Crankworx Enduro Race

After a summer of riding both the Bike Park and Whistlers epic singletrack trails I along with Graham and Luke from the store decided it would be a good idea to enter the Crankworxs Enduro race. For those not familiar with Crankworxs it is essentially a week of mountain biking mayhem that takes over Whistler. With the world’s best riders in town it seemed an ideal opportunity to test myself. The Enduro format is essentially a downhill race with climbs mixed in to test both the rider’s outright speed and fitness. I decided my Specialized Enduro would be the ideal bike; with the ability to climb whilst holding its own on the descents.

A wet practice day provided an eye opening experience, a combination of wet roots, and mud on parts of the course that had been used the day before by the Garbonzo DH race meant that conditions where challenging and left us all hoping for a dry race day. Race day morning and I was beginning wonder why I thought this was a good idea. A mass start down a ski run into tight technical singletrack made the start a crucial part of the race. This crucial part didn’t go well for me, with Luke leading the pack I struggled to get clipped in then on entering the singletrack rode straight into the nearest tree. The rest of the race went much better overtaking several riders on the big climb and holding position on the descents. One over the bars crash later the finish line and more importantly fellow WOA staff member Graham were in my sights. With a bit of help from a Whistler local (the biggest black bear I have ever seen!) I passed Graham on the final descent and crossed the line in 6th place. Having been aiming for a top ten finish I was super happy to finish 6th. With Graham in 7th also on a Specialized Enduro and Luke retiring from a comfortable 1st place with a puncture it was an eventful day for the WOA staff.

The rest of the Crankworxs week was spent riding the sweet and empty valley singletrack during the day and soaking up the party atmosphere in the village most evenings.

Tom Bye-