Race Report & Video: Eastern States Cup Enduro #2 in New York
The third Enduro race of the 2018 MAXXIS ESC season brings the series to a brand new venue in New York's Broome County. Located just outside of the town of Binghamton, this land was formerly the Aqua-Terra Sportsman's Club, but before that, it was home to the Innsbruck, USA ski area which closed in the 1970's due to financial issues. The land is now known as the Aqua-Terra Wilderness Area and has become an outdoor haven for hiking, fishing and mountain biking. On the North side of the area are mainly XC oriented trails but the steep 500' face of the ski area contains terrain that's perfect for enduro racing's needs.
Aqua-Terra spans 466 acres including the six-acre Agwaterra Pond which inspired the current name.
Although Innsbruck, USA was shut down in the 70's after they couldn't pay their electric bill, you can still see remnants of the ski area operations littered across the area. At their height Innsbruck boasted 19 ski trails, a 485' T-bar lift to the top of Lucky Hill as well as snowmaking and night skiing on select trails.
Despite only having 500' vertical, there's an abundance of legit features and sections of trail packed into this hill. When the ski area shut down local riders got to work and over the past 15 years the trail system has grown to become one of the best in the state of New York.
With significant rainfall the week leading up to the race right through most of practice on Saturday, the creek between the parking lot and the trails swelled until it was hub deep. Nothing could set the mood for the weekend quite like a pair of waterlogged shoes.
Although race day was mostly rain-free some racers said they wished it had kept coming down to wash off the rocks and avoid the peanut butter consistency that causes mud to stick to every nook and cranny of the bike. After a quick Sunday morning riders meeting with MAXXIS ESC official Chris Gilbert we were off.
On their first trip up to the stage starts at the top of Aqua-Terra known as Lucky Hill, racers hit our FOX Seatpost Climbers Challenge with fresh legs for their chance at a FOX Transfer Dropper Seatpost.
The fastest climbers of the day with their well-earned prizes from FOX.
Stage 1 started on the aptly named Nurse Ratched and just like the One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest nurse, the features on this trail are abrupt and unforgiving. Riders were met with two proper rock gardens and multiple line choices right off the bat before leading back to Juicy Fruit with bench cut single track and tight berms toward the bottom. Danny's Cycles team member Mauricio Estrada finds it's faster to avoid the rocks altogether and finished in 7th for the Pro Men.
The fastest racers from each class on Stage 1, including our fastest amateurs Luke Hursh and Carissa Dirado, who took home a new set of Flat Tire Defender rim inserts.
After another pedal transfer, Stage 2 begins on a flowy section of The Steepening before dropping straight into a long, steep descent with several line options. You can either take the safe line around the tree and risk missing the corner or split the trees and barrel over two small catch berms created from those riding the other line. IJ Racing's Steven Ceballos came all the way from Colombia to race with us this weekend, chose the fast line and finished in 5th place for the 15-20 year old men.
No that's not lens distortion, Malcolm Achilles was absolutely flying before burping a tire and taking a spill down The Steepening, tacoing his front wheel. Thankfully he was all good but his race day would be over.
After surviving The Steepening, riders were hit with a long traverse via Innsbruck Classic before descending back to the creek for another pedal up the hill. Ziggy Ribetto got on the pedals to win Stage 2 and finish in 2nd for the lightning fast 15-20 year old class.
It's definitely not a bike park but trails like Serve Man at the beginning of Stage 3 feature properly steep, bermed corners. Competitive Edge Racing's Saben Rossi goes foot out, flat out and finished in 6th place for the Pro Men.
Along with old lights, snowmaking pipe and concrete footings, occasionally the trails open up to reveal a slightly grown-in ski trail as seen here on the Innsbruck Classic portion of Stage 3. Justin Lagassey put the hammer down and earned 3rd place in the 21-29 Men's class, his second podium finish this year.
After a brief uphill pedal, Stage 3 ran into the bottom of The Steepening with a few tight corners, fast single track and this long rock garden. Jeff L'Heureux, racing for NBX Bikes, skims right over the top of the slick, mud covered rocks to take 3rd place for the 30-39 Men.
Stage 4 kicks off with healthy six foot rock drop on the trail named after the Electric Wizard song Torquemada 71. The song runs 6:46 so you'd have to speed it up quite a bit to get down to David Flynn's stage time of 3:53, 12th place on the day for the Pro Men.
Carissa Dirado blasting around a high berm near the top of Stage 4, this was her first time racing and she killed it, winning three stages and taking the top spot in our Amateur Women's field.
Back to the top of Lucky Hill for one last descent on Stage 5 which got rowdy right off the bat with a tricky steep roller with the option for air time on Juicy Fruit. 2nd place finisher in the 21-29 class, Kyle Field, put on a show for the fire fighters and EMT staff who kept us safe this weekend.
Nathan Sterckx carries a boatload of speed into the road gap on Stage 5, he has been on a tear so far this season, winning four of five stages and his second race in a row with a time that would have placed him 7th in the Pro Men's field.
Alex Rims Super Stage 5 winners, including our fastest male and female amateurs, Liam Nichols and Vicki Koch, who each went home with a fresh pair of Alex rims.
With no bike wash station, some riders opted to go into town in search of a car wash while most took advantage of the creek's current to wash the mud off their bikes as well as themselves.
Bike Check
For this week's bike check we catch up with longtime MAXXIS ESC racer Jordan Newth. Part of a speedy group of guys hailing from Vermont, he's focused mostly on DH in the past but is now finding his stride in our Enduro series too. In the winter, Jordan escapes the frozen landscape of New England to Colorado so he can continue to spend time on the bike through the colder months. Fresh off the bike stand, this is his first race on the new Specialized Enduro S-Works 29er, let's get into it.
