Bikers of all ages got ready to ride just before 9 a.m. on Sunday morning. They strapped on their helmets, mounted their mountain bikes, and took off down Larch Ridge trail to reach the first of five stages in the Rossland Rubberhead Enduro Race.
Now in its seventh year, the race is part of both the Kootenay-Rockies and BC Enduro Series.
The race is made up of transition stages that had racers peddling uphill between the timed stages, which were primarily downhill. Though the top racers finished with times just over 20 minutes, it took three to five hours to get through the entire course.
The challenge of the enduro format is not to get so wiped out peddling up between stages, that it affects your time and performance coming down.
“It’s an exciting format. It’s really, really popular,” said Ryan Kuhn, the race’s director. “It’s a very social format of racing. So people ride up with their friends in between stages.”
Having fun with friends extended well beyond the course. There was a barbeque and performance by the Foggy Goggle Boys on the Red Mountain Resort deck, where spectators would watch as the racers came flying in to finish the last stage of the course.
Short Course U19:First: Jeremy Helly. 16:39Second: Blaise Swain, 18:16Third: Jaelinn Farmer, 21:19
Short Course Open Women:First: Kate Nesbitt, 18:46Second: Jaya Guilbert, 19:35Third: Lindsau Harrison, 21:10
Short Course Open Men:First: Josh Swain, 17:13
Junior U15 Men:First: Ruben Guibert, 21:34Second: Keegan Fry, 21:42Third: Felix Abraham, 21:46
Junior U19 Men:First: Evan Wall, 21:11Second: Carter Krasny, 23:10Third: Noah Van Der Watt, 23:32
Master 40+ Men:First: Frith Murray, 21:48Second: Leon May, 21:56Third: Ryan Kuhn, 21:59
Open Men:First: Craig Wilson, 21:20Second: Josh Solman, 21:33Third: Quentin Emerlau, 21:41
Open Women:First: Leonie Picton, 23:57Second: Kylie Morin, 25:11Third: Amy Pryse-Phillips, 25:22
Pro/Elite Men:First: Stu Dickson, 20:21Second (tie): David Harder and Dustin Adams, 20:23Third: James Rennie, 20:29
