Today, April 24, the
trails for the first round of the Enduro World Series hosted by Superenduro in Punta Ala, Italy, were announced. The race isn't for nearly a month yet, but the race course is now marked out for riders to come and practice. This has reopened a debate among riders about how enduro races should be run and, more specifically, what practice should be allowed.
The first enduro races were run by Fred Glo in France in 2003. His rule on practice was clear: there was none. Riders faced the courses blind, putting the focus of the racing on your ability to read the terrain. In all of mountain biking there arguably isn't a purer, wilder or cleaner form of racing. Hurtling down a slope at full-gas, reacting to whatever the mountain throws at you is unlike anything else; it is all down to your bike handling and your connection to the trail beneath you. It is possibly the truest test of any mountain biker.

Yet there is no question that this style of riding isn't for everyone. For many, it's a very intimidating prospect, not something to entice newcomers or inexperienced riders into the sport. Even Fred admits that maybe there is something special in southeastern France where this style of riding originated. In the same way that North Shore freeriding never really existed in quite the same way outside of the slopes overlooking Vancouver, the original enduro racing lives in the mountains, the culture and the people of that small corner of France.
As enduro began to spread there was an evolution, people took the format and adapted it to where they lived. The most noticeable one was to add pedal transfers, rather than using ski lifts like the early French races did. More quietly, alongside this, practice crept in. Most notably in Italy with their Superenduro series, who opened up the race courses well in advance of the races. Superenduro founders, Franco Monchiero and Enrico Guala, built their series on the business of tourism. Their races were a way for destinations to promote themselves as riding destinations. Opening up the courses before the race brought people into the towns, villages and resorts in the build up to the race and made the business model work.
There is another element to the argument for this kind of extended practice. It means more people have the chance to come and practice before the race. If you are unable to get the days running up to the race off work, you can come on the weekends before and fit your practice into the rest of your life. In a sport that is amateur at its heart, this is no small thing, in one sense it makes it more equitable.
However, this has created a debate about what enduro could and should be. While many of the discipline's top racers, like Jerome Clementz and Remy Absalon, have been pushing for practice, at the same time they do not want to see the sport become long-distance downhill races. Mountain biking already has downhill, the high-speed, total precision discipline. Enduro is supposed to be something more fun, mixing bike handling with endurance fitness and the discovery of new trails and riding locations. The idea of learning every root and rock for a small racing advantage is not one many within the sport are keen to embrace. Enduro is currently searching for the right balance between discovery and practice.
Professionalism sounded the death knell for high-level blind racing. Simple economics dictate as much. As money starts to come into the sport, people will begin to depend on it to do serious things like pay rent, turn on lights and even feed children. A good race result becomes a very big thing and the pressure to look for advantages, fair or unfair, becomes huge. If human history has taught us anything, it's that some people will eventually take the dishonest route, and blind racing, by its very nature, is open to abuse. Sooner or later chaos would follow.
So that brings us back to today, with the announcement of the Superenduro/Enduro World Series race course a month in advance. It's going to be the biggest enduro race anybody has ever seen, on many levels. The riders list is a who's who of mountain biking, packed with names like Nico Vouilloz, Steve Peat, Anne-Caroline Chausson, Fabien Barel, Greg Minnaar, Jerome Clementz, Remy Absalon... This is the first time all of these people will have been on a race track together. It will also be the biggest enduro race ever held as nearly 600 riders of all levels are signed up to compete - the pits are lining up to rival a World Cup. This is evidence of the growth of enduro as a real thing and not just a mythical creature lurking in internet forums and industry hype. Yet it comes at a cost, a literal cost: somebody needs to pay for all this to happen.
In this case, that somebody is Thomas Daddi, owner of the Punt Ala resort where the race will be held. He specifically requested that the courses be announced today. In the next month riders from across the world are booked to come and train on the trails that will become the race course on 18 and 19 May. It is that business coming into the resort that makes this race something real; it's a viable opportunity for him, not a vanity project. As much as most of us like the idea of doing things for the love, a solid financial base means it could happen again in the future.
