Over the last 12 years of competing, I’ve raced across most cycling disciplines, including track, road, cross-country MTB, cyclo-cross, gravel, criteriums and fixed gear criteriums. However, there is one discipline I have yet to dip my toes into. I've always enjoyed and been skilled at riding downhill, but while downhill MTB racing unnerved me, the idea of something in between XC and DH sounded ideal. So after some persuasion by friends, I entered my first MTB enduro, signing up for my local round of the Southern Enduro near Queen Elizabeth Country Park. I was expecting some dry, dusty trails for mid-July, but was greeted with slippery roots and a lot of loam instead.
Enduro races are a in a straightforward format that typically consists of multiple timed downhill sections, known as stages, with untimed uphill or transfer sections in between. Riders set off at 20-30 second intervals, each racing as fast as they can for each timed section and, when added up, the rider with the quickest time across all sections wins.
