They say all good things must come to an end, and so it is with the Vittoria Eastern States Cup Enduro Series for 2016. After nearly five months of racing across six states and eight venues, the richest East Coast enduro series in history came down to one final weekend at Killington Resort in Vermont. Pro racers competed for $6600 and amateur racers were awarded over $10,000 in prizes at the party.
There was distinct touch of autumn in the air as racers gathered from across the region to do battle at The Beast of the East. With double points on the line and overall titles in every class up for grabs a huge field of racers turned out for the last hurrah.
Killington, considered by many to be the best enduro venue on the East coast, once again offered up the goods, with five long, varied and challenging stages. Stage One began high on the mountain and was the shortest stage of the day. A low-angled sprint through the forest was a good way to warm up the legs for the coming attractions. Former Vittoria ESC overall downhill champion Mary Elges, riding for Bikeman, continues to ride at a high level and churned out another solid performance with a fifth-place finish at Killington.
Stage One featured lots of pedaling on Solitude, one of the mountain's original singletrack lines. Lindsey Wedemeyer rode to an impressive fifth-place finish for the amateur women in her first-ever ESC enduro race.
Stage One was sprinkled with short, punchy climbs that got the heart pumping and rewarded the fittest racers. The Fox Seat Post Climber's Challenge took place on the transfer climb from Stage One to Two.
Stage Two was brilliant, one of the most varied stages of the entire season and the longest of the day at Killington. The track began with a high-speed romp down Cable Trail, one of the mountain's most popular trails, with its combination of natural and man-made features. Zachary Siegel sent a rocky line during the Clif Kid Class race.
Wrapping up Cable Trail, riders veered off to Yo Vinny, another of Killington's classic lines that sees limited traffic. The track runs through some of the most primeval terrain on the mountain with wood bridging clinging to the moss covered hillsides and rooty lines winding through the dark forest. Drew Puzon made his way through the silent majesty of Yo Vinny in the 40-49 age class.
A steep smooth slab, hit here by Adrenaline Racing's Brandon Cassell, marked the exit of Yo Vinny and the the start of a very abrupt transition to the pedals.
A tough climb after Yo Vinny saw riders ascending to catch the final challenges on Funny Bone. Neil Jones got out of the saddle to hammer up the lung-buster.
The lower sections of Funny Bone were one of the biggest challenges of the day with a steep, slick slab followed by a long off-camber traverse. Numerous riders came off the bike here, some intentionally and others not so much. Pro rider Steven Crossley, riding for Riverside Cycles, aced the slabs and took home a seventh-place finish.
Exhausted riders completed Funny Bone then still had to face a complete rip down Gambler, a high-speed affair that links up old-school traverse lines on the lower mountain. Pro Clarissa Finks, riding for the Liv Co Factory Team, took home a top ten on the day and a fifth in the overall for the season.
Racers then took a long traverse across the base of the mountain to the newly-built zone off the Rams Head Express Quad on the northern side of the resort. Stage Three started with the woodsy switchbacks of the now defunct Outback trail. This trail features lots of roots and flat corners and feels more like a cross-country line. Nathan Sterckx pedaled to a seventh-place finish in the 18-and-under category.
The bottom half of the stage played out on Goat’s Skull, the site of the mountain’s first Pro GRT downhill race earlier this summer and is riddled with holes and high-speed drops. Billy Keys sent a tricky rock garden in practice on Saturday.
A massive rock rollover marked the end of the technical difficulties on Stage Three. Matt Driscoll, a top young downhiller, saw plenty of this track at the ProGRT.
Another trip up the Rams Head lift brought racers to Stage Four and a roller coaster ride down Sideshow Bob, one of the mountain’s new flow trails featuring endless berms and smooth rollers. Pro Conor Rowan, riding for Claremont Cycle Depot, took 'er for a rip through some early fall foliage.
Sideshow Bob is an intermediate level flow trail, keeping it all together at race speed was no small feat on features designed to be hit a slower speeds. NBX pro David Flynn took it to warp speed through some of the trails monster berms.
