Race Recap: Women’s Bombshell Enduro

By: Annabelle Whitehead

Race prep

The day before the Women’s Bombshell enduro race we pre-rode all the stages, and since most of them were in the park, they were easy to lap.

On our first run down, we went at a decent pace, stopping at anything we wanted, to look at lines or any features. Then on the second run down we rode at a faster pace without any stops to get an idea of racing the trail. I left feeling strong and ready for the next day.

My plan and strategies

My plan for this race was to have clean, fun runs while enjoying the experience of doing a women’s enduro with my friends without getting too caught up with the results. Coming into it, my strategy was to take it easy on the climbs to save my energy for the descents.

In most races, I usually like to think of my first stage as a warmup and really push myself on the last stage to bring it all home without any regrets of woulda, coulda, shoulda.

Race day

I woke up on race day feeling pretty confident about the stages, and excited to race. I headed over to the registration at 8:00, and we were off at 8:30! My friends and I took the first climb at a comfortable pace since we had to climb all the way to the top. Once we arrived, we were greeted by volunteers dressed up with spray bottles in hand to cool us off. We topped off our water at the aid stations and were ready to go.

The first stage went well, and I was ready for the next one, which did not go as well as I had hoped. I blanked and turned down the wrong trail, but stopped before I went too far down, running my bike back on track and continuing on.

We rested our legs the second time up when we took the chair, and completed stage 3, which had a bit of flow with wall rides and a small jump over a creek. Next, it was time to go ride the stages not in the park, which were short, but very loose.

After completing stage 5, we made it to the Margaritaville aid station, where we hit a piñata while going over a jump. I lost my traction on the landing and slid out, scraping up my knee pretty good, which of course was the only time I wasn’t wearing my knee pads.

After fueling up, we continued to the village and got to take the gondola up to the final stage, which was my best. We were happy to have completed a long day of racing.

I was feeling good until…

When we were biking back to the village, we needed to go down a hill with a small dip at the bottom, which I didn’t see. I came in with too much speed, and went over the bars face first into the gravel. I couldn’t feel my face, and when I put my hand up, it was covered in blood!

There were many kind volunteers there who helped me out by giving me ice, then driving me to the first aid tent. Once the bleeding and swelling had stopped, it didn’t look too bad. I had just bit my lip very deep and it was pretty swollen.

Mental ups and downs while racing

While racing, you definitely will experience lots of ups and downs. You just have to stay focused and not let it rattle you. Both my crashes made me doubt myself, especially the second one so I had to get my confidence back afterwards.

On the plus side, I won an awesome pair of glasses for gnarliest crash! After finishing the race

I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment and it felt good. Would recommend the Bombshell Enduro for anyone who wants to try it out!