Vittoria ESC Enduro Round 5 at Plattekill

How time flies when you're having fun. The Vittoria Eastern States Cup Enduro series hit the halfway mark in its season this past weekend as the Plattekill Bike Park hosted Round Five of the ten-race series. The mountain, known for its rowdy terrain, pulled out all the stops to create five fun tracks with a compelling mix of technical challenges, flowy lines, high-speed cruises and enough pedaling to keep everyone in an enduro mindset.

The mountain was pretty parched when racers arrived for practice on Saturday. A strong thunderstorm hit the area on Saturday night and the rain turned the trails to an incredibly firm and fast hard pack. One racer likened it to riding on asphalt and the unexpectedly high speeds resulted in numerous missed turns and encounters with the tape.

To get the legs warmed up, the day started with a long transfer from the parking lot to the top of the triple chair on the right side of the mountain for Stage One. In a bit of a sadistic flourish, each segment was longer than the last. The first leg was by far the shortest of the day and rocketed along the shoulder of the mountain for just over a minute. Pro rider Dylan Blachek was fast through the features on the upper part of the stage.

Just returning from a shoulder injury, pro rider Michael Bateman, riding for The Collective, POC and Competitive Edge Cycling, took the win on the opening stage with a blistering fast 1:15.

A quick transfer back up the work road paralleling Stage One brought riders to the top of Stage Two. Barreling down Fun Run, the top of the stage offered plenty of features and air opportunities before swinging back across the face of the mountain to finish at the top of the Broken Tooth jump. First-year Eastern States Cup racer Sarah Lynch continued her string of podium appearances with a 4th-place finish.

Racers got a break for their legs as they rode the double chair up to the start of Stage Three. After negotiating some drops or go-arounds at the top of the stage, riders faced their first big pedal section of the day as the track traversed across the mountain to the triple chair side. Weary legs then dropped into one of Plattekill's classic shale chutes before negotiating some raw single track sections in the woods on either side of the triple.

Another ride up the double chair was followed by a long transfer around the backside of the mountain to the top of the triple and the start of Stage Four. This segment seemed to be the difference-maker on the day with most of the winners putting the hurt on their competition during this long and challenging segment. The upper section of the track, ridden here by pro BJ Treglia, was a good warm-up for the challenges waiting below.

Things got interesting at a steep, rarely-ridden chute on the outskirts of the mountain. Matthew Jalbert, riding for NBX, had his game face on entering the chute. Jalbert took his third win of the season in the 30-39 class and has yet to finish worse than 2nd in five starts.

The chute got a lot of inspection time during practice but proved a fairly manageable obstacle once riders got up the courage to give it a go.

Following closely on the heels of the chute was perhaps the most challenging section on the day: a rugged rock jumble dubbed Natch Patch. Unlike many rocky spots at Plattekill, the geology in this section didn't move beneath one's tires and had to be ridden over or around. Mitchell Lyons, racing his first Vittoria Eastern States Cup event, solved the riddle of the patch and finished in the top 20 of the huge 19-29 age class.

Another ride up the double chair took racers to the final, and longest segment of the day. Starting in the woods behind the chair, the track began with a moderate tour around the perimeter of the mountain with natural feature sprinkled liberally along the way. After cutting his teeth in the motocross world, Max Beaupre, riding for NBX and the Trek Enduro Squad, has taken quickly to the enduro discipline and won his first event in the 18 and under category. Beaupre's impressive win was the fastest amateur time of the day and would have landed him 7th in the pro field.

Stage Five took most riders at least five minutes and encompassed every terrain type that Plattekill offers. Pro racer Paul Dotsenko, riding for Fast Line Racing, Urge, Spank and Fly, had his best finish of the season with a 6th place.

After clocking out on Stage Five, the smiles were contagious. Plattekill is known as a challenging mountain and scares away some, but most racers agreed the Vittoria ESC enduro was a ton of fun to ride.