None of this means we should lose the original, blind enduro that some of us still love so much. There are places you can find it. Slipping from the mainstream doesn't mean it's dead, it's just waiting for those of us who want to go looking for it. For enduro as a wider genre to grow we need big races; the Enduro World Series is pushing the sport on to a new level and that is nothing but a good thing. When riders come to Punt Ala, the trails will still be incredible, the area beautiful and the people welcoming, nothing will change that, and the racing looks set to be something very special indeed. If the price for all that is this kind of extended practice, it's one we should be willing to pay.
www.superenduromtb.comwww.enduroworldseries.com
157 Comments
Si prega di rilassarsi il mio amico - relax´ - capire?
Please watch that great interview with Chris Ball on DirtTV on Enduro series - one of very few people who actualy know what they are talking about. It will give you a lot of perspective and you might understand that it is not as bad as many think it will be. You will get the idea about the amount of work and consideration that went into all this.
dirt.mpora.com/news/chris-ball-interview-enduro-world-series-uncut.html
There's a bit of cheap drama in those articles on Enduro no matter how hard Matt tries. Troll snacks
Another way to differentiate the groups would to be have a practised group, and a blind group. then maybe some weird super final on a single blind trail no one has ridden to prove a real winner?
I've only done a couple of enduro races but I had just as much fun in practice the day before as I did on race day. Why limit the amount of fun people can have at the races?
Same thing on cnn/msnbc.. youve got the folks pushn agenda, and then u have the desk reporters whom just say what the script reads.
Aside from racing, I'll never turn down the opportunity to follow someone the first time they ride a new trail, it's awesome to see them interpret it through fresh eyes.
Neither do I. No practice adds a fun dimension, levels the playing field, and is another level of separation from DH.
But ya I think a practice run or two isn't a terrible idea the day before a race. Anything before that is too much practice though in my opinion. Locals should have an advantage at their race, that's normal.
I guess its etiquette a bit, not all the pros are up at fort william training now are they? This whole practice debate might be true for the first round, but a lot of the top guys where positions count are engaged in different things every weekend.
If its Amateurs complaining about practice time then you shouldn't be too bothered- racing's for fun at the level after all right?
No practice does pose some challenges for course design, though. No blind hits, etc that could pose danger to riders running the track for the first time. But those features belong in DH anyway.
Pro's are a different story. They get paid to ride there bike, maybe don't allow them to pre ride or really who cares, the same handful win most of the races anyways and most of the pros are so busy with other events they wont have much time to come and practice prior to the event, maybe a day or so. Most of these guys race every weekend
I admittedly don't know that much about the format but from my perspective (as somewhat of an outsider) that's exactly what Enduro looks like. It was defined in a pinkbike article last years as "The most basic definition is timed downhills and untimed uphills". I mean to me if you are going to time only the downhills, than its basically a downhill race IMO, or essentially a long distance downhill race.
To me the idea that this encompasses a true "all mountain" discipline is a bit misleading because while you do have to pedal the uphills, there is clearly a heavy emphasis on the downhills.
You show up for the weekly ride and bam, todays the race down xyz trail, and/or combined times from 3 trails.
Although everyones ridden those trails, your not overly prepped and u run what ya brung.
I guess its kinda like surf contests..
The waves are always different so the best skilled adapt quickest.
(Neatly side steps whole debate, take it away fellas)
After reading this article, I just wanted to say this is one of the first articles that truly was a joy to read. It seemed observational (more objectivity than subjectivity), well written, and overall one of my favorite articles of all time. Looking forward to more of your work.
Anyway the amateur argument makes even less sense. If some guys try to do it seriously they'll compete what's "around" them, as for an am racing the whole series will be impossible. So some will make all european races for instance. I doubt those guys will have the budget to come, travel across Europe to ride the track one month ahead if they happen to be unable to come a few days before the race. So that makes it even less fair as I always said.
Yes the sport needs money to grow, yes those top riders deserve to be able to make a good living out of it. But what we see is a very strong influence from the industry as a whole (not just the bike industry), somehow against the sport. If they want to change the sport, then they should just take another name. Just call it long distance DH (as marathon DH already exist, being Megavalanche race style). Now I kind of regret a bit having taken a licence of the EMBA, just to support the sport.
