Crankworx Rotorua in New Zealand’s North Island kick starts the season in March. It’s the first time the festival has visited the Southern Hemisphere and also the EWS’s first foray into Australasia. Rotorua was picked for its extensive trail network set in a rich geothermal landscape of native bush and exotic forest, offering riders a mix of rooted and well-draining flowing trails.
In May the season heads north to another new venue, County Wicklow in Ireland. This stunning location in the east of the country will see riders take on the area’s natural singletrack amongst some of the country’s most dramatic landscapes. The trails there are natural and there’s no uplift, which should make for some incredible racing as riders have to be technically strong as well as very physically fit. But the reward for all that hard work will be getting to ride through Ireland’s famously beautiful scenery, not to mention sample some of the country’s world renowned hospitality.
It’s over the Atlantic for round five in August, as the series travels to another new venue – Crested Butte in Colorado. Sitting at over 9,000 feet, riders will be contending with altitude as they make their way through the area’s famous mountain passes and wildflower meadows. Crested Butte is one of the birthplaces of mountain biking and the history behind this place is what makes it so appealing. The riding will speak for itself, but that mixed with the diversity and quality of trails, big descents, surreal-looking mountains, endless valleys and hundreds of miles of singletrack is what makes it one of the best MTB places in North America.
It’s another new venue for round seven, this time high in the Spanish Pyrenees. The penultimate race of the season will take place in Zona Zero Ainsa-Sobrarbe in September. This tiny village is the gateway to a network of trails that stretches for over 1000km across the surrounding hills - riders will find themselves riding through lots of different terrain from forests to open, rocky hillsides. The tracks also pass through lots of abandoned villages – some of which are up to 500 years old.
Once again, the EWS Series will visit renowned trails as Tweedlove, Crankworx Whistler and Superenduro Finale Ligure stays on the list. Event entry for all rounds will open in January.
Round 1 - March 28 – Rotorua, New Zealand – Crankworx
Round 2 – May 23/24 – County Wicklow, Ireland – Emerald Enduro
Round 3 – May 30/31 – Tweed Valley, Scotland - TweedLove
Round 4 – July 18/19 – Sameons, France – Tribe Events
Round 5 – August 1/2 – Crested Butte, USA – Big Mountain Enduro
Round 6 – August 8/9 – Whistler, Canada - Crankworx
Round 7 – September 26/27 – Zona Zero Ainsa-Sobrarbe, Spain – Enduro Festival Zona Zero
Round 8 – October 3/4 – Finale Ligure, Italy – Superenduro
Photos: © EWS
Source: http://www.enduroworldseries.com
