When you talk about the direction enduro racing is heading in, this evening's results sheets provide an interesting insight in how the sport is interpreted on either side of the Atlantic. As I write, there are 6 Americans in the top 20 this evening, of them only Curtis Keene is a regular there (and Ben Cruz is out with a nasty concussion this weekend, so it could very well be 7 up there as he's been running in the top ten for the last couple of races). It is interesting to watch many of the European riders who have dominated the season so far fall back from the top five or even top ten as the racing takes to bike park tracks that are unlike anything we have seen so far this season.
Standings after Day 1.
They've been snapping carbon rims like Hulk Hogan snaps into a Slim Jim!
here are results if anyones interested
I don't mind so much some sections can be flat and pedally (like stage 1 and 4 at La Thuile, which I hated!) but it can't be just that. Let's see if the next stages bring something else than berms. The guys should have the opportunity to show their skills as well (and I am certainly not saying Richie World Champ Rude doesn't have skills).
1. Less steep XC style descents with lots of pedaling and maybe even some short uphills (sometimes backcountry trails, sometimes resort green runs).
2. Bike park type trails with berms and jumps.
3. Full on DH runs on steep and technical terrain.
Maybe that's not what "European" enduro is, but that's what it means here in CO, and I think it does a pretty good job of testing both a rider's fitness and technical ability. Personally, I am good at 1 and 3, but not so much the 2.
I believe that Sunday's stages use some of the DH style runs at Trestle.
@dthomp325: that is a very americsn attitude… "european enduro (you could just say enduro actually) is not right so we change it and the rest of the world should do the same otherwise they are idiots". Well no, enduro is a fun based discipline, riden on techy singletracks for more than 10 years now and I found great as such. I said it'd be provocative.
Enduro tracks are not much more technical than some xc tracks in fact. Yes it's a gravity discipline and has always been. It's not because there has been recent conversions from xc guys, 4x guys and of course dh guys that we have to change the discipline of enduro to make it a blend of it all. That feels very UCI type of attitude!