In the time leading up to NZ’s first-ever Enduro National Champs, I had been having an up-and-down start to my season. With a 1st place at the first local round of the year followed by a disappointing 6th at the same venue two weeks later.
Luckily (or unfortunately) these races didn’t have as much impact on the rest of my season as the National Champs would (as there were UCI points up for grabs). This meant I had a much more important goal, one that the start of my “pro” career would be reliant on. After doing some quick math, my goal became to finish top 15. Which would, in theory, guarantee me enough points to qualify for the pro field at the EDR rounds this year.
Day one of racing was a “pro stage” type of deal. It was pretty nerve-racking, I did not have anything close to a dream run, but I did manage to stay somewhat smooth and on my bike and earned myself 12th on the stage.
On day two, I focused on trying to maintain that same speed from the previous day, whilst battling the twist of very different (wetter) conditions. I ended up with a mixed bag of runs but essentially kept pace at 15th all day, even with a solid crash on stage 3 and a mechanical that left me chainless on stage 4.
I managed to finish the weekend in exactly 15th place just scraping in with my top 15 goal. It’s a result I am happy with on a day that I wasn’t so happy with.
Next up for me are the first two EDR events of the year in Tasmania, which I’m super excited about. I’ve never ridden there and the trails look absolutely amazing! – Elliot Smith
All photos: Digby Shaw
