Kokanee Crankworx 2011/Day 9 Canadian Open Enduro

The Canadian Open Enduro finish-GLC drops on a trailbike 

     The course for the Enduro is long and pretty challenging.  The first three stages are very cross country/xc in nature.  The race starts in the Whistler Bike Park using some of the easier gravity trails , then goes over around Lost Lake.  The Lost Lake area has some outstanding xc trails and the course is designed to take advantage of this  under utilized area.  Anyone visiting Whistler who is into mountain biking should spend some time exploring this trail network.

    The transition to the fourth stage has a big steep climb using a logging road to access Blackcomb Mountain.   Blackcomb has its own trail network.  Because of its proximity to the Whistler Bike Park the trail network on Blackcomb sees very little traffic outside of local use.  The fourth stage of the Enduro is a technical and rocky descent.  One of the kids I was racing was running light XC type tires, and he got a flat on this stage.

     The last transition involved riding two lifts up the Whistler Bike Park and a short ride down to the "Containers" where the last and fifth stage started.  At this point I was comfortably in second place and well out of first so I just tried to keep my run smooth.  That strategy worked and I ended up back on the podium in second.   Not a bad day.  

Second Place in the Canadian Open Enduro