DURHAM – A Durham mountain biker is among one of the province’s best.
Erik Downing finished second overall in the 2022 Ontario Enduro Cup provincial mountain biking series. The series featured races from June through October in Midland, The Blue Mountains, Horseshoe Valley, and Millbrook.
“When my mountain bike journey started a little over a quarter of a century ago I hoped I’d still be on the bike and passionate and learning at middle age,” said Downing. “To be putting it on the podium though in provincial overall race rankings near the end of my racing career is outside of my wildest dreams and is my greatest achievement on two wheels.”
Enduro Mountain Bike racing is multiple downhill timed tracks, run in a time trial format. Race times are cumulated across all these timed tracks and overall fasted time wins. Riders must transport themselves between the stages within a specified time, but are not ranked based on these liaison stages.
The format is much the same as a car rally. Race speeds can get as fast as 60 km/hr and tracks are entirely off-road, with jumps, berms, drops, rock gardens, and are usually set in wooded areas on tight single-track trails.
Enduro mountain bikes have five to seven inches of front and rear suspension, robust tires, frames, and brakes that can handle off-road terrain, and usually are made from exotic materials (carbon fibre, aluminum, titanium) to keep the bike light enough to pedal all day. Entire race length varies from 25-50kms, with about 10-15kms being actually timed race segments. While a strong fitness base is needed, raw speed and skill vs. the terrain is the determining factor in results.
Tyler Pratt of Collingwood won the series and, Sullivan MacDonald of Barrie earned third place. Downing, now 38, has been riding and racing for about 25 years in many different mountain bike disciplines. He thanked his wife Sarah, and children Ethan and Jade for their support of him in his passion.
Downing had help as well from Squire Johns Ski and Bike Blue Mountains, Specialized Canada, 4 Wheels Performance Inc. Hanover, and Atlas Brace.
Downing is also a professional qualified mountain bike instructor/coach with experience in XC, Fatbike, Marathon, Enduro, and downhill riding/racing. If you are looking for some basic direction, guiding around area trails, or tips on getting to the next level in your mountain biking journey, or qualified instruction for a young aspiring rider, contact erik.downing@yahoo.ca to set something up.
