Photo Recap: Kamikaze Enduro - California
It was the final day of the 2018 Kamikaze Games and time for the enduro race. This stop is part of the California Enduro Series and is also a qualifier for the Enduro World Series. The riders had an early start and had to deal with the brisk and windy conditions. Stage 1 took riders down the trails Brake Through, Flow and Smooth Operator. This first stage was by most accounts a great warm up and started off with a fair amount of pedaling as the trail traversed across the mountain. The trail continued its flowy feel for the remainder of the stage. After riders were feeling warmed they were brought to the top of the mountain to start Stage 2 on Skid Marks trail. The course was loose and there were plenty of deep pumice pockets waiting to grab unsuspecting riders. Once riders were done braving the open, freeride feel of Skid Marks, the course continued down Roma's Road, Bridge the Gap, Lower Skid Marks, Lincoln Express and Follow me. After a gradual climb and quick lift ride racers found themselves at the start of Stage 3. This course took riders down Sunset Strip, Velocity and Twilight Zone. Part of this stage was featured in the downhill race the previous day and it was no surprise that this section had some big time splits between the riders. Moving on to Stage 4, racers started by bombing down the fire roads of Kamikaze. This section is all about high speeds and having the courage to leave your brakes open. Towards the bottom of the mountain, the riders bounced back and forth between more fire roads and the trails White Bark and Richter. This would be the final stage for the beginner and sport categories, as only the experts and pros moved on to the most challenging Stage 5. The last stage of the day would prove to be the most challenging. Racers were tired from the previous four stages and this final stage put riders up against the technical Chain Smoke trail. This stage featured numerous rock gardens, drops and pumice fields. Many of the racers had hang ups, foot dabs or all out falls on this track and staying on your bike was the key to putting down a fast time. The 2018 enduro course was fast, technical and an overall great race. Full results can be accessed via the link at the bottom of the page. Till next year Mammoth!
Stage 1 started out on the most mellow trails of the day. A good warm up for the race to come
Fast and flowy. David Stringfellow took third in Junior Pro Men
Travis Claypool making shapes
Travis Collins was the fastest man in the Masters 40+ category
Stage 1
Lots of pedaling on this stage
Up and over
Ryan Gorman looking fast out of the corner
Bjorn Temple digging in to the pumice
Stage 2 took riders down the top of the mountain
Skid Marks on bikes are better than skid marks on undies
Lots of rocks up top of the mountain
The views are bad from up here
Michael Lee having some fun on stage 2
Myles Trainer took fourth in Pro Men
Rachel Strait putting the hammer down to a second place finish in Pro Women
The fasted lady of the day, Zephyr Sylvester took the win for Pro Women
Brian Butler on Stage 2
Brian Lopes was the quickest rider on course today and took the W for Pro Men
Matt Guntert taking the bronze in Pro Men
Keeping it loose
Nathaniel Lewis keeping traction
Is this Mammoth or the moon?
There was no shortage of switchbacks on Stage 2
Tucking to keep the speed up
Dropping in from the very top
The mountains are calling...
The wildlife of Mammoth Mountain
Stage 3 took riders through some tight sections with lots of wooden features
First place in your quadruped category, Billy Buck
Pro Men racer Todd Renwick on his way to fifth place
Cole Kersey was on a hardtail all day, that can't be easy on the bike or the body
Taking the line around the stairs seemed to be the quickest way through this section
Delete
John Achey on Stage 3
It's nice to see some different bikes out there, here is Trevor Boldi on his Pyga
Fourth place finisher in Pro Women, Cicily Kessmann
Xylena Hoppen on Stage 5
Calvin Giannini riding one of the rock gardens on Chain Smoke
Pick your line
Todd Renwick on Stage 5
Ryan Gorman on Stage 5
Leon Hanson taking the highline
Taking second for Pro Men was Evan Geankoplis
Brian Lopes on his way to the win
Putting the Santa Cruz Chameleon through the ringer
Third place in Master Pro 40+ Jeff Evans
Joshua Kahn on Stage 5
Some end of course shenanigans
Pro Women podium
Pro Men podium
Results
Women
1st. ZEPHYR SYLVESTER
2nd. RACHEL STRAIT
3rd. HEIDI KANAYAN
4th. CICILY KESSMANN
5th. AMANDA PROPST
Men
1st. BRIAN LOPES
2nd. EVAN GEANKOPLIS
3rd. MATT GUNTERT
4th. MYLES TRAINER
5th. TODD RENWICK
Click Here for Full Results
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@phile99 - awesome job! Mammoth is a tough one!
Didn't want to hijack your comment just pointing out what @Brahma is also mentioning in comment above.
It is the racers that make this series go. Not sure how long the CES has been around (it is my sons 2nd year competing), but send them your comments/suggestions/constructive criticism (phile99, rjp1 and others).
It is the best enduro series in CA/NV we have at the moment. How can we make it better?
Pretty good: Billy Buck
Favorite photo caption: Delete.
Random announcer sounds: "Christian Husband in Second!" This guy is getting famous.
Hey, check it out I'm on Pinkbike! Wait, why does it say Delete?