California Enduro Series Announces 2023 Schedule

Nov 10, 2022 at 17:19
by California Enduro Series  

Press Release: California Enduro Series presented by Specialized

The California Enduro Series is thrilled to announce the 2023 race schedule with six exciting events lined up including a return to a unique locale south of the border.

The series is set to off with the Ensenada Bike Fest Enduro, presented by Relampago Racing and Lou Mollineda, on March 18 in Ensenada, Mexico. Renew those passports and get ready for some good times in this Baja coastal oasis!

Next in the line up is a return to gold country in the Sierra Nevada foothills for the Georgetown Enduro, presented by MTB Experience and California Expeditions, in Georgetown on May 20.

The China Peak Enduro, presented by China Peak Mountain Resort, will lead a succession of big mountain action on June 24 in Lakeshore. China Peak will be followed by the Mt Shasta Enduro, presented by Mt Shasta Ski Park July 15 in McCloud, and the Northstar Enduro, presented by Northstar California August 19-20 in Truckee.

The 2023 season wrap up with the ever-fabulous Ashland Mountain Challenge, presented by Wild Rogue Events, just over the California/Oregon border in Ashland on September 30.

CES Director Steve Gemelos says, “We’re excited to be heading south of the border again to Ensenada and returning as well to so many more of our favorite regular events. Looking forward to seeing you all out on the courses in 2023!”

New Categories
A Sport Girls U18 category will be making its debut for the 2023 season. With more and more women and girls racing our series, we’re thrilled to make our events even more accessible to women of all ages.

Plus, you’ve been asking for it, you got it: we’re also adding a Men 60+ category due to popular demand!

Queen Stage
The Queen Stage returns for each race for this season. The racer in each category with the fastest time on this particular stage will get bonus points towards their overall ranking.

Stage Wins
Of course, winning a race and winning the overall are the goals, but we all like stage wins as well. For the 2023 season, the series will again be tracking stage wins, offering a bonus prize for the male and female amateur racer with the most stage wins at the end of the season.

eMTB Categories
eMTB categories will be available at the first five of 2023's six events: Ensenada Bike Fest Enduro, Georgetown Enduro, China Peak Enduro, Mt. Shasta Enduro, and Northstar Enduro. These four categories are: Open eMTB Men, Open eMTB Women, Sport eMTB Men, and Sport eMTB.

Sponsoring the Series
CES is made possible by the generous sponsorship of industry and community businesses. The series is grateful for the continued support of title sponsor Specialized, official suspension sponsor FOX, Race Face, WTB, and Adventure Sports Journal. If you’d like to get involved and be part of CES’ exciting 2023 season, send an email to sponsorship@californiaenduro.com.

Learn more at californiaenduroseries.com.

Enjoy these photos from our 2021 season by series photographer Bixxel. Check out more photos and full race reports on the CES website!

Georgetown Enduro







China Peak Enduro







Mt. Shasta Enduro







Northstar Enduro







Ashland Mountain Challenge









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33 Comments

  • 5 3
 I don't understand why they would use the Mt. Shasta ski park. I live in Mt. Shasta and the trails at the Ski park are awful. We have plenty of other trails that would likely be much better. Too bad most of them aren't legal. Does CES only go to lift-access parks?
  • 2 1
 Mount Ashland ski area has lifts, but the bike trails are accessed via pedaling or shuttles. There's no bike lift season on Mt Ashland.

There's a new venue in Ensenada this season but I doubt they're building lifts for it. Ensenada in 2019 also wasn't lift accessed; riders were loaded on buses:
www.pinkbike.com/u/calienduro/blog/race-report-california-enduro-series-round-1-ensenada-enduro.html

Plus it's pretty rare to see lift-accessed bike park away from a ski venue (which surely does not exist in Ensenada, Baja California Norte), although there is one on Spider Mountain in Texas:
www.pinkbike.com/news/texas-gets-its-first-lift-access-bike-park.html
  • 1 0
 I guess it is also for liability issues and permits. If you do it in a private set up you have more control and can protect yourself legally, plus the lift chairs I guess. Maybe I am wrong.
  • 3 2
 @tbmaddux: we were loaded on busses then sat on them for 2 hours while they tried to find a driver for said bus. Then most of our bikes got damaged on the “shuttle” which was a flat bed trailer and some ratchet straps. The cherry on top was the trash fire that canceled a stage. Not even some nostalgia makes the experience seem better.
  • 2 0
 @tbmaddux: I cannot believe they have a lift for 350 feet of elevation.
  • 6 0
 They’ll go to Mexico but they won’t come to SoCal. Facepalm
  • 2 0
 Which is weird, one of the things I enjoyed when living in SoCal was the various XC race series.
  • 3 0
 Wish there would be some better races in So Cal too. Sadly I think it’s difficult to find a legal venue with proper enduro tracks. Team Big Bear runs Big Bear and Vail lake enduros but not very good in terms of having proper tracks.
  • 2 1
 I live 30 minutes from the Mexico border and usually race most of the ces series, but after the last time we raced in Ensenada, I won’t be heading south. I really wish they did another so cal stop.
  • 1 0
 @Austink: What happened? The Trots, or worse.....poor event management?
  • 4 0
 @suspended-flesh: in chronological order:
0)The only way to practice was to go down in the weeks preceding and hire the promoter to shuttle you around as most of the trails required a shuttle, crossed private property, and were hard to find.

