Kokanee Crankworx Canadian Enduro - Presented by Kona
Brian Lopes (USA) opened and closed the action at Kokanee Crankworx with gold medal performances. He won the Fat Tire Crit on July 15 and then took first in the newly designed Canadian Open Enduro, presented by Kona. Flyin’ Brian combined his downhill and cross-country skills to complete the five-stage race in 25:42.74; beating Nicolas Vouilloz (FRA) who came in second at 25:54.18; and snagging the title from defending champion Remy Absalon (FRA) who completed in 26:09.78. Anne Caroline Chausson (FRA) successfully defended her title in the Canadian Open Enduro, winning the five-stage, rally-style epic, decimating the pro women's field with a time of 28:55.00. Whistler’s Katrina Strand (CAN) completed with the second fastest time at 32:25.92 and Fanny Paquette (CAN) finished in 32:29.21 for third spot.
![Lopes on the invisible bike en route to the win... Mojo HD madness.]()
![She may be retired but she never really quit racing...BMX Olympic Gold medal enduros...just not World Cup. To be honest if she were still racing she d still be winning.]()
The format for the Enduro takes a nod from Rally Car racing. The idea is to remove the boring elements from the competition, like extended climbs and mindless double-tracks, and time the challenging segments like the downhills and technical trails. The Enduro format lets the racers conserve energy that would be wasted in a classic XC racing format, start each stage relatively fresh, and then pin it The win is based on the accumulated time of all the stages. In case you were thinking that any good DH rider could turn in a pro time if one had all day to poke up the climbs, forget it. Racers had to qualify in seeding runs and transfers between stages had cut-off times.
![Legendary racer Nicolas Vouilloz was 17 seconds down to Lopes following stage 2 climb--Lopes got some XC legs going this summer with BC Bike Race and was full gas on that climb--but Nico gained back 13 of those seconds in stage 5--a chunk of change for sure but not enough to take the win.]()
![Remy Absalon is one of the names in enduro racing in Europe. This year he took the Megavalanche in L Alpe d Huez--pretty much the crown jewel of the Enduro racing world.]()
Outside of the Super D, there are few events in North America where a competitor can race the type of bikes that most riders own. The Enduro format promises to do just that. Most of the bikes used in the Canadian Open Enduro were 6-inch-travel XC/All-mountain types. For instance, Lopes and Anne Caro rode the stock Ibis Mojo HD chassis to victory. The course was designed by Whistler local Richie Schley and featured varied terrain that closely resembles that of European Enduro races and which favor the all-around rider. The course wove through the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and on some of Whistler’s best valley trails.
![The five stage enduro here at Crankworx meant a lot of pedaling. Some stages had a full face as mandatory others not. Some riders opted to carry an XC lid for the more XC style stages.]()
![Karim Amour is another European Enduro rockstar. He can absolutely slay it in Whistler s Bikepark on a 140 bike and make most people look cheap.]()
“Enduro is a growing genre of off-road racing that pits cardio and strength against nerve and skill. The race design is new to North America and uses a rally-style format involving five timed ‘competition stages’ linked by ‘transfer stages’ that are not factored into the overall time,” - course mastermind Richie Schley.
![A far cry from the limelight of World Cup racing... Nicolas Vouilloz has no race tech to back him up here at Crankworx. It s nothing but Nico his experience and his desire. Here we see the Alien cleaning his chain in his hotel room.]()
A number of racers were not super stoked on the race as far as it's technical content, but this was the first year for this format at Crankworx, and the intention was to make the event more approachable to XC riders vs. having a bias towards gravity riders. As Anne Caroline Chausson put it , "Everyone could find something for their garden on this course." And this was a straightforward race course in some areas for sure; but it did have two legs in the bike park, and on a short travel bike-particularly in the case of Fanny Paquette's Trek Top Fuel--the bike park is NOT forgiving.
![Another local done good Matt Ryan exiting Bolden Goner on Blackcomb Mountain during stage 4 of the Enduro.]()
![Katrina Strand in stage 4. Local girl does good--second place.]()
Overall, however, the Canadian Open was a good introduction for North American riders to this style of enduro racing. As to whether this format will stick here at Crankworx, only time will tell. But at the end of the day, racers had a good time. Particularly Lopes and Chausson.
