Race Report | SCOTT Enduro Cup Presented by Vittoria Finale
Last Weekend, the last stop of the SCOTT Enduro Cup Presented by Vittoria took place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Find out who took the win in the official press release:
The SCOTT Enduro Cup presented by Vittoria held the final stop of the 2015 season on a tough, technical course that challenged more than 200 elite athletes. At the end of the day, Mitch Ropelato and Anne Galyean claimed the fastest times overall for men and women.
Enduro Cup organizers worked closely with athletes to gather their feedback and make a final race that would challenge and excite. Adding longer stages and steeper, more technical terrain, athletes tackled approximately 10 miles of trails and over 4,700 vertical descending feet of sharp switchbacks and multiple technical downhills.
“With additions and edits to the Canyons course, we’ve designed the most challenging and rewarding event of our series,” said Enduro Cup Founder Ali Goulet. “The steep, technical and fast trails required every ounce of a rider’s skill.”
The competition began with the Open Men’s division. Utah-based Mitch Ropelato executed the technical sections of the course with fluidity and skill to receive a time of 21:20.9. Canyons local Cody Kelley secured the second fastest time at 21:51.9. Kyle Warner rounded out the podium with a time of 22:01.4.
“The trails were really fun and physical,” said Ropelato. “It was technical, you had to be on your game.”
Next, in the Open Women’s category, enduro racing newcomer Anne Galyean crushed the four stages with a total time of 26:32.0. Nearly missing second place was Teal Stetson-Lee at 26:39.8. Finally, only four-tenths of a second behind Stetson-Lee was Ileana Anderson.
“I liked the course a lot, I thought it had a good variety,” Galyean said. “Especially in the states, enduro can swing way too far to the pedaling or way too far to the downhill. This one had a lot of great variety-some of everything. It was a lot of fun.”
Open Men:
1. Mitch Ropelato (21:20.9)
2. Cody Kelley (21:51.9)
3. Kyle Warner (22:01.4)
Open Women:
1. Anne Galyean (26:32.0)
2. Teal Stetson-Lee (26:39.8)
3. Ileana Anderson (26:40.2)
Riders not only competed to win the Canyons Resort race, but also to claim the overall Enduro Cup series title. The series featured stops in Moab, UT, Sun Valley, ID, and Canyons Resort, UT. By maintaining consistent finishes at all three stops, Cody Kelley earned the overall championship for men. With three podiums, Teal Stetson-Lee secured the women’s overall title.
The competition was deep in the expert and amateur divisions. The Bingham family was one of the stand-out stories. Chris, dad, got 4th in his division, Bryn, son, first place, and Lauren, 12, daughter, got third and took the overall series win in the Amateur Women’s category (ages 19-39).
A full list of results is posted online at endurocupmtb.com.
The Open category podium winners received $3,000 total in prize money divided evenly between men and women. The podium athletes in the Expert, Amateur and Junior categories received gear from SCOTT Sports and Vittoria.
Word & Pictures: SCOTT Enduro Cup Presented by Vittoria PR
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