Adventure and Travel

The EzelEnduro: Enduro on the next level

· By BikeHubCoreAdmin · 73 comments

In an attempt to push trail riding to the next level and introduce riders to properly tough and technical trails, Daniel Dobinson and his team put together an Enduro event not yet seen in South Africa.

Five long and relentlessly rocky stages awaited the 47 strong field over the past weekend. Testing and pushing their bikes and personal abilities far beyond expectations. Naturally there were more than a few mechanicals and serious bails, but in the end everybody arrived back at the campsite, relatively unscathed, albeit physically and mentally exhausted.

Riders faced 38km of trails with 1,594 meters of climbing. Not unthinkable for a day’s pedal but when the equivalent of climbing Table Mountain is hike-a-bike, things start looking a bit different. With stages names such as Gimme Stitches, Brakedown, and Scorched Earth, it was always clear that things would be tough, but no one quite knew just how hard.

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An invite only, flippen’ hard Enduro with raw, rocky and blind riding with stages up to 4 km long with steep/long elevation drops on each stage. The primary goal of event was meant to push rider and machine to new limits and have a big adventure with mates.
Daniel Dobinson

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The problem with the Ezelenduro is that we can never use the word ‘technical’ to describe a trail ever again…
Meurant Botha

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The best thing about Ezelenduro is that now if someone asks, how much hike-a-bike is there at Trans-Provence? I can say, you remember Ezelenduro, a couple more hours than that….
Gary Barnard

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Holy moly boys. That was unbelievably good. I’ll take the hint about walking shoes seriously next time.
Carlos Marquez

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Top 10 results:

1. Matt Lombardi – 25:10.318
2. Gary Barnard – 25:46.983
3. Oli Munnik – 26:23.415
4. Mark Hopkins – 26:33.394
5. Rene Damseaux – 26:51.288
6. Adi van der Merwe – 27:36.039
7. Julien Louw – 29:08.222
8. Jaco le Roux – 29:17.817
9. Andrew Savage – 29:42.546
10. Pieter Henning – 29:52.062

Another success story within this event was the custom timing app developed by Pieter Henning. An Android app, easy to operate with very limited user error potential, and no GSM coverage required, it worked a charm and hopefully thus put an end to the WC Enduro timing woes. Give that man a Bells!

A huge thanks goes out to Daniel and his team for putting together this event. To Pieter Henning for the timing app and Red Bull, Cape Brewing Co for sponsoring some music and beer. Lastly to Deon Malherbe for allowing us to ride on his land and the awesome trails he has made for us.

See you guys again next year…

Comments

Headshot

Nov 24, 2015, 1:32 PM

See you next year - well yes, as long as you get invited of course. What the....

JohanMalan

Nov 24, 2015, 1:33 PM

That looks awesome!!!

wolver

Nov 24, 2015, 1:35 PM

Looks like fun.

Rad photos!

The Bike Brew

Nov 24, 2015, 1:59 PM

well done - looks like loads of fun!!!!

Odinson

Nov 24, 2015, 2:20 PM

Great photos and it looks like a killer event.

 

I'm all for the principle of #Enduro®©, but some of the **** these okes are wearing looks stupid. For instance:

 

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What's up with those goggles? Why are they so big? What is their purpose? Is it just a scene thing that I don't understand?

LazyTrailRider

Nov 24, 2015, 2:23 PM

Great photos and it looks like a killer event.

 

I'm all for the principle of #Enduro®©, but some of the **** these okes are wearing looks stupid. For instance:

 

What's up with those goggles? Why are they so big? What is their purpose? Is it just a scene thing that I don't understand?

 

They're specifically wider to fit over a pair of glasses (without which this rider can't see), with the added benefit of the straps aligning straighter with the sides of the helmet so they're also more comfortable.

 

Do you think lycra doesn't look stupid?

Chro Mo

Nov 24, 2015, 2:34 PM

Saw this on the Ibis feed on Instagram - looked amazing!

Odinson

Nov 24, 2015, 2:40 PM

They're specifically wider to fit over a pair of glasses (without which this rider can't see), with the added benefit of the straps aligning straighter with the side of the helmet so they're also more comfortable.

 

Do you think lycra doesn't look stupid?

 

Form and function. It's a fine balance.

 

Also, there are these things called contact lenses. They've been around for quite some time. Maybe this dude should look into them. 

