The 2017 Cannondale North American Enduro Cup
This weekend over 300 racers and riders descended on Silver Mountain Resort and Bike Park to take part in the second annual Cannondale North American Enduro Cup presented by Sombrio and Fabric. With representation from 22 states and 4 countries the race that flew under the radar last year came back guns blazing to raise the bar once again on Enduro Racing in North America. As a collaboration between the Cascadia Dirt Cup, Idaho Enduro Series and Montana Enduro Series, the NAEC is a stand alone event designed to test the limits on what the best of North America has to offer.
Trey Wilson leading off the day one racer's meeting at the gondola base.
Silver Mountain is a bike park, and the trails were littered with enough bomb holes that smart racers were checking every bolt before the start of day one.
It's a long ways to the top if you want to rock and roll...
Racer ready... butterflies in your belly. Feeling like you have to pee. Cold sweat. The time in the start gate is always a bit of a mind game. Emily Oppliger trying to find that calm in the storm before dropping into Stage 2.
3... 2... 1... Dropping! It may not be the awe of the Alps, but Stages 3 and 5 of the NAEC at Silver Mountain each meant 3,400 vertical feet of descending back to the base of the gondola. Hang on!
Bear Grass in bloom was all over the track.
Why yes, this is what velcro dirt looks like.
Both the third stop on the IMBA Nation Enduro series and an EWS Qualifier, the NAEC took it to eleven this year with a $12,000 cash purse with equal payouts five deep for the pro women and pro men. It was one of, if not the largest cash purse of any mountain bike race in North America this year.
Kyle Warner rode consistently and found himself in fourth place after day one and then fourth overall after the second day of racing.
Matt Koen was feeling it aboard his new Marin Bikes Wolfridge, but threw it all away on stage 5, losing nearly a minute to overall winner Krunkshox after a particularly hard encounter with a tree.
Full focus: Rachel Strait with her eyes on the trail.
Nestled in the mountains surrounding the sleepy mining town of Kellogg ID, the Silver Mountain Bike Park is nothing to balk at. The 3,400' of decent available per lap, a comfortable mix between flat out bike park lines and tight technical single track it was easy to create a course that extended 37 miles with over 10,000' of drop over the two days. Encompassing over 30 trails including two top to bottom runs and a Pro-only Stage 4, this race could not have happened without the profound commitment of the Silver Mountain Bike Park and their kick ass trail crew.
Rocks, moon dust, tacky dirt, and off camber roots: Silver Mountain had it all.
The craziest part of stages one, three, and five was the abundance of pollen low down on the track. It was amazing to see but pure hell for anyone with allergies. Not to mention that it was surprisingly slick.
An errant stick in the spokes saw an on the spot wheel rebuild with the wine key doing double duty as a valve stem hole creator.
Day two came way too early for a lot of racers... From there it was a mad dash to re-hydrate, wipe down the bike one last time, and get some grub down the hatch. Roll out was 8am for the first riders.
With no rain in the forecast and temps soaring well into the upper 80s (low 30s C), it was definitely time to bust out the dry lube.
Another fast local: Mathew Chynoweth took home his plate number in the pro division.
Rachel Strait coming in hot to "Spooky Woods" on Stage 5.
Mason Bond giving 'er on the long climb to Stage 4 for the pro category: a steep, narrow, rooty, and rutted trail with a fair number of somewhat awkward drops.
Kim Hardin taking the high side on the off camber roots at the bottom of "Mutton Conductor".
Janea Perry opted to go low and shimmy around the tree on the exit.
Alli Gaertner putting the hammer down on Stage 5. She'd take the rest of the stages but came home second on this one. No matter; she was up on the overall by over two minutes
Trace West may love to race but he loves steeze even more.
Steven Saddler neglected to place his visor down on stage 5 and went airborne as a direct result.
Expert men 30–39 Alex Castagno on Stage 5 with a time that no other rider in his class could beat. Of course, he is a local, and as the saying goes in Europe: you can't beat the French in their own garden.
Yes, Stage 4 was that steep. Actually, it was steeper in some places. Day one leader Jimmy Smith fighting the arm pump.
After blowing his tire off on turn one of stage one and coming home DFL by nearly 18 minutes, Luke Strobel was on a mission to show everyone exactly who the fastest man on the hill was. He'd claim first in the remaining four stages minus Stage 5, where Kent Billingsly would edge him out by 0.5 seconds.
Porsha Murdock dropping into the "Mutton Conductor" portion of Stage 5 with the long 3,400 vertical drop back down to Kellogg, ID from the top of the gondola station.
Pro Men's Podium (L–R): Kyle Warner (4). Kent Billingsley (2), Alex McGuinnis (1), Mathew Chynoweth (3), and Jimmy Smith.
Pro Women's Podium (L–R): Terri Watts (4), Porsha Murdock (2), Kim Hardin (1), Janea Perry (3), and Alicia Leggett (5).
Expert Men's Team winner "Fast Old Farts" represented by Kim Eakin.
NAEC Expert Coed Team winners, the Highliners: Steven Sadler, Piper Sadler, and Bryson Deppe.
The 2017 NAEC Open Team Champions: Dugan Merrill, Sheldon Hunting, and Triston Merrill racing for Team Habitat.
The Women's Sport Team winners: Jenna Nicol, Alison Angione, and Andrea Johnson of Team Nicol Needs You.
On Sunday, Silver Mountain Resort also played host to the 2017 Cannondale Strider Bike Championships. Your official champions: Vaidee Lehman and Cameron Elliot.
Thanks to everyone who showed up to make this happen, a good event is only the sum of its parts and we couldn't have asked for a better group of riders.
We've got big plans in the works for next year so stay tuned!
Results by Red Tent Timing
MENTIONS: @Cannondale / @sombrio / @FabricSaddles / @SilverMountainResort / @Racecascadia / @MontanaEnduro / @IdahoEnduro / @MTBEnduro
Author Info:
Member since Jan 14, 2016
Must Read This Week
[UPDATED] Final Elite XC Results & Overall Standings from the Mairiporã XC World Cup 2024
42166 views
42166 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
3 Comments
- 7 1
jon-boy
FL (Jun 29, 2017 at 11:22)
The climb on Sunday morning was brutal... 10 miles and 3200ft of elevation gain. Thankfully the full run down the mountain was well worth it. Awesome event and weekend.
- 4 0
Rhymer
(Jun 29, 2017 at 14:40)
That was the town mortician sending the racers down the start of Hot Beans. Silver has it covered.
- 4 0
atekt
(Jun 29, 2017 at 9:52)
Such an awesome event! Thanks to all that made it happen.
Login or Sign Up