Raced my first Enduro!

I raced my first Enduro last weekend and it was awesome. It also put a few things into perspective.

This being my first race I really had no idea what to expect. I was able to get an idea through Youtube-videos of previous years, but since the organizers do not allow action cameras footage of the tracks is limited. I decided not to think about it too much and just jump in with both feet.

Race day
The race took place in Esneux (Belgium) and is the first in a series called the Easyphone Enduro Cup. Saying I wasn’t a little nervous that morning would be a lie. It was still raining an hour before the event meaning things would be slippery.

The very first thing I noticed when arriving at the start location was the amount of travel most bikes had. I brought my 120/120 Nerve because the 170/180 Torque seemed like too much, but from every angle that morning 160 mm forks were laughing at me. I felt like I brought a jeep to a monster truck race.

The day consisted of four different stages and we would get two runs at each stage. In the morning we raced stages 1 and 2, and in the afternoon stages 3 and 4.

There was a 15 second gap between each start so the line was moving fast. A minute away from starting I could feel my heart pounding. When the timer guy said ‘GO!’ I pedaled as hard as I could in an attempt to have an spectacular exit.

The track was fun and well doable. It had some small switchbacks, slightly rocky descends, a water pool and a little bridge in it. What made the track difficult was a nasty climb covered with roots. I had to get off and push my bike up completely draining my energy. When I got to the top I had nothing left and all I could think was: ‘Cardio! I need to do more f*cking cardio!’

The second stage was quite easy but I did mess up my first run pretty bad. The rain had made the track real slippery and I approached a few corners too fast causing me to break through the tape in two places.

Stage 3 was definitely the most challenging. It had a rock garden in it which was incredibly slippery. The first run I just couldn’t spot a line quick enough which made me put my foot on the ground ( I know!). After the first run I rushed back up to have a quick look at the section from a different angle and it actually didn’t look all that difficult. So feeling a lot more confident I was pretty sure it would go smooth the second time. Of course it didn’t. The approach was fine, when my front wheel went over the first rock everything was golden, same for the second rock, but at the third I tried to make turn and my front wheel slipped away (no worries, I had a soft landing).  It later turned out my fork was still in lockout from the climb up. Yes I’m making excuses.

All in all I’m pretty happy with how it went though. I improved my times on each stage during the second runs and I didn’t hurt myself. And I actually say that relieved because my travelling buddy bruised his ribs and another guy broke his shoulder.

The next race is in on the 19th of April in Baraque de Fraiture, also in Belgium. I think I’ll take the Torque for that one. Esneux is supposed to be the easiest one and more travel is more confidence. In my case anyway. Guess there really is only one thing to do: more f*cking cardio.