A final trip up the gondola took riders to the top of Stage Five which began just below the peak. As is the tradition at Vittoria ESC enduros, the final stage was the most technically challenging of the day. The highlight of the upper track was the double-diamond rock garden of Scarecrow. This jumble of rocks takes full commitment and is a real test on a trail bike. John Nyblom, another Claremont Cycle Depot rider, knew the line through this testpiece.
After ripping across the face of Snowdon mountain on Steel Panther the track dropped into Low Rider which used to be the downhill race venue at the mountain. To maximize the challenges, a fresh-cut traverse brought racers to the rock jumble at the bottom of the downhill race course used in July. No one I've talked to seems to know what this section is called, but its been around forever, and its not on the trail map. Many of the pros huck the huge rock to flat during the downhill race. That option proved less than appealing to those on shorter travel enduro bikes, though a few, like local pro Jordan Newth, couldn't resist sending the feature.
Most mortals wisely chose other less consequential, though still challenging, options. Marisa Martin, riding for Wild Betty's, capped off her final Vittoria ESC enduro of the season with a perfect line through the geologic puzzle that sits almost within sight of the finish line.
Others struggled to find the answer to this riddle.
In typical Vermont mountain fashion, the weekend saw a wildly fluctuating weather scenario with rain, thunderstorms, fog, high winds and perfect sunny skies. Showers interrupted practice for a time on Saturday but the real rain show came early Sunday morning with gale-force winds and a tropical deluge.
Before we get to to the action and results from race day, lets pause for a bike check with the legend himself, George Ulmer, founder of the Eastern States Cup race series.
Frame: Transition Patrol, 27.5 Aluminum Large
Fork: Fox 36 Float 27.5 170 Fit RC2 Factory Fork
Shock: Fox Float X2 Factory Shock Air
Tires: Vittoria 2.5 Morsa TNT Sidewals 4c Graphine Compound - Front and Rear
Wheels: Anvl Scale Wheelset 25 mm width 28 hole flat spoke
Hubs: Anvl Synergy
Bars: Anvl Mandrel Carbon Bars 20mm rise 800mm wide
Stem: Box Components Cusp Stem 45mm
Grips: Box Components / ODI
Seat Clamp: Box Components Helix Seat Clamp.
Saddle: Custom 2016 ESC Selle Italia Nepal
Dropper: Fox Transition (on order)
Brakes: Formula RO with 7" and 6" rotors
Chain: KMC 10 Speed X10 SL
Derailleur/shifter: Shimano Zee (waiting on Box Components like everyone else)
Cassette: 10 Speed Shimano (waiting on Box Components like everyone else)
Cranks: Gravity Lite 165mm
Chainring: One Up 34 tooth
Chain Guide: One Up
Pedals: Gravity
Headset: Cane Creek 110
Rain forced the race-day riders meeting inside the base lodge where a huge crowd stood for a stirring rendition of the National Anthem to honor the 15th anniversary of the 911 attacks.
Race day started out decidedly damp. The region has been experiencing a prolonged dry spell, which allowed the mountain to soak up most of the water and conditions improved throughout the day.
The start of Stage One was cold and damp as racers waited in the clouds to get things underway.
The winners of the Fox Seatpost Climbers Challenge for the fastest times in each class on the ascent between Stages One and Two.
The women’s pro race drew a highly competitive group with the entire field separated by a matter of minutes. New Hampshire racer Dawn Bourque, who has raced downhill, cross country and slalom on the world stage for decades, made her third Vittoria ESC start of the year and pulled out the win by a 43-second margin. Not surprisingly, Bourque earned most of her advantage on the gravity-oriented Stages Two and Five. "Killington and the ESC designed a great enduro course. It started with a fitness oriented sprint on Stage One to warm everyone up, then progressed to the most technical DH-oriented segment on Stage Five, which was my favorite. It was fun battling Lauren (Petersen) for the win, she had an amazing season winning the overall ESC championship. The womens' fields at these events keep growing and the competition is getting tough so its great to get a win." At 51, Bourque shows no signs of slowing down and says that enduro is now her favorite discipline.
