Like a lawn in springtime, the East Coast enduro scene continues to grow at a fast clip. The Vittoria Eastern States Cup Enduro Series has seen tremendous expansion in events and participation over the past few years. The latest addition in a progression of growth spurts for the sport is the CLIF Enduro East by Vittoria ESC. These three events are separate from the Vittoria ESC enduro series and will feature big days and big money. The per-race cash purse is a whopping $10,000 for a total of $30,000 to be paid to EWS categories. Contested over three weekends in 2017, each event will offer riders the East's finest terrain with eight to ten stages spread over two days of competition. All three races are official Enduro World Series Qualifiers and will likely lure some of North America's best racers.
The CLIF Enduro East races will allow racers to earn points towards a place on the Enduro World Series Reserved List. Racers on the reserved list no longer have to apply to the EWS Lottery to gain entry to an EWS race. Additionally, the winner in each EWS category at every Qualifier Series event will automatically be added to the Reserved List. This is an important stepping stone for serious enduro racers as it facilitates the jump to the world stage without breaking the bank. Mark your calendars and register now. Consider this your "Everything I Always Wanted To Know About CLIF Enduro East But Was Afraid To Ask" guide.
THE VENUES:
The first CLIF Enduro East race will be the Killington Green Mountain by Vittoria ESC on July 1-2. Vermont's Killington Resort, long recognized as an ideal enduro venue, has been investing heavily in their bike offerings over the past few years and the length and variety of their lift-serviced trails are hard to match. This event is also part of the IMBA National Enduro Series, the only stop in the Northeast, and will draw a big crowd.
The second half of the opening CLIF Enduro East battle will be held at Green Mountain Trails in nearby Pittsfield. This lesser-known riding destination offers over 1,000 feet of vertical and 25 miles of riding on its trail network. There's no lift at Green Mountain Trails so expect big transfers and taxing stages at this gem.
The second event will be held at Victory Hill and Burke Mountain in Northeast Vermont on August 5-6. Victory Hill is a still-developing zone located in a remote location off the backside of Burke Mountain. The venue hosted its first Eastern States Cup enduro race in 2016 and despite wet conditions earned high marks from the more than 200 racers who competed.
Day Two will be contested on Burke Mountain which offers some of the wildest lift-access and shuttle terrain on the East coast. With nearly 2,000 feet of vertical to play on, Burke Mountain has developed a reputation for its rowdy, leg-burning stages.
The final CLIF Enduro East weekend will bring racers to Thunder Mountain Bike Bike in the Berkshires of Massachusetts on Sept. 9-10. This once-sleepy area stormed onto the mountain bike scene in 2015 and has been turning heads with their aggressive building strategy and outstanding terrain. Long machine-built flow/jump trails and rugged fall-line single track plunges vie for your attention at Thunder Mountain.
In addition to the lift-serviced offerings at Thunder, racers can expect stages outside the network taking advantage of the vast trail systems of the Deerfield River valley.
To shed a little more light on this new enduro offering I interviewed George Ulmer, owner of the Vittoria Eastern States Cup race series and the mastermind behind the CLIF Enduro East races.
Why did you create the CLIF Enduro East?Ulmer: Enduro racers have been asking me for higher level, multi-day races in the East. I thought it would be cool to have some two-day events with higher purses. I started out looking for one venue to host a big event and I wound up with three top-notch options. One thing led to another and we were awarded Enduro World Series Qualifier status for all three races, that was a huge surprise. Mostly I wanted to show off what East Coast racing has to offer to a larger audience. I'm excited to share our trails with people from other parts of the country and the world.
Are the CLIF Enduro East events part of the Vittoria Eastern States Cup enduro series?Ulmer: No, they are separate from our Vittoria ESC enduro series. Because they are EWS qualifiers we are using the EWS race classes which are different from ours. It would have been a nightmare trying to mesh the two. Each CLIF Enduro East is also a stand alone event, we won’t be tracking and combining points for the three races. But I bet the racers will be.
What are the race categories?Ulmer: There are five EWS qualifying classes: U21 Men which is for 17-20 year-olds only, U21 Women for 17-20 year-olds only, Men, Women, and Masters which is for men aged 40 and up. We will also offer three non-EWS qualifying classes for amateurs who are more interested in bragging rights than cash: a men's amateur class, a women's amateur class and an amateur U17 class for 16-year-olds and younger. Of course like all our events we’ll have some great sponsor prizing.
How does the EWS qualifying process work?Ulmer: The winner of each of the five qualifying classes at an Enduro East event will automatically be added to the following year’s EWS Reserve List. In addition, racers accumulate points for their finishing place at any qualifying event. The best three qualifying results for each rider during a season will be totaled to calculate their final qualifying rank. So a racer could just do the three CLIFF Enduro East events to fill their point totals. At the end of the season, the top 80 Men, 30 Women, 15 U21 and 15 Masters in the Final Qualifying Rankings will also be added to the following year’s Reserve List. It's important to note that racers must have an Enduro Mountain Bike Association membership PRIOR to racing to be eligible for EWS qualifying, so get your membership soon if you plan on trying to qualify.
Will there be practice time?Ulmer: Yes. Our plan is to release course maps via email to registered racers on Thursday morning. The tracks will be taped, marked and open for practice on Thursday and Friday. We're hoping to have an informal race meeting and party on Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday and Sunday will be race days with four or five segments each day. One of the race days will be based around lift-assist tracks and the other will be primarily pedal transfers. These will be big days for our EWS qualifying classes and we will offer scaled-down tracks for our amateur classes.
What is the purse breakdown?Ulmer: There will be $10,000 up for grabs at each CLIF Enduro East event. The pro men and women will go five deep with payouts: 1st- $1,000, 2nd-$750, 3rd-$400, 4th- $300, 5th-$200. The U21 and Master classes will have four deep payouts: 1st-$400, 2nd-$300, 3rd-$200, 4th-$100. In addition, there will be a CLIF Cash Bonus for the fastest three overall racers at each event. $1,000 for 1st, $400 for 2nd and $300 for 3rd, which will effectively at least double the winnings for a class winner. A Pro man or woman can take home $2000 for the weekend if they are the fastest overall.
When can people register?Ulmer: Now! Registration for each CLIF Enduro East is open. We expect these to be very popular and early-bird discounts will likely help these fill quickly. The first 100 entries will save $30!
www.enduroeast.com/registration/www.enduroeast.comwww.facebook.com/enduroeastwww.easternstatescup.comhttp://www.enduroeast.com/registration/
MENTIONS: @Eastern-States-Cup
You know...because they're on the same longitude.
Seriously George, love you but that's bull calling it "THE EAST" Just call it the "Northeast Corner" series. Hah hah
Here's our revised $10,000 payout schedule:
EWS CLASSES
U21 Men $750 total 400-200-150
U21 Women $750 total 400-200-150
Master Men 40+ $750 total 400-200-150
Master Women 40+ $750 total 400-200-150
Men $2650 total 1000-750-400-300-200
Women $2650 total 1000-750-400-300-200
CLIF CASH BONUS = $1000 – 400 – 300 to the fastest three racers at each event
AMATEUR CLASSES
U16
Am Men
Am Women
"These will be big days for our EWS qualifying classes and we will offer scaled-down tracks for our amateur classes."
Whatever...
Plus we've gotta give Matt something to do right? =P
I do wonder how much of the proceeds goes to the local trail/trail maintenance.