Entries for The Gorge Enduro2 (Sunday 8 December 2019) open Friday 8th November at 19h00 – at enduro2.co.nz
Ali at trailAddiction has been pioneering the concept of team-format Enduro races since the inaugural Enduro2 in Les Arcs, France back in 2015.
The laid-back, fun, ultra-social event was born out of the desire to provide epic trails of the type seen in their Trans-Savoie Big Alpine Enduro, but in a format more-easily-accessible to many more riders.
A second Enduro2 has been hosted in Davos, Switzerland since 2017, and it was widely rumored that a 3rd location might be on the cards, for some time.
Ali is super excited to have the chance to develop the concept to another level by launching two new events in New Zealand this season.
The first, on 8 December 2019 is a pitch towards intermediate level riders (Grade 3 to 4 or Blue/Red) with The infamous Wairoa Gorge Bike Park providing the backdrop.
The Gorge – originally created as a personal, private playground for the exclusive use of an un-named mountain-biking billionaire (no, we are not making that up!) – has a reputation for knarly trails, that even the best riders have nightmares about – but Enduro2 sets out to dispel that myth completely.
The part-shuttled part-pedal-accessed course is squarely aimed at Grade 3-4 riders, although the trail choices are such that advanced riders with have plenty to grin about too.
Unlike other team-events, the Enduro2 pairs-only format really is all about teamwork. Rather than average 2 individual times, in Enduro2 riders simply get 1 time – that of the slowest rider in the pair. In other words, working as a team from top to bottom is the only way to get top results.
The second Enduro2 NZ will be held over Easter Holiday weekend (April 2020). This full-fat, 3-day Enduro2 will make use of all the best trails in and around Ali’s home base of Nelson, at the top of the South Island. Details are still under wraps, but as always you can expect plenty of high fives and a no-holes-barred, original perspective to the choice of trails used in the race.
Check out the Enduro2 Global Site to follow news on the whole series, or sign up to the event’s Facebook Page
