WHAT IS ENDURO MOUNTAIN BIKING?
ENDURO: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE… AND WHY?
Mountain biking is a dynamic, multi-faceted cycling discipline. Depending on your skill level and where you live, it can mean very different things to different people. Some people prefer a casual pedal down a dirt path or fire road, while others consider flying down post ski-season resort mountains their cup-of-tea. And most of us… we fall somewhere in the middle, enjoying the spectrum of what mountain biking has to offer.
Whether you are an MTB racer or weekend warrior, there is one term that you have probably heard thrown around a lot over the past few years: Enduro. What is it? Why should you care? We’re here to help.
Enduro What?
So, what is enduro, anyways?
Enduro is a form of mountain bike racing, but you will also hear “enduro” used as an adjective to describe a certain trail, bike, piece of mountain biking equipment or clothing. When used as an adjective, the person is comparing what he/she is talking about to something that you would see or find in an enduro racing event.
Enduro mountain bike racing started out in Europe with influence from car rally racing and motorbike enduro racing. The concept was simple: get yourself to the top of a mountain and race to the bottom time-trial style.
In general, modern enduro races involve anywhere from 3-6 timed stages. The timed portions of the race are mostly downhill but can vary in steepness, length, and difficulty depending on location. Between each stage, there will be untimed “transfer stages” that are mostly uphill. Depending on the race, transfer stages can involve sections of hike-a-bike, a chair lift, and/or good old-fashioned pedaling.
Enduro combines elements of all racing disciplines from the physical fitness necessary for cross-country racing, the mental stamina necessary for XC-style stage races and the bike-handling skills to navigate technical gravity-fed singletrack.
You’ll find out that each enduro race has a different style, fitness and skill requirement – and, often, a set of rules unique to each event. For example, some races just require that you cross the finish line of the last stage by a certain time in the day to get your name in the results. Other races have a time limit for each transition stage.
But for the most part, enduro is meant to be a fun, approachable and exciting form of mountain biking.
wonderful