![Jacqueline Harmony pinning through the lower section of the first stage of the Canadian Open Enduro.]()
![Fanny Paquette Whistler local and rockstar absolutely killing it on the pinner XC bike--there ain t no dropper post on that Trek full suspension XC ride.]()
Like any new event, Kona's Canadian Open Enduro had its moments, like clueless park riders who did not recognize or simply ignored the taped off race course and some alleged course cutting by racers who simply straight-lined switchback sections wherever posible. That said, event went off smoothly and racers emerged from the first enduro at Whistler smiling. The consensus is that the Enduro will grow much larger next year at the Kokanee Crankworx.
![Jack Reading during stage one.]()
![Andreas Hestler on the GLC drop at the end of stage 5.]()
The event includes amateur and pro categories and everyone races the same course, and it's the kind of riding that most of us do every week, so there is no excuse for not giving the enduro a go. Bring your big bike and your trailbike to Crankworx next year and throw down to see who are the best overall riders on the mountain.
![ACC had to catch a flight so it was only L-R Katrina Strand 2 and Fanny Paquette 3 on the podium for the Pro Women.]()
![Men s Pro Podium L-R Nicolas Vouilloz 2 Brian Lopes 1 and Remy Absalon 3 .]()
The Canadian Open Enduro, presented by Kona closes the eighth iteration of Kokanee Crankworx. With record crowds and massive uptake on the live webcasts of each event powered by partner Freecaster.tv, Kokanee Crankworx was experienced by more people than ever before. Kokanee Crankworx 2012 will take place August 10-19, 2012.
Colin Meagher photos
Enduro Results All
Anyone out there interested in a North American Enduro series? Tell Pinkbike your thoughts on the timed enduro format - we'd love to hear 'em.
Lopes on the invisible bike en route to the win... Mojo HD madness. The enduro format favors mid-travel AM/trailbikes and riders who excel in all aspects of mountain bike competition.
Anne Caro' may be retired, but she never really quit racing...unless retirement means winning a BMX Olympic Gold medal, and a string of European enduros. To be honest, if she were still racing World Cup downhills, she'd still be winning.
The format for the Enduro takes a nod from Rally Car racing. The idea is to remove the boring elements from the competition, like extended climbs and mindless double-tracks, and time the challenging segments like the downhills and technical trails. The Enduro format lets the racers conserve energy that would be wasted in a classic XC racing format, start each stage relatively fresh, and then pin it The win is based on the accumulated time of all the stages. In case you were thinking that any good DH rider could turn in a pro time if one had all day to poke up the climbs, forget it. Racers had to qualify in seeding runs and transfers between stages had cut-off times.
Legendary racer Nicolas Vouilloz was 17 seconds down to Lopes following the stage-2 climb. Lopes got some XC legs going this summer with BC Bike Race and was full gas on that climb--but Nico gained back 13 of those seconds in the technical stage-5 descent - a chunk of change, for sure - but not enough to take the win.
Remy Absalon is one of "the" names in enduro racing in Europe. This year he took the Megavalanche in L'Alpe d'Huez--pretty much "the" crown jewel of the Enduro racing world.
Outside of the Super D, there are few events in North America where a competitor can race the type of bikes that most riders own. The Enduro format promises to do just that. Most of the bikes used in the Canadian Open Enduro were 6-inch-travel XC/All-mountain types. For instance, Lopes and Anne Caro rode the stock Ibis Mojo HD chassis to victory. The course was designed by Whistler local Richie Schley and featured varied terrain that closely resembles that of European Enduro races and which favor the all-around rider. The course wove through the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and on some of Whistler’s best valley trails.
The five-stage enduro here at Crankworx meant a lot of pedaling. Park downhill stages had a full-face hemet as mandatory, others not. Some riders opted to carry an XC lid for the cross-country stages. An electronic timing chip was affixed to the rider's helmet, and course organizers equipped each competitor with a duplicate for the second lid
Karim Amour is another European Enduro rockstar. He can absolutely slay it in Whistler's bike park on a 140-millimeter bike and make most people look cheap.
“Enduro is a growing genre of off-road racing that pits cardio and strength against nerve and skill. The race design is new to North America and uses a rally-style format involving five timed ‘competition stages’ linked by ‘transfer stages’ that are not factored into the overall time,” - course mastermind Richie Schley.
A far cry from the limelight of World Cup racing: Nicolas Vouilloz had no race tech to back him up here at Crankworx. It was nothing but Nico, his experience, and his desire. "The Alien" dials in his Lapierre in the hotel room. Preparation was key to winning because competitors were not allowed outside assistance and each bicycle was photographed before the start to ensure that no major component was replaced during the race.
