Falcon wrote:
So here's a dumb question from a moto guy, turned MTB'er:
-Isn't Enduro technically harder than Downhill?
What I mean by that is, Enduro seems to me basically the same thing as Downhill, except you are riding a slightly less capable bike and you also have to pedal the thing back up the hill or over the next to get to your next competition.
Am I way off base here? Is the competition level in the Pro Enduro classes less intense because the series is young? Are there other factors I'm missing?
It seems to me that maybe Sam is just looking for a change to keep things fresh, not necessarily running from a challenge.
It's a different kind of challenge and toughness. If you go to a world cup DH race and watch it in person, you'll see that those guys are pinned 110% on their race runs. The margin for error is almost non existent. If you're not healthy, I can completely see that having an effect on you mentally and in turn I'm sure is extremely frustrating. Enduro is different. Sure it's tough and a huge challenge, but the times are a bit more spread out, certain stages benefit certain kinds of riders and to me it seems to me more like a chess game. I'm sure they're going all out, but there are more tactics involved in order to conserve energy, ride to your strengths and protect your weaknesses. I just don't see that to a large degree at the world cup level in downhill. Those athletes just have to be so spot on in terms of fitness, bike set up and fitness...there's very little room for error.