It's been a BIG season for Sovereign Cycle team rider Jillian Thatcher! Not only did Jill finish her first ever Enduro World Series race this year in Whistler, but this weekend she WON the 2017 overall of the Canadian National Enduro Series in the open women's category! Go Jill! We are very proud of all that she has accomplished, so to celebrate a fantastic season we've asked Jillian to reflect back to Crankworks and share her opinion about racing, specifically why she thinks that everyone should give it a go at least once.
Downhill racing comes down to a few minutes of autopilot riding that seems to go by in a matter of heart beats. Rider, machine, race course, weather, preparation and luck all contribute to the final result. What most people outside of the race tape don't see is the week’s worth of preparation that goes into that single race run. With that single run in mind, here’s a day-in-the-life diary (or 7 days to be exact) for Sovereign Cycle team rider, Anthony Evans at the 2017 Crankworx Canadian Open DH on this entry of Race Diary.
For a long time Williams Lake managed to keep their secrets relatively safe, but with local legends like James Doerfling, and Mark Savard propelling the ‘Puddle’, it was only a matter of time before there would be a leak. When your secret is so good, it catches the attention of high profile events like the BC Enduro Series (BCES) two years in a row, you can easily predict that things are about to get busy, real busy.
Even though I grew up on Vancouver Island, I’d never been to Cumberland to ride. Maybe Cumberland wasn’t even on the map as a ride spot back in the 90’s and early 2000’s, I don’t remember…
I cut my riding teeth on the short, wet, technical trails of Victoria and now often long for something more rooty, more rocky, and steeper than what the Okanagan has to offer so, I travel to ride as much as possible.
