Big Mountain Enduro event set for CBMR during bike week

The latest rage in mountain bike racing

The latest craze in bike racing, the Big Mountain Enduro racing circuit presented by Yeti, is making its way to Crested Butte, hitting the Evolution Bike Park trails on Crested Butte Mountain Resort Saturday and Sunday, June 29-30.
While not officially part of Crested Butte Bike Week, it happens to be on the very same weekend, bringing in another element of mountain bike culture to the valley.
Enduros have been all the rage in Europe for awhile but just made the jump across the pond in the last five years and is starting to take hold in the United States.
Local Brandon Ontiveros started the Oregon Enduro Series five years ago and brought the energy here to the Rocky Mountains last year, starting the Big Mountain Enduro circuit. This year, he’s included Crested Butte as one of the stops and the event is already received a lot of attention from Enduro enthusiasts.
Crested Butte “will be the second most popular stop of the five race series,” says Ontiveros. “I expect to see 300 riders.”
Enduro racing is a mix of cross-country and downhill riding, forcing athletes to have a fitness level high enough for a modicum of uphill travel while having the skills and fitness to ride long technical downhills, at speed.
“It combines elements of downhill and cross-country,” explains Ontiveros. “We mix terrain and courses to make it super challenging from all angles, fitness and technicality.”
Typically, enduro racers are timed on their descents with non-timed climbs in between. And while some enduro races involve using ski area lifts to move racers from stage to stage, a majority require racers to pedal from the bottom of one downhill stage up to the top of the next.
“A lot of the transitions are non-lift accessed,” says Ontiveros. “Even when we have lifts to use, our goal is to get as much time on the bike for racers. You gotta climb your butt up there.”
Additionally, while the timed sections are predominately downhill, there is some uphill mixed in, complete with portions that redline even the fittest cross-country riders.
“There are punchy sections on some of the climbs,” says Ontiveros. “We just got done with races in Angel Fire and even pro cross-country riders looked crushed.”
As a result, downhill bikes are a rare sight in enduros, with a majority of riders choosing “all mountain” bikes with somewhere in the neighborhood of six inches of travel, though some do run 29-inch wheels with a hard tail.
Enduro races last from two to three days, mixing in a day in the backcountry with resort riding. For example, day one could include three stages in the Evolution Bike Park and day two with stages utilizing trails around Crested Butte, i.e., 403 and 401.
Due to a lack of permits, this year both days will take place on the resort and will involve two to three stages per day. The winner is determined by overall stage times over the course of the two days.
Racing is slated to start in the morning both Saturday and Sunday. As for the courses, talks are still under way and are typically kept under wraps until just prior to race day.
“We typically don’t announce courses until a couple days before the event,” says Ontiveros.
For more information about the series or enduro racing, or to register, check out www.bigmountainenduro.com.