1)Rider meeting started like an hour late so everything got pushed back.

2)We pile into the busses and end up sitting there for over 90 minutes as they search for a driver.

3)We pull our bikes off the shuttle trailers and almost everyone has to adjust stuff as the bikes got knocked around so badly. There was plenty of scratched stanchions and I had paint worn down to the carbon.

4)After stage 1 we have to wait about an hour for the bus to pick us up.

5)They didn’t get permission to drive the buses to where they though so our transfer that was advertised as like 40min total was closer to 90minutes in the heat. (One bus broke down). The water stop was a few jugs and was empty after the ebikes and pros went through.

6)Stage 2 was originally pro/expert only but due to them not finishing trails on time everyone ran it. The women tried to get them to cancel it for them but instead they ended up walking the entire first half. It was really rough and exposed.

7)As I was coming down a stage a man is frantically trying to get me to stop right before a jump. I went around him and then was riding within a few feet of a decent sized fire. A trash fire had gotten out of control and ended up jumping the trail right after I passed. The guy after me said he had to divert as there was no longer a way though. That stage was canceled.

I had booked a room for the night of the race thinking I would want to go to the beach etc. but I just loaded my stuff then booked it back to SD. I just looked at my strava activity and it was over 7 hours of elapsed time just from when stage 1 started. So add the time sitting on the bus and the time when I wasn’t recording (the second shuttle) and it was easily a 9 hour day with no nutrition out on course.
  • 1 0
 @Austink: Daaaang that sounds comically bad. Hopefully you can look back and laugh one day.
  • 3 0
 heck ya, stoked for Georgetown again that place is sick
  • 3 0
 I’m thankful the firefighters were able to save it. This course and the whole community around it were one firebreak away from being incinerated in the Mosquito Fire
  • 1 0
 @BananaSlug415: Aye - love to the firefighters for sure. That fire was gnarly.
  • 7 6
 Guess I am the weirdo who thinks "enduro" is short for "endurance" and thinks you should pedal up the mountain. Ditch the shuttles and lifts, I might do some enduro racing.
  • 5 3
 Try it before you knock it. A few lifts or shuttles during the day-long or two-day-long race doesn't mean it is easy. There is still a lot of climbing and the long stages are lung-busting and leg-burning. These races allow for dad-bod dudes like me to finish, but riders with zero fitness don't stand a chance at even finishing and the gals and guys on the podium are more fit than most of us will ever be.
  • 1 7
flag JSTootell (Nov 17, 2022 at 11:34) (Below Threshold)
 @JJ-Crank: I did a local enduro at Snow Summit, but I skipped the lift and pedaled all day instead. I finished mid pack Cat 1 (10th out of 24), in a format I am not really interested in racing in with no course preview. I did 50 miles and 5000' of riding that day (I did take the lifts AFTER the racing was done for fun). To be fair, I doubt I would have gone much faster on the stages if I took the lift, but still, I was racing on legs that climbed everything.

Following day I did a 33 mile, 5000' day on the same bike for fun (Skypark).

Ditch the shuttle and the lifts, I will consider it. It better be a 10,000' climbing weekend to make it multiple days.
  • 8 0
 @JSTootell: This dude right here is why I don't race enduro. Keep telling us how good and fit you are bro haha
  • 1 0
 @JSTootell: if you want a bunch of pedaling go do trans bc. Long days, lots of climbing, and gnarly terrain all while racing it blind.
  • 1 0
 @normar: You don't race enduro because I don't race enduro? Makes perfect sense.

I ride bikes to ride bikes, not to sit in a lift chair then wait in line to take my turn. Hell, if they did an Open class where you couldn't lift, I would happily finish in any place, including last, if that meant I was riding my bike instead of shuttling.

I am not bragging about my fitness, I am fighting for last place in all of my XC races. But I like to be challenged. I keep forgetting that we live in the age of participation trophies.
  • 1 1
 @Austink: Sounds fun, but I am in California and talking about the California series (which includes going out of the state and country, maybe it should be the West Coast Enduro Series?). I traveled as far as Oregon once to race and was disappoint* and decided I am not really interested in traveling far again for racing when I can just go ride and have fun.

*After talking to a friend, it sounds like I raced a modified course because of trail conditions. The course I rode was lame, but the course he rode (and he is VERY picky about single track racing) so I guess I had bad timing.
  • 2 0
 @JSTootell: the Georgetown event sounds like one you’d like. No shuttles, start and end at the campgrounds. Pedally stages, but fun and chunky
  • 1 0
 @sudochuckwalla: Thanks, I will take a look.
  • 2 0
 HEY SPECIALIZED. WHY IS MY ENDRUO LOUD AS? chain noise it seems with no way to silence it
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