[NMCycling] New Mexico Enduro Cup - wrap up and planning for 2015

[Damian C via Bike-racers]

Mountain bikers,
We are preparing for the 2nd season of the NM Enduro Cup and would like
your participation in planning a bigger and better season in 2015.

First let's look back on this season and summarize the 2014 highlights:
Good marketing plan and event promotion, attendance was 80-90 racers at
each race of the series (2 AFBP races and 1 Sandia race). Strong support
from racers who've raced Enduro previously...they were stoked to see NM
have our own series.
The Los Alamos exhibition event was to plan for next years timed race in
the series, attendance was in the 30's. Went well and they are gunning for
a solid 1 -2 day event next summer.
The real proof that ENDURO is fun and will be a huge growth discipline is
the Jr racer draw <18yrs old.
Angel Fire OSO High Enduro - 12 racers
Sandia Bomber Enduro - 21 racers
Angel Fire Enduro Finale - 21 racers
So* ~25% of all racers at Sandia and Angel Fire Finale were Jr's!*! Enduro
is how we will get kids on bikes and keep them on bikes!

Some of the lessons we learned this season include:
*Timing* - TT start format works much better for timely results than the
"show up to the line and shred" start format. Without a timing chip system
or a more complex timing system the old fashioned tried and true TT start
lists and results spreadsheet worked best. We did this at the last Angel
Fire event and results were posted quickly and efficiently. We will work
toward having results between stages for next year, or much quicker if we
can get a timing system.

*Course marking* - Don't assume anything!
We had a few events run well and one not so well, had to throw out a stage
and almost a second stage. The lesson learned is to have a course marking
guide so that all events are marked in similar fashion so that different
volunteer staffs don't mark differently. Course marking for racers who
'don't know the trails' is critical and with the 200 milliseconds it takes
to decide on which trail to take at an intersection the correct direction
needs to be easily and quickly identifiable for unfamiliar racers and
racers who 'think they know the course' as well.
With a uniform marking guide we should be able to address the main issues
that arose this season. We will make this guide reflect how the Big
Mountain Enduro and North American Enduro Tour mark courses.

The issue of how to keep riders on course if a rider blows through the
course marking tape on accident is still up for debate. Suggestions?

*Looking ahead to 2015 and beyond:*

*More events: *
We need comittments from promoters to be included in the 2015 NM Enduro
Cup. Our team will host two events next year and we would like 3 other
promoters to step up.
There is a good possibility of more *XC & Enduro weekends* at races like
Coyote Classic in El Paso, Signal Peak Challenge in Silver City, or High
Altitude Classic in Cloudcroft.
*A multi-day Enduro event *would be sweet...could be in the east mountains
of Albuquerque or up north in Los Alamos, or Angel Fire/Taos or anywhere we
there is enough quality vertical to support 6-10 5-20 minute stages.
*New events *could pop up at Cedro Peak/Otero Canyon, Santa Fe, ??
If you have a good idea and would like to promote an event please let us
know.

*Improved racer attendance:*
With improved timing, course markings, and additional races in the series I
realistically see that we can improve attendance by 20-40% next year and
 draw more XC and DH racers to Enduro. With a variety of events and
different difficulty levels across the event stages I know this is a
discipline that will appeal to the broadest variety of racers across the
dirt spectrum.

The key is to get more racers to cross over and try Enduro for the first
time - because then they are hooked! We can discuss ideas to get more
racers to cross over but a good starting point to draw more XC racers is a
"first timers category" or a "first year category". Please bring other
suggestions to the meeting or email me.

*Improved racer performance:*
We also need to create more difficult stages for Pro's and Amateurs alike
to foster the growth of the racers who are improving their skills year over
year. We want the courses to evolve with the racers so that constant
improvement both from a fitness and technical handling standpoint are the
key to winning NMEC events.
We would like to team with MTB coaches to assist riders to improve their
fitness and handling. This will create an upward vacuum that can produce
top level riders who can compete at the regional and national events.

Thanks for reading this email and thanks in advance to those who want to
step up and see ENDURO succeed next year. We will host an Enduro meeting in
December to plan out 2015 so speak with your team or crew and get fired up
on Enduro!!


Cheers,

*Damian Calvert*
*NM Enduro Cup *

www.mountaintopcycling.com
www.nmendurocup.com
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