The Oregon Enduro Series is a little slice of heaven for riders in the dusty North West region of America, and with the third round cracking down on a massive 3000m from the summit, it seems like something we’d love to get our wheels stuck into. Check out their full race report below:
Mt Bachelor sunset the night before the Oregon Enduro. Smoke from nearby forest fires fill the air.
The 3rd Oregon Enduro Series race took place on Mt. Bachelor’s new bike trails. Mt Bachelor sits just a few miles from Bend, OR, a hotbed of mountain biking in the Northwest United States. The Mountain is 2000m above sea level at the base and 3000m at the summit and has been a popular mountain to ski and snowboard on for years. It is only in its 2nd full season as a bike park. The sheer number of established trails isn’t overwhelming yet but many have soft, loose corners to challenge all of the riders at race speed.
Tristan Henry on upper Last Chance, at the beginning of around 10 minutes of fun.A map of Mt Bachelor and the Oregon Endure stages for the day. Four stages with one pedaling climb and three lift-assist stages kept everything running smooth.A map of the nearby forest fires and the direction of the smoke. Mt Bachelor is the little green mountain next to “Bend” and below “Sisters”
Here you can see the nearby forest fires and the direction of the smoke. Mt Bachelor is the little green mountain next to “Bend” and below “Sisters”
Mt Bachelor is rugged and loose, especially off of the backside run called “Last Chance’, pictured here with the Three Sisters (Faith, Hope and Charity) and Brokentop Mountain on the right.
Mt Bachelor is rugged and loose, especially off of the backside run called “Last Chance’, pictured here with the Three Sisters (Faith, Hope and Charity) and Brokentop Mountain on the rightRace Director Devon Lyons (left) headed up for stage #1Janea Perry (185) and Allison Paul (184) head out for the first liaison.Noah Catropa, winner of the Junior Men 13-18 division.Stage #1 on the run called Cone Run that does quite a lot of traversing, but it also has some fun stuff like this drop.Don Thuran, winner of the Expert Men 40+ class by just 2 seconds.Derek Donaldson works at Giant Bicycles in the warranty department. He’s heard just about every JRA (I was just riding along when…) story out there.A racer enters a corner heavily reinforced with pavers with the lower lodge and finish line ahead.Alex McGuinnes was all business near the end of stage #1, keeping his wheels low and power to the ground. Alex took the Pro Men victory by 1 minute.Heather Pola, matriarch of the ‘Cougar Class’ (Sport Women 35+)Jon Buckell breaks out a huge tabletop on stage #1. Jon finished 2nd overall for the weekend.This shot shows how loose and sandy the soil is right now. We need rain!Alex Grediagin is wearing a Burger King restaurant crown because in the last few days he won Friday’s DH race, the DH series overall and the King Of the Mountain competition. This kid’s on fire!John Frey lays down the law on the last stretch of stage #4Rider wait for their start time at the top of stage #3.Another shot of Sam Markling, this time near the top of stage #3 – Last Chance. The back side of Mt Bachelor is more rugged and steep as stages 1 and 2 and it includes these awesome trees that have endured many harsh winters at 2000m.Steven Finlayson through the beautiful terrain of ‘Last Chance’Trevor Roland negotiates some of the loose conditions on the backside.Alex McGuinness takes advantage of the loose conditions to entertain me… always appreciated!Justin Serna is official race director but he gets to sweep the course after the final pro and get his time in too.Ellis Rempelos flies down stage #4 – ‘Rattlesnake’Every racer probably did this a least once during the day as conditions were bone-dry for the race and corners were soft & loose. Nick Lerma in action.Sport racer Mikey Klautzsch on Stage #4Brad Powell was going so fast right here he blew the next corner and went down the scree.Brad still managed to get back up on the course and still finish fist in Expert Men but 3 seconds.Photographer Dennis Yuroshek isn’t afraid to take the jump line with his pack loaded up with equipment on race day.Pirmin KuAY from Switzerland was part of a small group of riders stopping in after Crankworx, Whistler.One of the Santa Cruz factory guysAllan Cooke descends a paver g-out on Rattlesnake.Nick DiNapoli takes an interesting line in this section. To his right is the jump line and to his left is the go-around but Nick is going right down the middle, thus he is able to pump backside of the jump without sacrificing the extra distance.Jon Buckell throws a roost off of his front tire on ‘Last Chance’Alex McGuinness with the finish line almost in site and he’s pumping and pedaling these last last few rollers to victory.Racers enjoy beer, lunch and a raffle before the podiumsThis is always a great time to have a hotdogA crew of German and Swiss riders made their way to Bend after Crankworx, WhistlerAllan Cooke’s daughter, Elle, helped out with the raffle drawings and kept us all entertained the whole time, quite the natural in the mic in front of a crowd.The OR Enduro podium girl, Nicole, wanted to make sure we got a shot before the mayhem.The MayhemPro Men’s ResultsA complete Santa Cuz 5010 bicycle was given away at the raffle, not bad for just showing up!Kunk Shox (Alex McGuinnes) with the cork still in his champagne bottle after podium…next time!
For more information on the Oregon Enduro Series check out their web site: oregonenduro.com
Words & Photos: Mike Albright
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