All mountain events here in Oz are limited to local clubs mashing together their XC trails for the lower section and DH track for the top section with fire trails in between to link it together. If only we had the terrain / trails so organisers could just bunt out a new course every time then it would be a real test for all and not just a longer DH race - one of the reasons why DH racing got boring was limited actual riding waiting for a shuttle bus.
I say keep the unseen element to spice things up and make this style of racing standout, so amazing how the enduro scene will look in 12 months time though. It's great to see it growing but it needs to stay how it has been.
Enduro should be raced blind, or maximum, allowing to train the day before the race to avoid too risky situations. But being able to train 1 month before? Why? Only because of business?. If so, Enduro in in the Wrong path.
The riders who are there for winning, pro-riders and wannabe pro-riders are still able to ride in the zone 1, 2, 3 months before, but without knowing the exact race tracks
Have an area that is open to the practice runs, say 50 - 70% of the coarse and a portion that is not set to throw a kink into the racers that need to know every rock & root.
There is always some one who will bitch but this way it gives an opportunity for all to have a good time at the races as well as the business to profit from the event.
We all need to support the locals!
I agree, he has to invest a lot, but the riders pay back also by a lower or higher entrance fee because of the costs of a race. So the riders wishes should also have a weigth. (could be 21000 to 24000 Euro) I am sure you do not forget that, but the article seems not precise in that formulation to me.
This is just to be complete your report.
A payback will not come in one month by pre race explorers or tourists. It need years to establish as a Enduro destination like Finale Ligure. And Punta Ala has much potential. I would like to ride there! Sometimes I keep destinations in mind for years! Punta Ala will stay beside Sedona or many great places, if the riders report positive about the tracks and the race.
Finally all this questions lead to the core of Enduro racing, that makes it different from Downhill racing?
It is not only the less step and more pedal stroking trails. It is the same what makes Rallye (WRC) different from Track Racing, the same that makes FIM Enduro different from Motocross. Find the maximum (or optimum - ask Fabien Barel for this) speed without the possibility of gradual increase in training. Not trial and error, just experience of reading terrain in limited time. One month is not such limitation. One day is okay to me. Blind is also an option.
WRC or FIM Enduro on motobikes (like Six Days since 1913) have a long tradition and they show high professional racing. And they are able to limit training to better show the special performance of those kind of riders. I was speaker at Red Bull ISDE (Six Days Enduro) in Germany. I tell you, riders are not allowed to ride on the stages. But they can walk them. They walked and filmed many kilometers.
Here we need to care about how much a track wear, because we need to repair deep ruts. Water management is different then in Italy. MTB is not popular by land owners and hunters here. But were we offer enduro race we easy reach 400 riders. At #1 in one day they hit the limit of riders. 440 riders are in the list now. But it is impossible to offer tracks a month before, this is like opening a bike park.
On the other hand its hard to limit training, but I think it work in moto Enduro and so it should in MTB Enduro.
Please EMBA, start to think more international and talk to other countries Enduro providers until you push the italien way to be the worlds Enduro rule book. I listen Chris Ball at Dirt.tv and I am in hope that share our minds will help enduro. World Series should include German speaking countries soon
I am sorry if my English is not at the point sometimes. It is hard to find right words and terms to be fair and friendly and pointing at things you see a need to discuss in one formulation.
See you in Punta Ala. My little bike holidays for this year!!!
The economic point is important too - for a lot of small resorts in Italy and similar places that don't have the big money chairlift/ski infrastructure, the cash that goes into local businesses from riders coming to stay for a week to practice and race is vital, and many of them support and sponsor the races and trailbuilding in turn because of that - There'd be fewer races, fewer trails and generally less fun to be had in those places without that cash.
you can't get away from the liability of safety issues for a promoter/sponsor and the costs of the event regardless of size which means maybe higher entry fees for one. racing is/needs money and lots of it.
Just and idea that hopes to find balance.
Please support your argument.
hence the mention of local businesses doing well at superenduro.
Post a Comment