Journey to the centre of the murk

Crankworx’s Garbanzo Enduro DH is not your everyday downhill race. Billed as the longest and toughest DH course in the world, it’s a 15 minute (mortal speed: more like 45) rip down from the very top of the Whistler resort to the very bottom. With anything over about five minutes being considered “long” in DH racing, the “enduro” tag is entirely appropriate. That’s a long time to be going flat out.

Being the hard-working, conscientious worker that I am, I took the lift up for the beginning of the race and gradually worked my way down the course, shooting as I went. Four hours later, I’d just about made it halfway, tired and jumpy from constantly straining to hear riders approaching from behind at warp speed as I picked my way down the course, slipping and sliding as I went.

Moderately slimy

Handy photographer shelter

Tree’s a crowd

Given that I’m not wont to excessive acts of professionalism, I opted for a sneaky downlift on the gondola, then hiked a couple of hundred feet back up the course to catch the pro men and women finish the race, never further than a shout away from the GLC patio bar staff.

The race itself? I knew that Sam Hill had won the men’s race, but had no idea about anything else. After hanging around for an hour and a half in the rain waiting for the podium presentations to start, I gave up. And I didn’t have the cheat-sheet press release that so many less honest correspondents use to reconstruct their recollections.

The official results are out now, though. Justin Leov was second ahead of Andrew Neethling, with Britain’s Marc Beaumont a fine fourth. Fifth was perhaps a bit of a surprise, with 4X specialist Brian Lopes showing that he can ride fast for more than 45 seconds at a time.

In the women’s race, it was a Brit one-two, with Tracy Moseley nine seconds up on Fionn Griffiths, who was a clear minute ahead of third-placed Joanna Petterson.

What tyre for…?

Welcome to the jungle

Riders in the mist

Just in case the riders weren’t wet enough…

Point and chute

Sam Hill – rockin’

All pics: Dan Barham