California Enduro Series Announces 2015 Schedule

The California Enduro Series (CES) is pleased to announce the 2015 race schedule and promises another great year of Enduro racing. In its third year, CES proves its commitment to growing this popular cycling sport by expanding its schedule to include additional fun and challenging venues, offering more race categories, and maintaining equal pro payout to both men and women for series overall top placement.

Expanded race schedule
For 2015, the series is expanding to seven rounds, welcoming back popular venues from last year and adding two new events: the Wild Wood Adventure Enduro on the Mendocino coast and the Ashland Mountain Challenge. Additionally, 2015 will introduce the first multi-day Enduros—with both Wild Wood and Northstar leading the way with two back-to-back exciting days of racing.


CES Director Steve Gemelos says, “We’re looking forward to bringing back venues from last year that hosted great races and really showcased the diverse mountain biking zones in California.” Gemelos adds, “We’re thrilled with the addition of the Ashland and Mendocino venues, with Ashland offering some of the best mountain biking on the west coast, and Mendocino opening up a whole new riding region for many participants. Throw in our very first multi-day races, and this is going to be one heck of a year.”

With the expansion to seven events, the 2015 series points will be based on the top five results of the seven races. Gemelos explains, “Sometimes things don’t work out at a race; a flat tire, a mechanical, or just an off day can ruin your series. We want to keep things fun and competitive. This season, a bad race won’t end your series. You get seven opportunities to post your five best results. This will make it much more competitive for the series overall standings, and more competition makes it more fun.”


And without further ado ... ladies and gentlemen, we present the 2015 California Enduro Series Race Schedule! Visit the CES website for more information on these outstanding venues.

May 9: Battle Born Enduro on Peavine Mountain in the Reno/Tahoe area, presented by The Poedunks
June 13-14: Wild Wood Adventure Enduro on the Mendocino Coast in Caspar, presented by Mendocino Bike Sprite
June 27-28: VP EnduroFest at China Peak Mountain Resort in Lakeshore, presented by VP Components
July 11-12: Ashland Mountain Challenge at Lithia Park in Ashland, presented by Ashland Mountain Adventures
TBD: Santa Cruz Super Enduro at Soquel Demonstration State Forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains, presented by Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz
Aug 29-30: Northstar Enduro at Northstar California Resort in Truckee
Sept 24-27: Kamikaze Bike Games Enduro at Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes

Equal pro purse for series overall
CES continues to prove its commitment to supporting female riders by again offering equal pro purses for both women and men for the series overall top finishers.


CES 2014 Pro Women second place winner Brianne Spiersch, enthuses, “Leading the way with equal Pro payout in 2014 demonstrated the series’ character and I’m thrilled to hear they will continue to do so. As a female racer, I believe this provides incentive for more girls to race the whole series and also encourages the wide-scope growth of more women wanting to improve and move up through the ranks. This overall enthusiasm and excitement transcends more than racing. For example, the excellent coverage of these events showcasing great photos of talented female athletes also gets more women stoked to get out and shred. The more people riding bikes, the better for everyone!”


Pro rider Christine Hirst—a devoted advocate for women athletes—adds, “CES has consistently demonstrated commitment to female racers through social and print media efforts, promoting ladies of all levels. I am thrilled the series will continue to recognize the efforts of female pros through equal payouts.”

Additional categories
In addition to an expanded schedule, CES is also increasing the selection of race categories. Additional age groups have been included in the Men’s Sport and Expert classes, and the Junior Boys category has been split into Sport and Expert classes.


Junior racer Liam Ruff says, “I’m excited to hear the folks at CES listened to us junior racers and added an Junior Expert category for the upcoming season. I have no doubt the CES lineup will feature some of the most fun and competitive Enduro races in 2015.”


The California Enduro Series (CES) is a for riders, by riders non-profit organization (501c3 pending) dedicated to promoting world-class Enduro events that everyone from amateur to pro can enjoy, at a geographically diverse range of venues. The series quickly becoming renowned for fostering an exceptional sense of community. Casey Coffman—2014 series Pro fourth place finisher—says, “I’m excited to get the CES traveling circus back together. All the racers became such a good group of close friends by the end of the season. I'm excited to see the series grow!”


Enduro, a relatively new but wildly popular and rapidly growing mountain bike race discipline, requires the fitness and stamina of cross-country racing plus the technical handling skills of downhill racing. Kurt Gensheimer, aka The Angry Singlespeeder, explains, “Enduro is really just another word for mountain biking, because at its core, Enduro is about getting radical on knobby tires with new friends and world-class trails. Add a dash of friendly competition with lots of great swag and you've got the California Enduro Series. It's the only event where downhillers, XC fitness freaks and weekend warriors can all compete and have a great time.”


CES 2015 is grateful for the continued support of founding sponsor VP Components. VP Brand Director and CES founding officer Erik Saunders is pleased with how quickly the series has grown, and how well its objectives are being met. “My vision was to create a vibrant, inclusive, and diverse landscape of related events for riders of all abilities to enjoy, and a pathway for aspiring athletes to progress.” Saunders adds, “It’s great to see how CES and each independent event have been enthusiastically supported by riders, the bike industry, land managers, and the general public.”


CES is currently seeking sponsors for the 2015 series. Sponsoring the series is an excellent way for a business to inspire loyalty, increase sales, and generate interest at local, national and international levels, while supporting the Enduro community and mountain biking at large. Contact us for our 2015 sponsorship kit.


For more information about Enduro, the California Enduro Series in general, and its individual events, visit www.californiaenduroseries.com. Follow CES on Facebook and Instagram.

Words: Michele Lamelin
Photos: Called To Creation