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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