Living up to the Name

Enduro Round 1 Oparau

maddix park mx

The first round of the National Enduro Champs took place at Oparau on Saturday in temperatures reaching 30+ degrees and 29.5 degrees in the shade of the pits.

Intermediate-vet 50+ rider Marcel Steens felt the enduro really lived up to its name.  It was definitely all about endurance. “I was out there 5.5 hours,” he says, “and the last time I pitted, one hour before the end, I almost gave up. It was really hot, I had blisters on blisters and I was already pretty sore but I forced myself to “endure” and carried on. If you DNF in these races you lose all your points.” He had already been penalized 20 points for not having a light on his bike but lost more points by losing time in one of the 6 terrain tests that made up the race. “I got lost 3 times.  It was dusty and I didn’t see the signs.  By the time you realize that you’re going the wrong way and then you backtrack – slowly, in case someone else has done the same as you – you have lost several minutes,” explains Marcel. “But, rather stupidly,” he adds, “I got lost in the same spot the second time round!”

“Oparau is an awesome place, really dramatic and I love the challenge of enduro” continues Marcel. “I’m sore, but I expect to be sore. It would have been worse if I hadn’t done any training. Next round coming up is at Whangamata which can be tough if it’s wet. In the next couple of weeks, I’m going to up my skills by practising on my trashed tyres.” Marcel  came 6th in the Intermediate Vets 50+.  1st was Lewis Speedy (Te Kauwhata) , 2nd Mark Scott (Tairua) and  3rd Brenton May (Auckland).

Reuben Steens’  (pictured left) race was one hour shorter.  He was gutted to lose 20 points for no headlight – something that will definitely be sorted for the next round. Reuben got lost in the same place as his dad and his mentor, Reece Burgess. The flags didn’t seem to be in the logical place and they along with a number of other riders completely missed them. Reuben finished 7th in the Junior 15-16 age group which was won by Tom Buxton (Helensville) with Taylor Grey (Cambridge) 2nd and Josh Hunger (Stratford) 3rd

According to Reece Burgess (pictured below), Oparau has a lot of elevation changes and always an enjoyable place to ride. Rocks and river crossings are common ground and the terrain can be harsh so it's a good place to exercise caution and enjoy the ride as it is easy to get into trouble. Knowing a top pace error at this event would cost dearly, he "played it safe" and had a good result, finishing 4th overall and second in his class behind overall winner Chris Birch.

The first stage had a “blind” test,” Reece reports, “but surprisingly mine was the 2nd fastest time. Every other test, except the 3rd, went ok despite an inconsistent stall once or twice per test.

“On the 3rd test I was caught out with what can only be called bad marking.  I had already been off track twice with other riders trying to find the track but this is fine when it’s not in a timed section. It was a Y intersection and the track naturally leaned left (the arrows were on the right bank simply not visible enough for a race) I followed many other bike tracks to the left, when I noticed the other marks fading away, after some exploration I made it back then was unable to pass another rider for the 2nd half. I expected the day could be over but hoped the test would be thrown out due to so many missing the turn. It wasn’t.  The reasoning was that “only 5 (top & angry) riders got lost in that test” which is absolute rubbish as I had 4 people sitting beside me alone and it was remarked on the next lap to prove it BUT that is enduro, you play the cards and see how they stack up at the end.”

Full results are on Silver Bullet .

You'll be able to see most of the top enduro riders in action at The Te Puke A & P Show on Saturday February 9th at the Te Puke Club Endurocross.

 
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