Race Report: California Enduro Series Round 2

The Mammoth Bar Enduro — Round 2 of the 2018 California Enduro Series — delivered a massively fun day of racing with the inclusion of the premier black and double black diamond trails at Mammoth Bar OHV park. The June 16th race also featured favorite tracks from last year's course at the adjacent Auburn State Recreation Area. The course showcased the variety of terrain that the Auburn area has to offer, with timed stages running the gamut from loose and flowy to rocky and technical to lung-burning pedally. Racers needed solid strategies for competing in high temps as they crushed challenging rock gardens, sprinted out of loose corners and took on long arduous transfer climbs under a full sun. Race organizers The Hub and Total Body Fitness feted the 500 competitors with complimentary post-race BBQ lunch, local craft beer and massages, and a number of riders beat the Gold Country heat with a post-ride dip in the river.





Third-year enduro racer — and CES ambassador — Matt Guntert employed a calculated race plan that earned him his very first Pro Men first place win. He says, "I got fifth at Toro, this season’s first stop. Now I'm on the top step for the second stop — I’m so excited! The race was super loose and very fun. It was also very power specific for each stage. Tire pressure was the key for me. I kept a PSI gauge in my pocket and adjusted the pressure for each run according to my practice run experiences. This ended up being the winning ticket."


Essence Barton defended her champion title, maintaining her spot at the top of the leaderboard. Barton says, "I felt that Mammoth Bar went great. I didn’t feel as confident as I did at Toro because Auburn is further away and I’ve only ridden here once before at last year's race. But I gave it my best effort after a full week of hard work prior to the race and I was honored to have my tired body on the top step!"



Event co-organizer Heath Sherrat of The Hub took first place Master Pro Men 40+. He says, "The Mammoth Bar Enduro brings out the strategist in all of its racers. Do I bring a full enduro bike with long travel and slack angles? Or do I try to get away with a lighter, more pedal friendly bike? Which bike gives me the best chance to win on the course's rough, exposed, steep and loose terrain? Well, there's one thing for sure — don't skimp on the tires, hydration or protection or you may find yourself in a world of hurt!"



Sport Women 35+ racer Jeni Boltshauser comes into the finish at the end of a big day of racing. Boltshauser says, "With the push of our Community Outreach Manager, Kim Rafter, MTB Experience decided to put together a team to race CES this year. Our team has limited sponsorship so our goal was to be able to provide what we could- which is positivity and support. We quickly had 25 women ask to be a part of the team! I realized some women want to try racing but it can be intimidating to venture into it alone. It has been an amazing season so far. The Mammoth Bar Enduro was one of the hardest ones with all the pedaling and relentless sun. The team came together to show what it truly was all about by encouraging each other and keeping spirits up during the long day. To top it off we had six podium finishes from Pro to Beginner. And we picked up more women to race along the way."




Event co-organizer Mark Shaw of Total Body Fitness (TBF) explains how the Mammoth Bar Enduro came to be. "A CES racer — Heath Sherrat from The Hub — is a sponsor of TBF events and a couple of years ago suggested we do a mountain bike enduro race at ASRA. As ASRA already had equestrian and running events, they welcomed a mountain biking event as it would complete the trifecta. Through Heath, I met Steve and Megan of CES … they believed in us and are so great to work with ... and here we are back for our second year!"









Pro Men Stage Summaries and Podium


Pros kicked off their day on ASRA’s Confluence trail running high above the American River. This stage was all about smooth line choices, pumping, and sprinting. Rocks galore threatened to take out tires and end races quickly.

Evan Geankoplis — who took first place in the series opening race at Toro — made a promising start in the season’s second race by taking the Stage 1 win with a time of 04:25.0. Tim Krentz came in second two seconds ahead of Ryan Gorman at 04:26.7 and 04:28.7 respectively. In fourth on the stage, Matt Guntert came in at 04:30.4 and Ryan Gardner capped off the top five with 04:34.8.

This stage was a series of tracks at ASRA (Bridgeview/Mossy Rock/Flood/Stagecoach) and started off slick with off-camber high-speed grass turns that required demanding sprints out of them. The run then segued into rocky single track, finishing off with a difficult creek crossing, a loose elevator shaft and a fast ‘n furious fire road descent to the stage finish.

Guntert pulled out all the stops on this stage, taking first with a time of 04:40.1. Gorman was two seconds behind Guntert with 04:42.1, while Gardner took third with 04:45.2 and Geankoplis fourth with 04:46.1. Todd Renwick crushed his way into the top five on this stage with 04:52.0.

The end of this stage found Guntert in the lead, followed by Ryan Gorman just 0.3 seconds behind him. Geankoplis was in third a mere 0.3 second behind Gorman, and Gardner and Krentz were in fourth and fifth respectively. Times were tight at the top.

Running on Fuel Break/Culvert, Stage 3 was a fast, flowy, hard-packed course with some technical drops and rocky sections that could end your day. Racers had plenty of lines to choose from. Guntert says, “The fastest way to ride this stage was foot out flat out in every corner and no brakes. It was by far the most fun course in this race.”

It was a tight race between Krentz and Guntert, with Krentz ultimately coming out just 0.4 seconds ahead of Guntert. They clocked 03:26.5 and 03:26.9 respectively, with Geankoplis right behind them at 03:27.9. Steven Godman took fourth on the stage with 03:28.5 and James Eves fifth at 03:31.2.