In the runner-up spot was the Queen of East Coast enduro, Lauren Petersen. Riding for Intense, CFM Cycles and Honey Stinger, the reigning overall champion finished her 2016 season with a remarkable five wins and three second places. Petersen is a scientific researcher, but maybe someone should turn the tables to see what makes her so darn fast.
In third place was Amy Alton, who has found the podium numerous times this season in both enduro and downhill. Alton raced much of the day with a painful ankle and gnarly swollen elbow suffered in a crash on Stage Two.
The women’s pro podium from left: Mary Elges-5th, Amy Alton-3rd, Dawn Bourque-1st, Lauren Petersen-2nd, Rosy Metcalfe-4th
The men’s pro race saw the return to East Coast action of last year’s overall champion Seamus Powell, riding for Giant Factory Off Road Racing. After spending some time racing out West and recovering from injuries, Powell dominated the Killington event, winning four of the five stages. This was Powell’s third win in five Vittoria ESC starts this season. "The race was the best Killington enduro yet. Physically demanding and lots and lots of tech. Stage Five was the best because it offered a lot of descending with all the wet roots and rocks to keep it interesting. That stage was killer. I'm ecstatic to take the win after having a rough second half of the year with a couple bad crashes, injuries and just tough races. Not to mention that everyone is going faster and faster which makes it exciting every weekend."
On the second step was Isaac Allaire, who won the Sugarbush enduro a few weeks ago. Allaire, racing for Transition, Troy Lee and Chuck's Bikes, is one of a small group of Eastern racers that has won in both enduro and downhill disciplines.
In third place was Yeti Cycles pro Jason Memmelaar, who was the picture of consistency this season, hitting the podium in all eight Vittoria ESC enduros that he raced.
The men’s pro podium from left: Saben Rossi-5th Jason Memmelaar-3rd, Seamus Powell-1st, Isaac Allaire-2nd, Dan Albert-4th
This being the final enduro of the season, the overall series champions were also crowned at Killington. A racer's top seven finishes were tallied to get their overall score for the series.
Successfully defending her overall crown from last year was Lauren Petersen. "The ESC series was amazing, with the exception of Diamond Hill of course (where Petersen crashed). I really enjoy this race series and they put together a very challenging finale at Killington. I didn’t quite bring my A-game to this one and I was perhaps a little too hesitant with some sections, especially on Stages Two and Five, not knowing what to expect with the mud. But I had a blast and at the end of the day it’s all about having fun! I really want to thank George, Steve, Chris, Geoff, Erin, Martha, and the rest of the ESC crew that helped to put on such an amazing series. I have the utmost respect for what that crew does and there’s nowhere else I’d rather race than the northeast!"
The women’s overall pro podium from left: Clarissa Finks-5th (missing), Claire Sick-3rd, Lauren Petersen-1st, Mary Elges-2nd, Lisa Chamberland-4th
Jason Memmelaar took the men's overall crown on the strength of a stunning seven top-three finishes this season.
The men’s overall pro podium from left: Dan Albert-5th, Adam Morse-3rd, Jason Memmelaar-1st, Saben Rossi-2nd, Jason Scheiding-4th
The hardest working crew in the business. Thanks for all you do.
See you all down the trail.
Words and pics by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Video by Jason Scheiding
www.easternstatescup.comwww.facebook.com/easternstatescupAtlantic DownhillOct 9 Plattekill– Roxbury, NY – New England and Atlantic DH Finals
New England DownhillOct 9 Plattekill– Roxbury, NY – New England and Atlantic DH Finals
Member since Mar 14, 2012
Please splain me enduro. DH is easy. Be on top of mountain. Ride down mountain as fast as possible.
Resist that urge...podium steezeez out