A number of racers were not super stoked on the race as far as it's technical content, but this was the first year for this format at Crankworx, and the intention was to make the event more approachable to XC riders vs. having a bias towards gravity riders. As Anne Caroline Chausson put it , "Everyone could find something for their garden on this course." And this was a straightforward race course in some areas for sure; but it did have two legs in the bike park, and on a short travel bike-particularly in the case of Fanny Paquette's Trek Top Fuel--the bike park is NOT forgiving.
Another local done good: Matt Ryan exiting 'Bolden Goner' on Blackcomb Mountain during stage 4 of the Enduro.
Katrina Strand in stage 4. Local girl does good--second place.
Overall, however, the Canadian Open was a good introduction for North American riders to this style of enduro racing. As to whether this format will stick here at Crankworx, only time will tell. But at the end of the day, racers had a good time. Particularly Lopes and Chausson.
Jacqueline Harmony pinning through the lower section of the first stage of the Canadian Open Enduro.
Fanny Paquette, Whistler local and rockstar absolutely killing it on the pinner XC bike--there ain't no dropper post on that Trek XC ride.
Like any new event, Kona's Canadian Open Enduro had its moments, like clueless park riders who did not recognize or simply ignored the taped off race course and some alleged course cutting by racers who simply straight-lined switchback sections wherever posible. That said, event went off smoothly and racers emerged from the first enduro at Whistler smiling. The consensus is that the Enduro will grow much larger next year at the Kokanee Crankworx.
Jack Reading during stage one. The enduro course took racers through some beautiful terrain, like the rolling trails around Lost Lake.
Rocky Mountain's Andreas Hestler on the GLC finish-line drop at the end of stage 5.
The event includes amateur and pro categories and everyone races the same course, and it's the kind of riding that most of us do every week, so there is no excuse for not giving the enduro a go. Bring your big bike and your trailbike to Crankworx next year and throw down to see who are the best overall riders on the mountain.
ACC had to catch a flight, so it was only (L-R) Katrina Strand (2) and Fanny Paquette (3) on the podium for the Pro Women.
Men's Pro Podium (L-R): Nicolas Vouilloz (2), Brian Lopes (1), and Remy Absalon(3).
The Canadian Open Enduro, presented by Kona closes the eighth iteration of Kokanee Crankworx. With record crowds and massive uptake on the live webcasts of each event powered by partner Freecaster.tv, Kokanee Crankworx was experienced by more people than ever before. Kokanee Crankworx 2012 will take place August 10-19, 2012.
Colin Meagher photos
Enduro Results All
Anyone out there interested in a North American Enduro series? Tell Pinkbike your thoughts on the timed enduro format - we'd love to hear 'em.
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Indeed the advantage is that several styles of ride and capabilities can be satisfied by an Enduro race, but in France & Italy where Enduro Series and Mega are formats much more difficult than what we could observe during Crank' Open Enduro, the riders have to be very versatile physicaly and technicaly to can have some fun and generate a minimum of performance.
Moreover, I permit myself to say that Remy Absalon is not "one of the names" in European Enduro racing, these days he is the best enduroman in the world with Jey Clementz and René Wildhaber.
For 2011, Kokanee Crankworx Canadian Enduro, Oregon Super D Series (4 races), Ashland All-Mountain Challenge, and Trestles All-Moutain Enduro count towards North American ranking of Enduro athletes. The promoters of these events are working together to develop and grow this type of racing.
The Oregon Super D Series is leading the charge with 4 awesome races around Oregon but as mentioned above the logistics for multi-stage enduros are expensive and requires a lot of staffing.
Check out the North American Enduro Tour, and the Oregon Super D Series websites for more info on Enduro / Super D racing.
www.NAETmtb.com , www.OregonSuperD.com
For 2011, Kokanee Crankworx Canadian Enduro, Oregon Super D Series (4 races), Ashland All-Mountain Challenge, and Trestles All-Moutain Enduro count towards North American ranking of Enduro athletes. The promoters of these events are working together to develop and grow this type of racing.
The Oregon Super D Series is leading the charge with 4 awesome races around Oregon but as mentioned above the logistics for multi-stage enduros are expensive and requires a lot of staffing.
Check out the North American Enduro Tour, and the Oregon Super D Series websites for more info on Enduro / Super D racing.
www.NAETmtb.com , www.OregonSuperD.com