At the end of Stage 3, Guntert’s lead had increased to 1.6 seconds. Geankoplis moved into second, Krentz's stage win moved him into third, and Gorman and Gardner were in fourth and fifth respectively.

This highly anticipated stage featured Stonewall to Rocky. The course was extremely loose and fast with sharp switchbacks, off-camber corners and lots of uphill sprints. A high-speed rock garden section finished off this stage. Letting go of the brakes and running high tire pressure were key to not flatting. Pros had the added challenge of surprise babyheads that came loose in corners after the sport and beginner racers ran the track earlier.

Godman’s time of 02:47.0 beat Guntert’s (02:47.5) by half a second, while Geankoplis came in 0.4 seconds behind Guntert at 02:47.9. Gorman finished the stage in fourth with 02:50.5 and Renwick again took fifth with 02:53.5.

By day’s end, it was Guntert on the top step with a total time of 15:24.9; Geankoplis in second with 15:26.8; Gorman in third with 15:44.7; Krentz in fourth with 15:52.2; and Gardner in fifth with 15:52.6.



Ryan Gorman's solid day of racing took him all the way to third place. Gorman says, "The race was a ton of fun and I'm pumped with the result in such a deep field of talent. The course was super fast and physical with a range of terrain from bumps and berms to loose moto trails and rock chutes. Things got a bit rowdy on Culvert (Stage 3) when both feet unclipped coming over one of the drops. I ended up finishing the stage with my seat rotated 90 degrees sideways — that was a first!"



Pro Women Stage Summaries and Podium


Looking at the Pro Women’s race, Round 1’s champ Essence Barton joined her teammate Evan Geankoplis in taking the fastest run on the first stage of the second race of this season, clocking 05:17.8 — a full three seconds ahead of the second fastest rider Liza Hartlaub who came in with a time of 05:20.8. Brianne Spiersch came in third on the stage with 05:23.7; Heidi Kanayan fourth with 05:26.4; and Lili Heim rounded out the stage’s top five finishers just 0.2 seconds behind Kanayan with 05:26.6.

Barton took the win on the second stage of the day with 05:42.3, with Heim coming in less than half a second behind her with 05:46.6. A solid nine-second gap loomed between Heim and the stage’s third-place finisher Cicily Kessmann who clocked 05:55.5, with Hartlaub following in fourth with 06:00.4, and Spiersch coming in fifth with 06:02.7.

After two stages of racing, Barton was holding her lead, followed by Heim 3.2 seconds back, Hartlaub in third, Spiersch in fourth and Kessmann in fifth.

Kanayan pushed her limits on this stage to a first place finish time of 04:02.2, nearly three seconds faster than Barton who took second with 04:05.0. Kessmann came in third with 04:09.1; Spiersch just behind her in fourth with 04:10.2; and Heim holding on to her top five stage finish streak with 04:12.6.

At the end of this third stage, Barton had a commanding 20 seconds lead overall. She was followed by Lili Heim in second, Hartlaub in third, Kessmann in fourth, and Spiersch in fifth.

This final stage once again found Kanayan with the fastest time, clocking 03:30.4. Barton was just 0.3 seconds off with 03:30.7, taking second place for the stage. Heim came in third with 03:35.6, Spiersch fourth with 03:48.2, and Hartlaub fifth with 03:50.9.

The pro women’s podium found reigning champ Barton on the top step once again with a total time of 18:35.8. Heim — who narrowly missed the podium in this season’s first round at Toro Park — took second place with 19:01.7. Kanayan came in third with 19:04.6; even with her two stage wins, she couldn't make up for the time she lost on Stages 1 and 2. Spiersch took fourth with 19:24.9 and Kessmann snagged the final podium spot with 19:29.2.


Lili Heim, who narrowly missed the 2018 kick off's pro women podium, crushed her way to second place for this second race of the season. Heim says, "The hot weather and pedally stages added some extra challenge, but my pre-race burrito helped me have a nice smooth and consistent day. This was my first time racing at Auburn ... I am really stoked on how the day went and glad to be racing with such rad people!"




View full race results and podium shots from all categories here. Check out 2018 series standings on our website.

Words by Michele Charboneau
Photos by Kasey Carames

Next up: China Peak Enduro June 30 in Lakeshore, CA. Round 3 of the 2018 season takes racers to the southwestern Sierra about 65 miles east of Fresno. The rugged terrain of China Peak Mountain Resort is an ideal setting for the first round of the CES Golden Tour, the series' pro triple crown which spotlights the gnarliest venues and courses.

About California Enduro Series
CES is a for riders, by riders non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to promoting world-class enduro events that everyone from amateur to pro can enjoy, at a geographically diverse range of venues.

The series is grateful for the support of the following sponsors:
FOX, CLIF Bar, Specialized Bicycles, Dynaplug, WTB, Kenda Tires, Kali Protectives, Cranked Naturals, Michael David Winery, Voler Apparel, Park Tool, Mynesweepers, Adventure Sports Journa, ESI Grips, Gamut USA, Zodiac Lights.

Check out the 2018 schedule and learn more about the series on our website.