 

Anyhoo, I think some of these guys have watched too many Matt Hunter videos.

 

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Heinrich Hattingh

Nov 24, 2015, 3:09 PM

Form and function. It's a fine balance.

 

Also, there are these things called contact lenses. They've been around for quite some time. Maybe this dude should look into them. 

 

Anyhoo, I think some of these guys have watched too many Matt Hunter videos.

 

attachicon.gifMatt Hunter.JPG

Hi Odinson, don't be a P#$@. Contacts don't work for me, hence the glasses.

Robodog

Nov 24, 2015, 3:12 PM

Hi Odinson, don't be a P#$@. Contacts don't work for me, hence the glasses.

 

Keratoconus? 

Robodog

Nov 24, 2015, 3:13 PM

Saw a video of a section of a stage. Very rough but awesome riding. Would love to do it next time.

rouxtjie

Nov 24, 2015, 3:16 PM

Hi Odinson, don't be a P#$@. Contacts don't work for me, hence the glasses.

whahahahha

 

Like dr phil would say...dont be P3$@ odinson, be lekker.

LazyTrailRider

Nov 24, 2015, 3:17 PM

whahahahha

 

Like dr phil would say...dont be P3$@ odinson, be lekker.

 

Exactly like that.

Dan Dob

Nov 24, 2015, 3:26 PM

See you next year - well yes, as long as you get invited of course. What the....

Invite only format kept the field small and safe. Trails were superduper gnarly so we didn't want to have riders there with unknown skills. Sorry you were not invited but you can blame your friends for not doing so!

Odinson

Nov 24, 2015, 4:02 PM

Hi Odinson, don't be a P#$@. Contacts don't work for me, hence the glasses.

 

200w.gif

NicoBoshoff

Nov 24, 2015, 5:24 PM

This has changed the way I look at mtbing. Any other Enduro will now have to answer to the Ezel.

 

Thanks Dan and all involved. Was epic.

 

PS Odinson, get a life. Chop.

Matchstix

Nov 24, 2015, 5:47 PM

Weekend was a blast! the next days riding was super chilled with awesome people.

great pics mr Sadie!!

craig82

Nov 24, 2015, 8:49 PM

Hi Odinson, don't be a P#$@. Contacts don't work for me, hence the glasses.

hahahah hahah haaaaa! Never go full enduro. I think you look fast though!

Dan Dob

Nov 25, 2015, 4:46 AM

This has changed the way I look at mtbing. Any other Enduro will now have to answer to the Ezel. Thanks Dan and all involved. Was epic. PS Odinson, get a life. Chop.

Great to hear Nico! A few guys have reported back with the same kind of thinking. Glad to inspire!

Dan Dob

Nov 25, 2015, 4:51 AM

Oh and for those interested to see the results and separate stage times,  you can check them here -> http://www.irideafrica.com/ezelenduro2015results/

nox1111

Nov 25, 2015, 5:38 AM

Armpump and smiles for days!

I wish photos could do the sheer quantity, size and harshness of the rocks justice - it's just not the same trying to tell someone about a line over a step down section - and sounding like you are not using hyperbole to describe the amount of s*#t that could go wrong, and the very slim chance you have of making it out on top of your bike at the bottom of it.

Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

Nov 25, 2015, 5:48 AM

Fomo.

 

No illusions as to my current ability to keep going for that long though. Would love to see the file for next time I go up there!

NicoBoshoff

Nov 25, 2015, 5:50 AM

Great to hear Nico! A few guys have reported back with the same kind of thinking. Glad to inspire!

The other thing I realised about this type of race is that suddenly bike set up and component integrity matters.  Some serious contenders got relegated to no man's land because of parts failure, flats or just poor setup which other races let you get away with.

 

I beat some riders waaaaaaaay better than me simply because my old Alu Stumpy just refused to die.  Went for a ride yesterday without having even washed it since Ezel and the bike is as it was before Ezel.

 

Tell me again why spending R100k on that new AM steed makes you faster?

nox1111

Nov 25, 2015, 5:52 AM

Fomo.

 

No illusions as to my current ability to keep going for that long though. Would love to see the file for next time I go up there!

I would advise against going up there by yourself - if you fall and get hurt, and realistically there's a mentionable chance of that, you will be in serious trouble. 

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