Rider height: 5'11" weight: 155 lbs.
Frame: Specialized Enduro S-Works 29, size large
Fork: Öhlins RXF 36, 88 PSI in main chamber, 180 PSI in ramp up chamber
Rebound: 4 clicks from open
High speed compression: open
Low speed compression: 2 clicks from open
Rear shock: Öhlins TTX 22 coil, 457 lbs spring
High speed compression: open
Low speed compression: 1 click from open
Rebound: 3 clicks from open
Brakes: SRAM Code with DP Brakes pads
Rotors: DP Brakes 203mm front, 180mm rear
Shifter: SRAM XX1 Eagle
Derailleur: SRAM XX1 Eagle
Cassette: SRAM XO1 Eagle
Chain: SRAM XO1 12-speed
Cranks: SRAM XX1, 175mm
Chainring: direct mount 30t
Chainguide: Specialized top guide
Wheels: Roval Traverse SL Carbon 29"
Hubs: Roval Traverse
Tires: Onza Ibex 2.4, 26 PSI front, 28 PSI rear
Tire inserts: Flat Tire Defender Elite front & rear
Saddle: Specialized Henge
Seatpost: Specialized Command Post WU 150mm
Bars: S-Works Carbon cut to 780mm, 20mm rise
Stem: Syntace 20mm
Grips: Specialized Half Waffle thin
Pedals: HT Components AE05 flats
Extras: Snacks and a rain shell in my SWAT door
Podium finishers are psyched on the coffee pods from our new sponsor Chameleon Cold Brew, the easiest way to get caffeinated in the pits.
Sometimes in the mud it's just about keeping it smooth, JRA Cycles team member Alison Crocker did just that on the steep and sketchy section of Stage 2, taking 2nd place for the Pro Women.
Rachel Pageau was back at it again in Binghamton, winning all five stages as well as her second MAXXIS ESC Enduro race in a row for the Pro Women. "I do like riding in the mud except for the pedal sections where it makes it really hard and you feel inefficient but it's all part of the game! I think the key in conditions like this is to just keep it loose, let the bike decide where it goes and roll with it. Most of the time it'll help keep things flowy and smooth."
Pro Women from left: 2nd - Alison Crocker, 1st - Rachel Pageau
Aaron Coxen, riding for Dirty Harry's Bike Shop, navigates a tough downhill flat corner on Stage 3 on his way to finish in 3rd place against our stacked Pro Men's field.
Adam Robbins made quick work of this treacherous Nurse Ratched rock garden, he would win Stage 2, finish in 2nd for the Pro Men and maintain his overall points lead after three races.
Max Beaupre was on fire all day as seen here on the Stage 5 road gap, winning three of the five stages and taking the top spot by 15 seconds his first time racing against the Pro Men. He said he wasn't expecting to win going into the weekend but set a goal to at least get a podium finish. "I was so stoked to find out that I actually pulled it off and won the event racing against some of the fastest guys on the East Coast. I grew up racing dirt bikes and I've done a ton of racing in the mud, so I used my knowledge from that to gauge how I should race to be the fastest guy out there. The mud was so thick and sticky that it would not shed off your tires so you really had to be on your A game when it came to line choice in the wet."
Pro Men from left: 4th - Seamus Powell, 2nd - Adam Robbins, 1st - Max Beaupre, 3rd - Aaron Coxen, 5th - Gavin Vaughan
So long from Binghamton, get those bikes washed and we'll see you at Thunder Mountain June 3rd for our second Box Showdown weekend of the season with DH and Enduro racing. Their opening day is this Saturday, May 26th if anyone would like to get some practice laps in. With all the wet weather we've experienced so far this season surely we have a bunch of sunny weekends on deck, right?
Words and photos: Andrew Santoro
Video: Jason Scheiding
Full Results
Photos
Easternstatescup.com
2018 MAXXIS ESC SCHEDULE
ENDURO
April 22 Glen Park, PA
May 6 Plattekill, NY
May 20 Binghamton, NY
June 3 Thunder Mountain, MA
June 17 Blue Mountain, PA
July 15 Sugarbush, VT
Aug 12 Victory Hill, VT
Aug 26 Mountain Creek, NJ
Sept 23 Killington, VT
Sept 30 Wilmington, NY
Oct 21 Thunder Mountain, MA Finals
DOWNHILL
May 6 Plattekill, NY
June 3 Thunder Mountain, MA
June 17 Blue Mountain, PA
July 15 Sugarbush, VT
Aug 19 Windham, NY
Aug 26 Mountain Creek, NJ
Sept 23 Killington, VT
Oct 14 Mount Snow, VT Finals
BOX SHOWDOWNS - DH and Enduro on the same day
May 6 Plattekill, NY
June 3 Thunder Mountain, MA
June 17 Blue Mountain, PA
July 15 Sugarbush, VT
Aug 26 Mountain Creek
Sept 23 Killington, VT
CLIF ENDURO EAST presented by MAXXIS ESC
July 1 Mountain Creek, NJ - EWS Qualifier
July 29 Thunder Mountain, MA - EWS Qualifier
Sept 16 Victory Hill / Burke Mountain - EWS North American Continental Championships FINALS
CLIF ENDURO LITE presented by Maxxis ESC
July 8 Burke Mountain - Beginner Enduro Racers - Families - Kids - Fun!
Author Info:
Member since Mar 14, 2012
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