Race Report | Triple Crown #1: Kingdom Enduro

The first race of the Triple Crown Enduro Series took place at the Q Burke Resort last weekend. The Kingdom Enduro takes its name from Kingdom Trails – a mountain bike mecca located in East Burke, Vermont. With a vertical drop of over 2000 feet, this mountain is one of the tallest we race on and despite only having 3 stages, it utilizes the trails better than most others.


My expectations for this race were high. It was the most anticipated race of the year for me as one of the Pro stages was to be Upper and Lower J-Bar – a combined 12+ minute descent from the peak of Burke Mountain to the base lodge at the very bottom. It is one of my two favorite trails on the East Coast. Upper J-Bar is proper DH with tight, steep terrain and massive rocks and roots, yet an incredible amount of natural flow. Lower J-Bar is a very different beast – smooth, flowy, fast. It’s incredibly fun to ride and incredibly tiring to race. This year, a number of corners received small berms, making the trail even faster than before.


After a 5 hour drive and an hour at registration, I was off to a late start on Saturday and on a mission to ride each stage twice. This turned out to be a tough task as only the first stage was accessible from the chair lift. Stages two and three started from the peak and required a hefty shuttle ride. The shuttles were provided by Burke but could not keep up with rider demand. Waiting for the shuttle meant an hour in line or figuring out a way to shuttle each other. I ended up doing a combination of both and ended the day satisfied with the practice I was able to accomplish.



Sunday morning greeted racers with gloomy skies and wet ground. It had rained during the night, and it rained a lot. With the technical difficulty of stages two and three, it was going to be survival mode out there.



Despite the forecast, it was still drizzling as I rolled up to the start of Stage 1. This was a short stage, a good warm up for the two demanding stages that would follow. A cold and wet start, I noticed right away that while the ground was soaked, the berms held up well and could be taken with a considerable amount of speed. The wooden bridges, however, required a lot more attention and finesse. Before I knew it, the stage was over and I had a huge grin on my face.



After a very long transfer – think hour-long slug up a winding paved road; I reached the fog blanketed peak and the start of Stage 2. Dropping in, I quickly realized that this stage was a lot more slick and muddy than I expected. Having been slick in practice, a lot of the rock and grass surfaces felt more like ice after the overnight rain. I think I spent more time with a foot out of the pedal than in. Sliding through corners, over roots and wet slick rock. Yet again, however, I finished the stage covered head to toe in mud but giggling almost uncontrollably.



Back up the steep toll road, it was on to the last and most demanding stage of the day. The stage that I was looking forward to all day. J-Bar. Longer than the first two stages combined and much higher consequence, it was as much a test of technical ability as it was fitness. With the challenging conditions, features that seemed like a no brainer in practice, became real sources of danger. I felt consistent and strong through the whole stage, passing two racers in the process and ending up with a fifth place for the stage – a highlight of my season.



With 43 Pros, the Kingdom Enduro had the biggest turnout of the year. I ended up in a comfortable 8th, attaining my goal of a top ten. I felt great all weekend and don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed miserable conditions as much as at this race. Isaac Allaire came out victorious, winning every single stage and absolutely crushing everyone on Stage 3. In the women’s division, it was Lauren Petersen with the win yet again, winning all of the stages and continuing her streak of Enduro domination.




After the race it was time for some fun runs. The weather had turned for the better and the sun came out from behind the clouds. After taking a few runs on Burke’s phenomenal flow trails, Derek Bissett and myself decided to ride across the road to Kingdom Trails – our bodies were sore but our minds were willing. Derek’s never ridden Kindgom and it’s been over three years for me. A small loop was enough to showcase some of the fantastic trails Kingdom has to offer and enough to warrant a come back to experience more of what’s in store.


Words: Paul Dotsenko Pictures: Jamie Lee
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