Yesterday saw over 250 racers descend on a picturesque Wairoa Gorge for the annual Dodzy Memorial Enduro. As with last year, the event attracted some of the biggest names in mountain biking, both locally and internationally, and this year the field was even broader with three big name freeriders in the mix along with World Cup DH racers and Enduro Specialists. Just a quick glance through the yesterday’s seeding results will give you an indication just how fierce today’s competition will be.
And speaking of today’s competition, shit is going to get real. Last year there were a couple of tech tracks in the mix but this year the three stages are on some of the gnarliest trails I’ve ever ridden—as Craig McGinnity puts it, “3-2-1-Survive”. But in a country where people seem to be losing the idea of what Enduro actually is, today’s courses aren’t catering for the mass but for pure technical mountain bikers. And really, that’s why people come to Wairoa and why this event sold out in four minutes.
So while there’s a small minority here that are truly scared about what today holds, they are just that, a minority. The majority of people we spoke with here yesterday are insanely excited about the stages and waiting to see how it all unfolds. 
And with Justin Leov seeding faster on yesterday’s short track over Enduro specialist Jamie Nicoll, it will be interesting to see if those results stick to the eight-minute-plus gnarfest courses of today…
We will bring you full results as soon as we have them, so stay tuned.
