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Race Report: Ibis US Enduro Team - Big Bear, California

Aug 2, 2018
by Ibis Cycles  


CA Enduro stop #4 took us to Big Bear in Southern California and saw the complete Ibis Enduro Team back together again. Essence missed the last round due to a five-week trip to Peru and Paul would be returning after a broken collarbone sidelined him two months ago.

Evan was hoping to redeem himself after a mechanical forced him to DNF at China Peak, which also pushed him out of the overall lead. Lili was hoping to build on her results, which includes several top ten finishes.

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Day 1 of racing consisted of two stages in the bike park. One of which was more of a jump type trail, while the other was the same course they race DH on. After taking the lift up for the first run, all the racers had to make the 1300ft climb back to the top for the 2nd stage.

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When the evening of racing ended, Essence sat 2nd overall with Lili just a few seconds back in 6th. Over on the men’s side, Evan was holding down 4th, while team manager Brian Lopes sat in 2nd. The times between 2nd and 5th were incredibly tight.

Unfortunately, Paul suffered an awkward crash after the finish line of stage 2 & re-broke his collarbone, putting him out for the rest of the season. Heal up, Paul…

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With a 7 am start time to begin the climb to the top, Day 2 was underway. Evan & Essence came out swinging, both placing 2nd on stage 3, within just two seconds of the eventual winners. All of our racers stayed consistent, but the race leaders were on fire and could not be denied.

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Essence ended the day in 2nd, which was impressive, considering she hasn’t been on a bike for five weeks. She narrowly lost out to Anneke Berteen, the three times 4 Cross World Champion and seasoned EWS pro. This moved Essence into 2nd in the overall standings, within single digits of reclaiming the lead.


Evan charged hard on stages 4 & 5, narrowly missing out on 2nd overall by only 2 seconds after more than 25 minutes of racing, while Lopes slotted in behind him in 4th.

Evan is right back in the points hunt for the overall now, a mere 2 points off the front. The next stop is at Northstar, Evan’s home turf. You can bet he’ll be fast there. Lili finished the day where she started, 6th place, but is sitting comfortably in 3rd place overall for the series.

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Thanks to Joe Binatena for keeping the bikes dialed over the hot, dry weekend and to all the sponsors for making this effort possible.

See you at the next round in Northstar.
Brian Lopes

Special thanks to our 2018 Co-Sponsors: DVO, G-Form, WTB, Wolf Tooth, and Dynaplug. We’d also like to thank Team Supporters: Fox, BikeCo.com, Pedro’s, and Industry Nine.



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