Photo Credit: Dave Trumpore
The Andes Pacifico Enduro Presented by Santa Cruz ended Saturday the 15th and once the dust settled, as it was hot and dusty, Jerome Clementz, the unstoppable man of enduro, was once again victorious. Jerome ran a WTB Volt Team and WTB Moto-X Clamp-On Grips to victory. Lars Sternberg of Transition Bikes took 5th overall and it marked his first race running full WTB product. Lars ran WTB KOM i23 27.5 TCS Rims, a WTB Volt Team Saddle, WTB Tech Trail Clamp-On Grips, and prototype WTB 27.5" TCS tires. Lars is a strong, tough, rider and he gave us the inside line on what he faced:
"Hey boys, thanks for keeping tabs on us down here. It's been a pretty incredible experience. The race was absolutely insane, and one of the most brutal things I've ever done, no joke. We we're wondering after the first day if both our bodies and our equipment would even make it to the end. It's like the wild west down here, anything goes. And they're not afraid to make you earn it on the uphills, or downhills. I don't know that I made it through a stage without at least one off the bike. And did not approach any finish without being bloodied by cactus or any number of trees or bushes. It seems like everything here has teeth."
Hot, temperatures were in the upper 80's F (30 C) making for a drastic change for northern hemisphere based riders like Lars and Jerome. Notice the angry Yucca / Cactus-like pointy plant in the lower left, better have tough TCS tires... Photo Credit: Sven Martin
Lars took 2nd in stage 7 (there were 13 stages total, 150 km / 90 miles of riding, and 33,000 feet of descending) and 3rd in stage 6 despite incredibly rocky conditions. The race started high in the Andes, at La Parva (that's Spanish for the Parva, the feminine version of parvo an illness puppies are susceptible to) Resort outside of Santiago and pins it all the way to the Pacific, hence Andes Pacifico.
From the Andes in the background to the inviting Pacific Ocean, racers cover ground quickly like Jerome in picturesque pin-it mode. Photo Credit: Dave Trumpore
An excellent photo journey wrap up from our friends at Vital MTB can be found here: http://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/Victory-at-Sea-Andes-Pacifico-Enduro-Final-Day,7108/Slideshow,0/sspomer,2
Lars shredding on full WTB product, watch out 2014 season! Photo Credit: Dave Trumpore / Vital MTB
Congratulations to Jerome and Lars, here's to another great season of enduro racing!