Pinkbike Awards - 2015 Enduro Race of the Year Winner
Zona Zero, Ainsa, Spain, EWS round 7
The Enduro Race of the Year is a unique award amongst the many we hand out each year. It is the one where we have no say in how it is awarded, it is decided by a vote from the sport's top riders and media - the people that were there at the races week-in, week-out. And this year their thoughts were clear, in the voting this race was head and shoulders clear of the competition: the best enduro race of 2015 was Zona Zero in Ainsa for the seventh round of the Enduro World Series.
We asked the riders to consider the location, the organisation, the atmosphere and, of course, the tracks, when making their decisions. Based on those criteria, the votes for Zona Zero were overwhelming. In the words of Curtis Keene the appeal was simple, "The tracks were awesome, crowds were insane, the prologue was super cool for everyone and the location was epic." With a five day format, riders faced eight stages spread across the hill around the town. Practice was split in the same day of racing, so on day one of practice they tackled the first four stages, then on the second day they rode the back four. On Friday there was an open day where riders could choose to either head back out to to perfect whatever was not running quite perfectly, or take a rest to prepare for the next two big days in the saddle. On Friday evening there was a prologue through the streets - it was mandatory, but the time did not count towards the race. That meant that the fans got to see their favourite riders speeding through the streets of the town, but riders didn't risk their race on the treacherous cobbles. Come Saturday and Sunday there were two long, physical days to tackle, but with just-right transfer times that hit the perfect balance of giving riders enough time to climb steadily, but without too much time waiting and getting cold at the top, the race hit a comfortable pace. Then there were the tracks themselves, riders returned to the pits each evening full of praise, they maybe weren't the most technical stages we saw all year at the EWS, but they were challenging enough for the riders to thoroughly enjoy them. With that combination of ingredients in one of the most stunning locations the EWS has yet visited, even the biblical rain storms that cancelled stage eight couldn't dampen their enthusiasm for this Spanish gem of a race.
What more could you ask for from a weekend's racing? What makes Ainsa's win all the more exciting is that they are a relatively new to the scene, they had run races in the area, but never anything on this level before. This is just what the sport of enduro needs to grow - new people coming into the scene, running great races beyond the traditional heartlands of France and Italy. That the newcomers are already putting on races this good makes the future of enduro look healthier than ever.
For the voting we asked riders to list their top three races of the year. To score the votes we awards 10 points for a first place, five for second and two for third. Here are the full results of the voting:
| Zona Zero, EWS 7 | 263 |
| Wicklow, EWS 2 | 200 |
| Whistler, EWS 6 | 140 |
| Rotorua, EWS 1 | 27 |
| Finale Ligure, EWS 8 | 24 |
| Samoens, EWS 4 | 22 |
| NZ Enduro | 22 |
| Trans-Provence | 19 |
| Enduro Portes du Mercantour | 16 |
| Trans-Savoie | 10 |
| Crested Butte, EWS 5 | 10 |
| Dirty Sanchez Enduro | 5 |
| Glencoe Scottish Enduro | 5 |
| Mollau, Bluegrass Tour | 5 |
| Enduro du Belleville | 5 |
| Megavalanche | 5 |
| La Thuile Coppa D'Italia | 2 |
| Tweedlove, EWS 3 | 2 |
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