The Enduro World Series has left behind the wild weather of the Italian Alps and headed across the Atlantic to the USA for round five – Specialized Enduro brought to you by Shimano.
This weekend’s race takes place in Winter Park, a resort nestled high in the heart of the American Rockies and home to the USA’s largest bike park, Trestle. Sitting at an elevation of 10,000 feet, Winter Park will prove an incredible test of fitness – before riders even set foot on the chairlift they’ll be dealing with an altitude higher than at any other point in the series. Coupled with three back to back days of racing over seven stages, the 350 riders taking part can expect to be pushed to their limits.
With a points battle that shows no signs of abating, this weekend’s race is especially important for series leaders Tracy Moseley (Trek Factory Enduro Racing Team) and Jared Graves (Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Team). Graves leads Damien Oton (Devinci/Alltricks.com) by just 30 points, and Oton will no doubt be feeling confident after his win in La Thuile. In the women’s race the battle between Moseley and Anne Caroline Chausson (Ibis) continues, but third placed Cecile Ravanel (GT/Pulse Session) continues to pose a serious threat to both.
Trek Factory Enduro Racing continue to lead the team rankings, but Rocky Mountain Urge bp aren’t far behind in second. Canyon Factory Enduro sit in third, but with their rider Joe Barnes climbing the individual rankings after La Thuile it could all change come Sunday.
Event Director Bob Holme says the altitude will add an extra challenge to the riders this weekend.
“Riders can expect seven challenging stages that will not only test technical ability but also their physical fitness Add to that mix 10,000 feet of elevation and it should really separate the best riders. The great thing about hosting the EWS here is we’re the USA’s largest full service bike park, which means we have all the amenities and amazing, rugged trails all in one place.”
Chris Ball, Managing Director of the Enduro World Series added: “As a member of North American Enduro Tour from the very beginning, Bob and his team at the Colorado Freeride Festival have heavily supported and promoted enduro in North America.
“It’s been great working with the team here in Winter Park to really push enduro racing in the USA. The trails here are really different to those seen already in the series, so they’ll test the riders in a new way as we look to find the all round best mountain biker in the world.”
Full course, race schedule and event details can be found at: enduroworldseries.com/events/ews5-freeride-colorado. Our new race feed page featuring live timing, real time race commentary and social media updates will go live on Friday and can be found here: enduroworldseries.com/race-feed. Dirt TV’s race coverage can be viewed at enduroworldseries.com. The full race highlights edit will be released on Wednesday.