

blastido (Jul 13, 2015 at 23:36)

Those Sprinters aren't van life, that's RV life.

devonbalet (Jul 14, 2015 at 9:23)

naw. far from an RV.

ergonbike (Jul 14, 2015 at 8:19)

LOVE riding and testing at Keystone! Such a great venue!!!!

bickdausten (Jul 14, 2015 at 10:58)

Richie Smiles!?!?!?!?

dmoemtb (Jul 13, 2015 at 19:40)

We need more Mojo Wheels race team photos.

eeeasy (Jul 13, 2015 at 20:38)

Great pic