Wanted - Enduro World Series Whistler entry

Whistler riding is an acquired taste, pretty tough and weird at first.

I think this deserves to be said again. For those of us that have ridden lots in the valley we know what the trail (and climbs) would be like. People that have not ridden here have likely read and heard about how amazing the riding it, but had different expectations on how it would flow and feel. This certainly isn't flow country until you find the correct rhythm.

My first lap down Hey Bud for the last S2S Enduro I was hating life, I had not ridden in the valley since last year. I got owned by the trail. Second lap down I cut over a minute off my time and really enjoyed it, I found the flow.

The 80/20 think I've quoted many times comes from either the EWS guide book or an interview Chris Ball did (maybe with Seb? I forget). Personally I think it's great, it shouldn't be 100% dh.

End of the day I had a wicked fun time. Like flip said there were many from our 30-39 class on the GLC patio post race with beer in hand and swapping war stories while grinning.

For people that want a more laid back atmosphere there is the BC Enduro Series and the Sea to Sky Series. No set transition times and trail choices picked to cater to a more diverse and broad rider ability. We need to remember that the EWS is basically letting us race WC DH/XC pro course with any qualifier. I love that, but perhaps some riders just are not ready to step up to the world class level.

I still hold that a sponsored pro rider shouldn't be whinning ala the Robot blog.

One of the best rides I did last year was the Funduro. Rode everything blindcrashed a few times, with commentary from Biggles on what to expect coming up for transitions and timed sections.

Whistler trails seem to built around and include a lot of rock, which I dig. I don't get enough rock over here.

Maybe next summer I'll come outta FS trail bike retirement to scare poop outta myself

what's the point of an opinion stating that "there was no variety on the stages 1-4" when there was 5 stages to the race. The 5th stage accounting for approximately 40% of the timed riding?

and beyond that, the only two stages that were really similar were 1 and 2.

come on flip, that road section on stage 2 was a very similar texture to the road section on stage 5. outrageous!

come on flip, that road section on stage 2 was a very similar texture to the road section on stage 5. outrageous!

hahahaha….must spread rep

Should have rode a CX bike for all that gravel.

Sponsel apparently actually told someone ont he way to stage 4 that he wished he had a 29er xc bike because the trails were so XC…….maybe an CX bike would've been right up his alley

boo hoo, grab a tissue. try to find a balance of length and difficulty and you end up disappointing someone - the mutants are bored, while normal people are challenged and less skilled riders are destroyed. run it up the spectrum and everyone gets pushed, which is what happened here, but then you hang the less skilled riders.

i don't think everyone should expect to finish these events, but the attrition rate here was kind of excessive, especially for the women - i'm sure participation next year will reflect that, which sucks.

i see this whole enduro thing as an ongoing experiment, open to interpretation and variation based on local terrain and desired target audience. its cool that each event has a different flavor. in the end the good riders will enjoy it and rise to the top, those in the middle will be pushed hard, and the some will be hung out to dry.

i'm sure charlie is being a bit facetious - even the best riders were all scared racing those trails, and to call the courses pedally is silly. tight, awkward, weird - absolutely, that's whistler. once the flow is acquired here, it becomes a lot more fun.

It sold out in 3hrs. Not sure about the women's cat's but they won't have any issues selling out in a heart beat next year.

Tweedlove sold out in 3 minutes.

boo hoo, grab a tissue. and to call the courses pedally is silly. tight, awkward, weird - absolutely, that's whistler. once the flow is acquired here, it becomes a lot more fun.

Sponsel should spend some time in the pump track…