Wanted - Enduro World Series Whistler entry

Where do you slot them in though? 30 second intervals still had me passing multiple riders per stage, are you going to let them in between people who are already close? there isn't much time between categories either given the large number of riders to move through the course.

Ahh yeah good call. Logistically that would be a nitemare.

What would be the problem with tacking on time for the amount you were late to each stage?

just not enough time to slot in racers that miss their specified starts. i saw a few get slotted where there were other missing people, but there weren't many opportunities.

crap, beat me to the comment.

i saw one get get slotted between racers. guy that started 15s behind wasn't too stoked, but the slotee wasn't on pace and was readily getting out of the way further down.

you race on the ht flip? there was a couple guys on chromags in my group. hardcore.

just not enough time to slot in racers that miss their specified starts. i saw a few get slotted where there were other missing people, but there weren't many opportunities.

yeah, at one point a starter told me and the guy in front of me that they'd just try and slot someone in who was missing just ahead of us, I politely said, I'm here on time, he's not going in front of me.

I may be in the minority, but I kind of think an event like this should be hard to finish for some of the people racing it.

I totally agree and at the end of the day those who didn't finish just weren't fit enough.

but….if one was to look at last years event and train and plan around that expectation…well one would be wrong. Also, I do not believe what we rode was the original plan….and the original plan sounded a touch easier.

The wife and I did an EWS(Finale) last year and while the event was physically demanding we managed to make it to all the stages. The wife put a lot of effort into improving her fitness this last year and came up short. Little heart breaking but it is what it is. I even heard some pro's complaining about the distance, climbs and times. No event will be perfect though and please do not confuse my comments as to think this was not an amazing event and I think the people did an awesome job.

Also, the directions from stage to stage was poor. I know Whistler somewhat and found myself wondering if I was going in the right direction. I had more than a few people asking me if we were going the right way. I know other who lost time asking for directions and were a bit late for their stage.

I totally agree and at the end of the day those who didn't finish just weren't fit enough.

but….if one was to look at last years event and train and plan around that expectation…well one would be wrong. Also, I do not believe what we rode was the original plan….and the original plan sounded a touch easier.

The wife and I did an EWS(Finale) last year and while the event was physically demanding we managed to make it to all the stages. The wife put a lot of effort into improving her fitness this last year and came up short. Little heart breaking but it is what it is. I even heard some pro's complaining about the distance, climbs and times. No event will be perfect though and please do not confuse my comments as to think this was not an amazing event and I think the people did an awesome job.

Also, the directions from stage to stage was poor. I know Whistler somewhat and found myself wondering if I was going in the right direction. I had more than a few people asking me if we were going the right way. I know other who lost time asking for directions and were a bit late for their stage.

you aren't wrong, a lot of the stages came together very last minute given the amount of work they were trying to accomplish. I do agree it was a super ambitious course, but I found the liaisons were all signed well and even though I knew where I was going I still noticed arrows marking the way around the transfers, but I could also be taking for granted that I knew where to go.

I also think it isn't necessary to have every single stage a really hard technical course, I think it doesn't hurt to have some variety and some stuff that isn't super gnar to play to different riders strengths. it's part of the game we play though, we sign up and don't know what to expect until a few days before, and to me that's part of what makes it interesting, although that being said, there aren't too many trails that they could use that would really make me second guess my decision to participate.

I may be in the minority, but I kind of think an event like this should be hard to finish for some of the people racing it. It's a top tier event, and it's a bike race, not a walking race. Part of that is making it to the start of your stage on time. I walked way more shit than I normally do, due to gearing on a new bike and saving energy in the heat, and still made it with 15 minutes to spare everytime. No, not a lot, but frankly I don't like cooling down too much before racing anyway so I found it almost perfect.

.

I realize that this event is a top tier event and that it shouldn't be easy. For the record, I did the EWS Superenduro in Finale last year. It was my second hardest day of riding ever, but I made all the stages. Considering how many fit people didn't make stage 4 on this event, leads me to believe that it was a bit much, even for a top tier event. Unless, of course you are trying to make it something like the Samurai etc. rather than an Enduro.

When pros are saying it could have been a 2 day course, then I don't think I'm too far off. Or if the course had the gondola upload for the 1st stage on Blackcomb, as was originally planned, it may have been more achievable for more people.

I should clarify that I'm not complaining, rather describing the level of fitness demand vs stage riding ability. It was an incredible event that I was glad to be a part of. Super congrats to all those who completed the course. It certainly was a feat.

I had about 4-5 people ask me directions(maybe more actually). I had to ask for directions myself and turned around twice. I had someone tell me where to get water. Some Chad Hendren guy asked me if we were going the right way….lol.

In the one other enduro I did, for 70k I never once doubted where I was.

oh and to the idiots who were riding Hardtails…….you guys f'n rock. What an amazing feat to go out and do and I think you guys knew what you were in for before you started which maybe you should go see a doctor about…lol.

funny; sunday after the race i was thinking i probably wouldn't do this one again. now i'm already thinking about how i could improve my time. punishing, but weirdly compelling. hmmm…

Before and during most races I feel this way, then I start to wonder come Sunday night or Monday morning…maybe next time…lol.

I think next year I will start my training a few days earlier than the solid 4 or 5 days I did this year.

EWS feedback:
I carried a backpack and did not run out of water or all day.
I walked up many hills, stopped for a quick cool off in the lake before stage 4, had lots of nice conversations, and made it to all my transitions with time to set up my bike, eat a snack, stretch a bit and start the race stage (mostly thanks to the “extra” 10 minutes – thanks for that).
The course was really fun; only a rainstorm midway through the day would have offered more variation to the course. I enjoyed the steep sections and the flatter sections. I also enjoyed the strait sections and the corners. I don’t think team robot enjoyed any of these features which leaves me curios to know what the biking is like where he is from. Obviously neither strait, curvy, flat or steep.
I printed the map and brought it with me just in case I couldn’t find the way. Didn’t need it.
Everyone I met was really friendly.
I was quite exhausted when I finished and I won’t be going mountain biking this week.
I felt lucky to race the same course on the same day, and in the same format as the pro’s, it was interesting to compare my performance to theirs.
Compared to Graves, I am approximately 75% enduro, and I didn’t even wear goggles all day, just imagine if I’d have put my goggles on. Then I might be 76% enduro.

yeah, at one point a starter told me and the guy in front of me that they'd just try and slot someone in who was missing just ahead of us, I politely said, I'm here on time, he's not going in front of me.

It would seem to me that the fair thing to do is starts the missing riders clock and let him go at some appropriate time when he or she shows up. Either that or a dsq. Of course if the organizers missed on the amount of time it would take to transfer, and numerous riders are late, there would need to be an accommodation of some kind. Maybe the late arrivers get to slot in at the next available slot or at the end.

Every now and then in a grand tour a huge number of riders will miss the time cut because organizers miscalculate how long it should take the winner to finish. I recall the Giro I think a few years ago something like 70 guys in the grupeto finished outside the time limit and no way could the organizers disqualify that many guys. Similarly Pedro Delgado got lost or confused before the Prologue of the Tour de France and missed the start by a minute or two. They simply added the time to his ride time.

that was the protocol, Oldfart, unless riders were more than 5 minutes late for their start time after which they got a dns on that stage.