Pemberton Enduro 2016 Race Report

Well in regards to Pemberton and mountain biking, they know how to throw one hell of an enduro race. Think loose, think steep, think fast, think fun, throw in a little dust, lots of sun and 120+ participants. If you can picture this you would be right here beside us at the 3rd Annual Pemberton Enduro race; April 30th, 2016 PORCA (Pemberton Off Road Cycling Association) held an enduro race that won’t soon be forgotten.

Claire Buchar on her way to first place in Open Women

Personally, my nerves were running high when we arrived at the gravel pit in Pemberton, the start of the enduro. Its Pemby, so you know it’s gonna be loose, you know it’s gonna be gnarly, but you know if you can make it down in one piece it’s gonna be a lot of fun. You also knew it would be hot, and with the transition climbs between stages, you would have to conserve energy to make it through the day. We took on around 30km over 1,871 meters of climbing.

Davis English making light work of some of the rock roles on Mackenzie

We took off from the Gravel Pit, up Nimby and Let it Go towards our first stage, Upper Mackenzie Cruise. This stage was intentionally put first by PORCA director and Pemberton enduro mastermind, Ian Kruger. It’s no cruise and was the tougher of the trials, and it proved that way. This trail was ridden best with caution and calculation on the steep dusty narrow decent. If you got going too fast you could lose it in a bad way. This stage provided many flats and lots of sketchy bails. But if you could keep your cool and stay upright, it was pure adrenaline pumping from start to finish.

Team Arbutus rider Kate Whitely on the steep section of Mackenzie

From there it was back up to middle earth and along to the start of stage two – Rudy’s into Overnight Sensation. This stage would hold its own challenges as it would be the longest stage of the day. The fastest time was 13:08:21 and an average of around 19 minutes. With long flowing pedals into climbs, and then steep and loose you had to save some energy if you wanted to make it clean down overnight.

Spectators and distracted racers were treated to spectacular views of Mount Currie

Stage three would take us over to Mosquito Lake area where we would have a playful, fast and flowy lap of No Err. The shortest of the day and a re-energizer.

Luke Di Marzo having some fun on stage 4

Then it was onto our fourth and final stage. This one was going to be fun. We started at the top of Econoline, into the rock rolls Econo-dave, to Dark Forest, into Radio Tower, we would have a short punchy climb up to Crosstown Traffic, with lots of fun doubles and berms, where we would descend to our finish.

The glory of the finish line & weary legs reminding us of the 1800 metres plus of climbing

L: Team Arbutus riders Sam Shook & Kate Whitely with Leah Trudeau all smiles on race day.
R: The mastermind behind the event Ian Kruger being presented with a well-earned tool by Seb Kemp

And then it was over, just like that. It was back down to the gravel pit where we started only hours before. Only now the nerves had completely dissipated. The death grip I had on my bars had been replaced with a cold drink in one hand and a fresh taco in the other. It was time to relax and reflect on another wicked ride, meeting wicked people, in an absolutely wicked town.

Thanks, PORCA, and everyone involved, you know how to throw a race. The fun bar has been set high for the season.

Pro Men:
1. Yoann Barelli
2. Remi Gauvin
3. Chris Kovarik

Pro Women:
1. Claire Buchar
2. Christina Chappetta
3. Laura Battista

Open Men:
1. Nick McLeod
2. Curtis Bennett
3. Noel Bolso

Open Women:
1. Samantha Shook
2. Pippa Holdom
3. Kate Whitley

Full Results can be found here

Looking for more races in the Sea to Sky Corridor check out the Team Arbutus Race Calendar here

Huge thanks to everyone involved! The volunteers were wonderful and amazing, obviously, the entire day would not have happened without you all there. And to all the local sponsors who helped make our day delicious and exciting, thank you. Mount Currie Coffee Co., Pemberton Distillery, Bike Co., Whistler Brewing, Whiskey Jack BBQ, Blackbird Bakery, and the Pemberton Taco Co. Also thank you to Alti-tech for making the very fancy medals. And of course to Ian Kruger for putting on an event worth riding all day in the blistering sun for, you are a legend.

Photo Credit: Ardor Brand and Radek Rrozdowicz
Article by: Sam Shook Team Arbutus Rider

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MENTIONS: @arbutusroutes / @yoannbarelli / @klarko / @cchappetta1

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Racing and Events Race Reports