[April Fools] New Enduro Race Format Announced

Mar 30, 2021 at 20:41
by Sarah Moore  
Sam Hill s bright kit is easy to spot even in the dark forest.


The world's premier enduro league has announced that all events for the 2022 season will consist of ten stages, double what they have typically been on race day. However, races will no longer happen over two separate days. All of the action will be compacted into streamlined one-day events.

Organizers of the premier league for enduro racing have decided to keep the technical difficulty of the five downhill stages the same, but add in five timed uphill stages in between those descents and eliminate all rest periods between stages. This will bring a whole new level of competition and skill to the discipline.

bigquotesWe want to be able to crown the best mountain biker in the world at the end of the season. To be considered the best mountain biker, both descending and climbing skills must be considered. In recent years, tracks have favoured retired downhill racers, but with the new format, we hope to level the playing field.

With the new format, riders will no longer have to compromise about which bike they choose. For the climbing stages, they will be able to ride a light, short-travel bike that climbs like a goat if they desire. For the descents, they can choose an enduro bike, or a downhill bike if that suits them better. Of course, they can still ride an enduro bike for the entire race, depending on what the course is best suited to. Additionally, similar to triathlon, transition times will come into play with this new format.

Overall, despite the additional stages, ride times will decrease since all ten sections must be completed as quickly as possible with no rest. While climbing skills and overall fitness have always been a big factor in enduro racing, this will increase their importance. It will also ensure that no racer feels compelled to help their competition out when someone gets a flat tire or a mechanical.

Of course, this will come as a shock to many of the sport's greatest athletes. We look forward to seeing what athletes can lay down the power on sustained climbs as well as technical descents.


Isabeau Courdurier on her way to yet another win in what has been a stellar season.
Flat out climbs will be the new norm.

2020 Rocky Mountain Race Face Enduro Team
Of course, not all climbs will be easy.
photo
The technical ascents will be as hard as the descents.

Richie Rude has the power to take win number three here.
We imagine we'll see less full faces in pictures in 2022. Although some riders may opt to carry them on their backs during

Boris Beyer Photo
We may see shorter shorts, half lids, and fewer knee pads in 2022.


Author Info:
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Member since Mar 30, 2011
1,319 articles

