Race Recap: BC Enduro Series #3 Hits Kelowna

Another fantastic weekend on the trails. Saturday June 28th bought round number 3 for the BC Enduro Series presented by Norco Bikes that was located in the Myra Bellevue Provincial Park in Kelowna. The Kelowna Enduro was supported by Sovereign Cycle and Kelowna Cycle with special mention to also TBS Bike Parts.

The local support for this race was truly impressive. We had bike shop owners of Sovereign Cycle (Russ and Rich) out with us all day Monday clearing trails with the overgrowth of branches and them also closing the store for race day to be there to support and help out. TBS Bike Parts were invested from the very beginning and helping pull through with some last minute changes to make the day run as smooth as it did. They were also out helping clear trails, they had a full volunteer crew out there, put on the BBQ for the riders after the race, organized the free kegs with Worthy Brewing and got their staff and volunteers on board to take all the photos and videos. Kelowna Cycle provided the sweepers for the day and did the full course clean up. Thanks to all your support!

There were some tweaks and changes made to the course leading into it and the consensus was that most riders were after a longer and more challenging day, which is so great to see.



Evan Guthrie smashed the day both by overall time and on the timed descents and then headed out for a road ride after the fact to get in some more training. But don't be fooled, this wasn't an xc racer's course, Evan just showed the strength he has in both xc and Enduro. The course was challenging, technical, rocky, and took many prisoners. There were crashes, almost gouged eyes, broken ribs, mechanicals and many flats that took out quite a few top contenders. It was reported that at one stage there were 10 riders lining the side of the muddy rock garden fixing flats on stage 1. The goal for the day and to do well was to run super high tire pressure, ride at 90%, ride smooth and not to mash the trails!

Most riders were out on course for 2.5-3hrs and the sun was out and the trails were tacky from the rain the day before.





Stage 1 (Vapour) was the longest stage and the DH track for the trail network, but still had a few pedal sections. It had it all from rock drops (with easier lines around), rock gardens, flow, and open trail.

Stage 2 (Big Drop and Lower Connector) started with a rocky, open trail with some surprise hidden 10 second climbs that if you weren't on your game you would be crunching gears and breaking chains! This then lead into some high speed, smooth trails to pin it to the finish

Food Station: Was next in the race: thanks to Nature's Fare in West Kelowna where riders restocked and got ready for the final few laps.




Stage 3 (Connector to Jeckle) - the stages got slightly shorter as the day went on. This stage consisted of some high speed, more rock, open terrain riding that had a few tough corners that you had to be alert and on your game for.

Stage 4 (Rocky Screech) was the shortest stage of the day, but the most technical. Many braids throughout the trail where many line options were available. And well the trail name 'Rocky Screech' really just says it all. I think you got the drift that the theme of this course was 'rocky'!




Worthy Brewing were set up at the finish line giving out 2 free kegs of beer to all the riders to enjoy while they chatted about their day and what they could have done better and what crashes they had. The thirsty riders managed to empty both kegs just as awards were finishing up - nice work! (Except I would have loved to have had one after the day was over!)


Awards were a hit with all the Fouriers Bike parts that were given out to all the podium winners from Carbon Handlebars, to narrow-wide rings, to chain guides, and more. They also all received a fresh bag of Steam Donkey Coffee that they were all super excited about as well!

But the real race was on for the random prize draws where names were called as people raced up for the best prize waiting to get their hands on the $200 X-Fusion dropper seat post thanks to Renegade Cycle Solutions and the $220 Smith Optics Overdrive and $110 Smith Optics Lowdown thanks to Smith Optics, the $100 Sole Star Footbeds and the $100 OneUp Component Chainrings. Of course there were plenty more items on the table, but they were for sure what people had their eye's on!

RESULTS:

Pro/Elite Men:
Evan Guthrie 0:16:45
Jordan Hodder 0:16:58
James Reenie 0:17:19


Open Women:
Georgia Astle 0:20:36
Veronika Voracek 0:21:41
Roxanne Minnille 0:21:53


Open Men:
Eric Nykoluk 0:18:21
Mike Checkley 0:18:44
Dimitri Kuzmin 0:18:44


Master 40+ Men:
Trevor Syrowy 0:18:50
Jason Bond 0:19:10
Brian Brittain 0:20:12


Junior U19 Men:
Conrad Murdoch 0:18:37
Patrick Ladyman 0:19:28
Jack Almond 0:19:41


FULL RESULTS

The Kazoom BC Enduro Series Leader Jersey's started in the hands of William Cadham and Georgia Astle before the race got under way and after the race was over, Georgia Astle manage to retain the title while the Pro/Elite men's jersey moved to the hands of Jordan Hodder.

FULL SERIES POINTS


Thanks everyone for coming out. The Myra trail network in Kelowna sure has some fantastic trails.

All the photo's in the post today are thanks to TBS Bike Parts, along with the Video that will be out later this week. You can check out all the other images they took HERE.

Thanks to all those that supported this event and the local support we got - its really what makes events like this so successful!

NORCO BICYCLES

Sovereign Cycle
Kelowna Cycle
TBS Bike Parts
Kazoom Cycling Apparel
Fouriers Bike products
Renegade Cycling Solutions
Smith Optics
Bond Training
Pinkbike
Solestar
Worthy Brewing
Nature's Fare
Steam Donkey Coffee
OneUp Components

Click here for more information.

Connect with us!

If you've got questions, we've got answers, feel free to email, call, courier pigeon, facebook etc, and we'll do our best to get back to you in 24hrs!
Email: megan@ridingbc.com
Website: www.bcenduro.com

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