Race Report: Thailand Enduro Series Round #2 – Eto
After the very successful first round, this time we have 160 participants with riders from all kinds of riding disciplines from DH to BMX riders. We are very happy to see the expanded base of riders for this round and hopefully more in future. It is very important to attract riders from other disciplines to help build the base and expand the sport because MTB Enduro discipline is very new in Thailand. This time, there were more than 30 foreign participants from across the globe, such as, Malaysia, Singapore, UK, Canada, NZ, Australia, Belgium, France, and Germany.
The event would’ve not made possible without the support from TANKstore, Sport Bicycle, Red Bull Thailand, Buff Headwear and many others. The support from SPORTident was awesome, thanks Sebastian flying over just to support us!
On Saturday, the mother nature gave us the biggest down pour in the monsoon season. Because of the heavy rainfall since Friday, the condition of the trails changed greatly. Some trails were blocked by fallen branches. The already damp trails turned into slippery muddy trails that challenged even the most experienced riders. Big thanks to the riders who helped clear up the branches on the trails during their practice run.
The seeding run was on a second half of Red Bull Stage (Stage 4). The seeding started from 14:00 till 16:30, luckily the heavy rain stopped just in time before we start, 13:50 to be exact! The starting list from the seeding result was then chopped in to four waves of 40 riders of the same abilities.
The race day, Sunday, we couldn’t have asked for more from the mother nature, it was all sunshine!
After each wave was released from the festival ground, riders got shuttled by our trailers to the high ground but there is still a short punchy (painful) climb that riders would need to complete before they hit Stage 1 starting gate. The first liaison ride was 2 km with a time of 45 minute s for riders to manage.
TANKstore Stage (Stage 1) was a great flowy trail that helped adjusting riders to a new environment and get used to the slipperiness of the trails. It’s all natural with small drops, rolling bumps and some roots and ruts. This stage was 2.61 km long and ended at the stream crossing where riders could refresh themselves by the natural water source before heading into the Liaison 2. To stage 2 riders got 60 minutes to climb on the same road as previous plus about 380 additional meters to add to the 2 km climb.
Sport Bicycle Stage (Stage 2) was a more technical trail. The trail was shorter about 1.54 km long with mostly natural terrain. It started off with a big drop (chicken run as option) then a fast approaching double. The upper part of the trail was covered with dense canopy where riders got accustomed to the low light condition, with a sudden end of the covering foliage riders found themselves out under the blue sky and a steep, slippery and rutted trail underneath them. Laid ahead was a rock garden size of baby heads that was ready to bite racer’s tires to flat. The stage ended on the same liaison road that riders would have to climb for the third time with 60 minutes in their pockets.
Buff Headwear Stage (Stage 3) share the same upper trail as the TANKstore stage with the continuous fun the whole way down 4.37km stretch of natural terrain. The bottom end part of the trail was flat which require riders to pedal to the finish. This trail is one of the trails that many riders love to ride again and again, it’s well balanced and everyone can enjoy. However, at this time most riders are very exhausted and trying to hang on. The liaison road to stage 4 was 4.38km of easy climb but not so easy if you were fighting with muscle cramps as many riders have experienced!
Red Bull Stage (Stage 4), this stage is rather flat to many riders’ standard which bring the test to rider’s fitness. The trail is rolling at a slower speed which required riders to pedal to add more speed. With this tame looking trail hid some technical rooted and rutted sections. Alongside the bottom half of the trail there were thorn bushes riders need to keep out, added to their adventurous weekend. The trail was 4.38km long and ended with a short steep climb and back to the festival ground.
At the end of the day after the exhausting ride, Red Bull Wing Girls were busy serving drinks to the thirsty riders. Red Bull bar opened for riders and followers that needed more kicks than the regular Red Bull. There were many food to suit everyone’s test-spots from halal Doner Kebab to the well known Pad Thai and everything in between.
About the trophy, this trophy design is from the name of the hill we are riding, “Eto”. Eto in Thai means local utility knife, used by ethnic Thai for all sorts of duty. The hill has the silhouette of Eto knife when viewed from a distance away.
Thank you for all support. See you all next round.
More information on www.facebook.com/ThailandEnduroSeries
Words: Nawaphansa Yugala | Pictures: Thailand Enduro Series PR
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