Sunday, December 18, 2016

California Enduro Series at Northstar




The sixth race of the California Enduro Series (CES) and second stop of the CES Golden Tour took place at Northstar California and challenged all competitors with loose moon dust and burly rocks over two days of action packed racing.

For the past two seasons the Northstar CES race has been one of the most anticipated and technically challenging events of the series and this year was no different. Riders enjoyed two days of racing on some of California’s most demanding trails with a mix of pedaled and lift assisted transfer stages – a proper test of a rider’s technical skills as well as physical strength.

The weekend started off with practice on Friday. Riders utilized the lifts at Northstar and pounded out laps of the race runs, familiarizing themselves with the unpredictable terrain of the mountain.

On Saturday all racers competed on three stages that included a variety of trails from fast singletrack, double black diamond downhill runs, and a top to bottom physical stage. Stage one started on Coaster Trail, a fun flowing piece of singletrack that connected into the Livewire downhill run for a great first stage. The second stage challenged racers with a long top to bottom stage that included intense pedal sections on the Tahoe Trail as well as a few fun rock gardens. For the final stage of the day competitors tested their commitment and skill on Boondocks, one of Northstar’s most popular and demanding downhill trails.

On day two Pro, Open, and Expert racers competed on another three stages and Sport and Beginner riders competed on two stages. Stage four took place on Gypsy which proved to be a fun way to start the day with a never ending flow of wall rides, lofty jumps, and other challenging technical features. After this, riders ascended to the top of the mountain for a long technical downhill stage that sent racers through some of the most hair raising sections of the weekend. After a long and demanding stage the weekend was finished off with a action-packed run that included fast fun bomber trails and chunky rock gardens, finishing with the TRP Brake Zone “speed trap” – a fun and exciting feature of every CES race.

I felt good all weekend and finished 5th place in the Open or Semi Pro category against some really fast competition. As always the CES race at Northstar was a blast and left competitors hungry for more challenging racing and good times!

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