The women's pro race saw some familiar faces atop the podium. Defending Vittoria ESC enduro champion Lauren Petersen, racing for CFM Cyles, Intense and Honey Stinger, is once again the woman to beat as she took her second win of the season. Petersen was edged out on the first stage but won the next four by solid margins to win the overall by more than a minute. Said Petersen: "It was a typical Plattekill race with steep chutes and loose rocks. Stage 4 had a particularly challenging chute that seemed to play a huge role in people's race - I had no problem with it, thankfully, but it was definitely still cause for anxiety. That was definitely where I solidified the win, with a 31-second buffer to the 2nd place finisher on that stage! Thankfully, years of downhill experience, including many races at Plattekill, help me with steep, technical, and muddy terrain."

Downhiller turned enduro-regular Mary Elges, racing for Bikeman, competed in her fourth enduro of the year and got her best result with a second-place finish.

In the third spot was Kimberley Quinlan, racing for Bicycle Express. Quinlan, a cross-country specialist and one of the nicest people on the tour, has a remarkable, unbroken string of pro enduro podiums stretching back to 2013.

The women's pro podium from left: Sarah Lynch-4th, Mary Elges-2nd, Lauren Petersen-1st, Kimberley Quinlan-3rd, Clarissa Finks-5th

The men's pro race featured the triumphant return of Leland O'Connor. Sporting the #1 race plate, signifying the top point-getter from last season, this was O'Connor's first start of the season on the Vittoria ESC tour. After being edged by his rivals on the first two stages, O'Connor, racing for e13, Fly and Santa Cruz, charged to wins in the final three stages to take the overall by a scant seven-second margin.

In the runner-up spot was Jason Memmelaar, this season's most consistent racer. In five enduro starts this year Memmelaar, racing for Yeti Cycles and Fox, has yet to finish outside the top three.

In the third spot was former ESC enduro overall champion Jason Scheiding. Always in the hunt, Scheiding, racing for FLY, e13, Urge, SDG, Spank, CarbSport, DP Brakes, Shimano, and DVO, appears to have returned to form with two consecutive podium finishes.

The men's pro podium from left: Saben Rossi-4th, Jason Memmelaar-2nd, Leland O'Connor-1st, Jason Scheiding-3rd, Andrew Lints-5th

The Vittoria Eastern States Cup tour heads north to Attitash Mountain in Bartlett, NH this coming weekend. This will be the third BOX Components East Coast Showdown of the season so bring both your bikes as enduro and downhill with each be on the menu. Good times guaranteed.

Words by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Pics by Jamie Lee
Video by Jason Scheiding @JKSR

Results: https://www.rootsandrain.com/race4218/2016-jul-17-vittoria-esc-enduro-5-plattekill-ny/categories/
www.easternstatescup.com
www.facebook.com/easternstatescup


Atlantic Downhill

Aug 14 Windham ProGRT – Windham, NY
Aug 28 Blue Mountain East Coast Showdown #6- USAC State Championship, Palmerton, PA
Oct 9 Plattekill– Roxbury, NY – New England and Atlantic DH Finals

New England Downhill

July 24 Attitash Mountain East Coast Showdown #3- Bartlett, NH
July 31 Killington ProGRT– Killington, VT
Aug 7 Thunder Mountain East Coast Showdown #4- USAC State Championship, Claremont, MA
Aug 21 Sugarbush East Coast Showdown #5 – Warren, VT
Oct 9 Plattekill– Roxbury, NY – New England and Atlantic DH Finals

Enduro

July 23 Attitash Mountain East Coast Showdown #3- State Championship, Bartlett, NH
Aug 7 Thunder Mountain East Coast Showdown #4– – State Championship, Charlemont,MA
Aug 20 Sugarbush East Coast Showdown #5 – Warren, VT
Aug 28 Blue Mountain East Coast Showdown #6- State Championship, Palmerton, PA
Sept 11 Killington Enduro Finals – Killington, VT

BOX East Coast Showdown Series

July 24 Attitash Mountain East Coast Showdown #3- Bartlett, NH
Aug 7 Thunder Mountain East Coast Showdown #4– Claremont, MA
Aug 21 Sugarbush East Coast Showdown #5 – Warren, VT
Aug 28 Blue Mountain East Coast Showdown #6– Palmerton, PA

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MENTIONS: @Eastern-States-Cup

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