Without a true national championship, Canadians have wondered for years who the fastest off-road racer in the country is. All that changed in 2009 with the Canadian Enduro Championship (CEC). The CEC uses the FIM enduro format of timed special tests connected by transfer sections to determine the fastest enduro racer in Canada. For 2009, that racer was Savona, B.C.’s Bobby Prochnau, who absolutely decimated the competition.
With more sponsors and greater rider turnout, the second edition of the CEC kicked off on July 3 and 4 in Blairmore, Alberta. The big news leading up to the event was that 2009 champion Bobby Prochnau would be unable to defend his #1 plate after injuring his shoulder. With Bobby out, the field was wide open. Names like Schrage, Nelson, Cuthbertson, Wojo and more were mentioned, but there definitely wasn’t a favorite.
Climbing high
The Full Gas crew laid out a technical enduro course in the scenic Rocky Mountains near Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. Starting each loop in town at the local hockey arena, the course headed out into the woods and up, up, up! After a short special test featuring steep hills and tight woods, the transfer trail climbed high into the alpine, offering spectacular views of Crowsnest Mountain and the surrounding ranges. After dropping down into a valley, racers were greeted by the second special test. This test was long, as in 10-15 minutes long. It started with a creek crossing, then racers ventured through slippery roots and bike swallowing mud holes before climbing up a creek bed and into drier and faster terrain. A long, fast downhill path littered with loose rock brought racers to the finish.
The final test started almost right after #2 finished, though it was shorter. Starting with loose rocks and technical trails, the test dropped down the mountain and sped up on some old skidder roads to the finish. After the final test the transfer trail climbed one more mountain before taking racers back to the finish at the arena.
In the pro class, racers did three loops of the demanding course. After finishing second overall in 2009, Jason Schrage proved he’s the man to beat in Canadian off-road racing. Jason took his CRF450R to first overall on both days. Behind Schrage was a close battle between Shane Watts (yes, that Shane Watts) and Ryan Graffunder. The two would swap positions over those two days, but Watts’ better overall time earned him second overall on the weekend with Graffunder (who won the top pro junior award in 2009) ending up in third.
Behind Graffunder was another young speedster, Ryan Durkee. Durkee won the small bore E1 class and ended up fourth overall. Rounding out the top five was E3 winner and 2009 CEC #3 Geoff Nelson. The eastern racers continued to struggle with the hills of the west. The top rider from the east was Brian Wojnarowski who finished seventh overall on the weekend.
Going extreme
After wet conditions in Alberta, temperatures heated up at Apex Mountain Resort for rounds three and four. Apex was all about the special tests which consisted of three very different varieties: motocross, enduro and extreme. The motocross test kicked off the day. Taking less than three minutes for the top racers, the test was similar to an old school motocross track. After the cross test, the course followed old roads up to the top of the ski resort for the enduro test. This test started off blasting across rocky ski slopes, then narrowed to technical off-camber singletrack snaking down the mountain. After the enduro test a long, bumpy transfer trail took the racers to the highlight of the weekend: the extreme test. This test featured man-made obstacles similar to an endurocross. Logs, rocks, concrete culverts, teeter-totters over concrete barriers and a greased up tire pit made even the best racers in the world struggle to put in a clean test.
Once again, the pros (and amateur A’s) completed three laps each day. Jason Schrage showed that his results in Alberta weren’t a fluke as he went 1-1 again in both the E2 class and overall. Geoff Nelson took the E3 win and moved up overall to second while Shane Cuthbertson kept the rubber side down in Apex, improving his results to second in E2 and third overall. Ryan Durkee won the E1 class and again was fourth overall, and easterner Wojnarowski moved up to third in E2 and fifth overall.
Behind the pros were 104 amateurs tackling the same course as the pros. Arguably the most impressive rider of the weekend was 17-year-old Tyler Murray. Murray stole the show with his wild riding style in the extreme test, on his way to first place in the amateur A class and 15th overall!
Once again, the western leg of the Canadian Enduro Championships was a huge success. Organizers saw a 25 per cent increase in rider turnout over 2009 and the racing was closer than ever. The series will resume in September in Ontario and Quebec. For more information, check out www.worldendurocanada.com.
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