52 Comments
  • 59 20
 I think after 16 April fools day articles people are getting tired of it. But maybe some people are loving it
  • 134 4
 I'm loving that you're getting tired of it.
  • 29 3
 @rocky-mtn-gman: I am loving that you are loving that I am getting tired of it
  • 14 0
 @jmtbf: I am sorta liking that you're loving that I'm loving that you're getting tired of it.
  • 9 0
 @rocky-mtn-gman: I am sorta liking that you are sorta liking that I am loving that you are loving that I am getting tired of it.
  • 9 0
 @jmtbf: I am getting irritated that you're sorta liking that I am sorta liking that you're loving that I'm loving that you're getting tired of it.
  • 8 0
 @rocky-mtn-gman: I will stop because you are getting irritated that I am sorta liking that you're sorta liking that I'm loving that you're loving that I am getting tired of it.
  • 11 0
 @jmtbf: I won't stop even if you stop because I am getting irritated that you're sorta liking that I am sorta liking that you're loving that I'm loving that you're getting tired of it.
  • 23 1
 Statler: That was wonderful!
Waldorf: Bravo!
Statler: I loved it!
Waldorf: Ah, it was great!
Statler: Well, it was pretty good.
Waldorf: Well, it wasn't bad...
Statler: Uh, there were parts of it that weren't very good though.
Waldorf: It could have been a lot better.
Statler: I didn't really like it.
Waldorf: It was pretty terrible.
Statler: It was bad.
Waldorf: It was awful!
Statler: It was terrible!
Waldorf: Take 'em away!
Statler: Bah, boo!
Waldorf: Boo!
  • 3 0
 @davec113: nice
  • 3 0
 @davec113: You know that's great about that Muppets bit, Dave?
  • 5 0
 @rocky-mtn-gman: Well I won't stop if you won't stop even though I said I would stop because you are getting irritated that I am sorta liking that you are sorta liking that I am loving that you are loving that I am getting tired of it.
  • 5 0
 @jmtbf: Well then I'll keep going too then if you won't stop because I won't stop even you said you might stop because I was getting irritated that you're sorta liking that I am sorta liking that you're loving that I'm loving that you're getting tired of it.
  • 6 0
 @rocky-mtn-gman: Because you will keep going too cause I won't stop because you won't stop even though I said I would stop because you were getting irritated that I was sorta liking that you were sorta liking that I was loving that you were loving that I was getting tired of it, we should stop now. Agreed?
  • 4 0
 @jmtbf: That's one helluva prepositional clause - so sure!
  • 5 1
 I freaking hate it when free entertainment is abundantly available. Disgusting.
  • 5 0
 @jmtbf: never stop not stopping
  • 1 0
 @rocky-mtn-gman: No, what's that?
  • 34 0
 Nino and Yolanda have a new event to dominate.
  • 16 0
 New "up country bikes" coming soon.
  • 10 0
 I'm game for an E1 format where anything goes, aside from cutting the timed course to be the fastest. 'roids, blow, Ebikes, helicopter Liaisons. Lets get some real money into this sport for a change.
  • 11 0
 Lmao I’d like to see some flat out climb races
  • 6 0
 Agreed, this sounds amazing!
  • 9 2
 I know this is a joke, but I've actually proposed races in a similar format. Basically run as an enduro, but with timed climbing and trail segments between descents. Riders could enter the "enduro" or "all-mountain" category.
  • 4 0
 Actually early enduro races in some parts of the world had 1 or 2 climbing stages in the mix. I don't think it worked that well though because you could gain incomparably more time on a climb. A fit rider on a light bike could probably win the day without winning a single descent.
  • 5 2
 Right? I kind of don't want this to be a joke. Enduro started out as a race that could be done with an every-mans trail bike, but now has become as specialized as DH and XC racing. It's kind of like what happened to stock car racing. Timed uphills could tip the scales back to every-day trail bikes again and make people who own those types of bikes more interested in racing. Maybe weight the DH & Uphill segments differently somehow to keep XC fanatic's from running away with it?
  • 1 0
 that's what strava is for
  • 1 0
 @ninjatarian: I just think it’s course dependent. Your average grass roots events aren’t as gnarly as ews terrain and smaller bikes do fine. Ews terrain should be gnarly though.
  • 3 0
 @ninjatarian: Include time penalties for every dab.
  • 1 0
 @Dopepedaler: lmao I would always be like 20+ min over avg if that were the case.
  • 7 0
 Sounds like a regular stop of the Canadian Enduro Series...We've had numerous EWS pro's tell us that we're harder than an EWS or that the day was simply 'Too Big'. I like to joke that we thinly disguised our races as epic adventures. If you like big days in the saddle, riding the wildest trails, come for a ride. To give you an idea our past championship event had over 4,000m of descending and 2700m of climbing....
  • 3 0
 @dastone this is your time to shine
  • 2 0
 @Kamiizoo: I am so in.
  • 8 0
 this is great news, I was getting tired of seeing Sam Hill drifting corners. Enduro bikes will apparently all be going to 100 mm travel.
  • 8 0
 So..."mountain bike" racing?
This would be rad if it were real.
  • 8 1
 Yeah if only there was a race series where climbs and descends are timed, and maybe throw in a mass start to make things more interesting. Oh and how about a loop instead of A-B stages so it's more spectator-friendly?
  • 2 0
 Yup. A funnier (and more cynical) joke would have been to introduce "Straight Downhill" racing. The corners aren't timed, only when you're going straight. Perhaps we could also not count time spent in the air so as to encourage massive hucks?
  • 7 0
 So the pros will have to go on what we mere mortals call "going on a bike ride" Smile
  • 3 0
 I honestly wanna see extreme cross country loop racing. Big dirtjumps, cliff drops, skinnies, deep creek crossings, moto-esque ruts, megaavalanche snow fields and open areas, boulder piles, nearly impossible tech climbs, double stairsets up and down, Lets see what the fastest bike and riders are in the gnargnargnar up and down
  • 6 3
 Wierd how an April fools joke actually sounds like what an EWS race should be.
  • 2 0
 Probably because it makes too much sense.
  • 1 0
 J'aime cette idées ! du vrai vélo de montagne quoi ! J'ai participé à la Batailla del inframundo à Zona Zéro, c'était génial.
  • 2 0
 I wouldn't mind seeing Enduro shredders forced to ride their 28+lb rigs up up up like the uphill events of old
  • 1 0
 I mean, I don't hate the idea of a timed uphill section. EWS-E is already doing it aren't they?
  • 1 0
 This format seems somewhat familiar..
  • 1 0
 cooooool. (in John Oliver voice)
  • 3 3
 that how it should be from day 1!
  • 2 0
 @pcledrew: Seems like some comments were deleted. Was it @DoubleCrownAddict ? Big Grin
  • 1 0
 @bananowy: not again lmao







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