2017 North American Enduro Champions Crowned

The dust (and mud) has settled, the final champagne bottles have been popped and the results have been tallied as the 2017 enduro season comes to a close in North America.

Throughout the season’s five races across the US and Canada, two riders rose to the top with their distinguishing grit, mettle, determination, and skill. A massive congratulations goes out to Chris Johnston (NZL/Vancouver) and Amy Morrison (USA/Auburn) who ride away with the titles of North American Enduro Champions for 2017!

Morrison’s season victory was a commanding one. She brought home fourth place or higher in all the races she took part in, including second in both the NAET’s most easterly stop this year, the Blue Mountain Enduro in Blue Mountain, ON, as well as the final race of the season, the Kamikaze Bike Games in Mammoth, CA.

Similarly, Johnston’s season set the bar high, with three top five results, including a second place in the season’s first round, the Fraser Valley Enduro in Chilliwack, BC, before wrapping things up with a top 10 in Mammoth.

We talked to our newly crowned champions to get their thoughts on the season that was, the championship, and the road that lies ahead, for both themselves and the sport of enduro in North America.

Morrison, ending her season on a high note with a second place finish in the Kamikaze Bike Games. Phil Beckman photo.

Johnston kicked off his season in commanding fashion, taking the second step on the podium in the Fraser Valley Enduro. James Cattanach photo.

What’s been your favourite race of the season?

CJ: My favourite race of the season was Round 1 in Fraser Valley. Vedder mountain has some amazing trails and the dirt was perfect in the early season! I also competed in the XC the day before which had similar trails, slippery, rutty and rooty. It was an awesome weekend!

AM: My favorite race of the season was Winter Park. It was a close race between Anneke, Anne and I, as well as all the other fast Colorado girls. I hadn’t been to Winter Park before and the tracks were super fun. I just had a great time riding with friends there. I’d ove to go back next year and race.

Toughest moment?

CJ: Overall? Getting a flat tire in the final stage of the Crankworx Whistler EWS. It felt gut wrenching to have such a stellar day (just outside top 10) and not be able to bring it home. In terms of NAET, I had a fairly trouble-free season. One of my toughest moments would have to be getting my chain jammed so bad and having to run half of a stage at Blue Mountain, ON.

AM: My toughest moment was riding the wet, clay-based mud of Blue Mountain in Ontario. This was the furthest race for me to travel to, but I was able to spend time with family in Michigan before crossing the Canadian border over to Ontario. Practice was a little limited too due to the wet conditions and I’ve not had the experience riding in this type of terrain.

Morrison, owning the mud in Blue Mountain. Andy Vathis photo.

Best moment?

CJ: Roosting perfect dirt at Fraser Valley!

AM: Finishing the Mammoth race. It was my last planned race for the year and the finals for the CES Triple Crown and NAET. I knew I just had to finish to wrap up both series titles. To have a smooth race and almost take the win was a great way to wrap up a very successful season—that feeling is one I worked hard all season for and will be one I remember throughout the off-season training for next year.

How does it feel to be named the North American Enduro champion?

CJ: I’m stoked! This year saw some great venues and great racing and each event saw top riders attend. I hope we see more athletes attending the full series making for a premium level series outside of EWS here in North America.

AM: I’m excited to be named the champ for NAET and hope that next year there can be more racers following the series. Each race was competitive in itself, but the number of girls following the whole series was low. I was able to score a podium spot in every race, along with all the other races I did this season and that was a big accomplishment for me as I branched out of the familiar venues in the CES series to all new venues with the exception of Mammoth.

Wrapping up her 2017 enduro season, Morrison topping both the California Enduro Series and the NAET overall podiums.

What’re your plans for next season?

CJ: I hope to keep it interesting and add some new events to my schedule for next year. I also really enjoy the Trans style races so I hope to do some more of those. We’ll have to see what fits in!

AM: My plan for next season is still in the works. I would love to race more EWS races, but also do some of the top races in the North America, as well.

What’re your hopes for the sport of enduro in North America?

CJ: I hope Enduro is here to stay. It’s a great format of racing from beginner to elite and allows you to race in some pretty unique locations. There are some really cool events on the calendar now.

AM: There are so many enduro races in North America, so my hope for the sport would be to have the North American Enduro Tour series be something that reflects the top racers. I think anytime you have a series that is not the highest level (i.e. EWS) there needs to be a drop race format due to the widespread geography of races, but also a high prize purse to compensate the travel and efforts and a fair selection of races that don’t favor a racer in British Columbia over a racer in Southern California, for example. I think selecting a race from all the top series’ in North America (CES, BME, Scott Enduro, NAEC, BC Enduro, Canadian National) would be awesome to see (also hard to put together, I’m sure) and I think what the NAET is trying to do.

Congrats to all the racers that came along for the ride in 2017, and see you next season!