Trail Rider Magazine

NetRA enduro Predictions I love Enduros. If you've read this bird cage mat with any regularity than you have rightly concluded that the Enduro are my favorite form of racing - yes, it's racing. I especially love the NETRA Enduro's as they epitomize what the Enduro has historically been about: technical terrain that grinds you down and beats you up over the course of a day. I also like that there is no sissy inspired movement to make our Enduro's easier - which is, admittedly, a nearly impossible task given how inherently technical the glacially scoured New England terrain is. I do, however, appreciate the shortened courses for the Novice and Super Senior Classes - it's good for everyone. . Being a NETRA Enduro rider isn't glamorous. If you want glamour, there are other forms of racing that will serve that purpose. Being a NETRA Enduro rider means craving a steady diet of rocks, roots and mud. At some early point in your Enduro career you will mutter some variation of the phrase "holy$h*!, are you kidding me?" And once you accept the fact that every venue will be a rock and root lined serpentine trail amongst the trees, life gets easier. The guys that came to terms best with the terrain in 2012 were 1) Jim Senecal 2) Ryan Bottesi 3) Jeff Staples 4) John Sadowski 5) Kevin Novello 6) Dan Nelson 7) Dave Harris, 8) Hans Neff, 9) Dan Rheamue and 10) Richard Seymour. Most of these guys have been around for a while and are, by necessity, some of the best technical riders in the east. Heading into next year, it looks like Ryan Bottesi will not commit to the entire series as family life takes priority. Interestingly, Dylan Macritchie, a young Hare Scrambler was considering committing to the Series. I hope that he does, as it would be great to receive an infusion of young talent into what's looking like a retirement community. 68 Trail Rider The easy part about forecasting next year's results is that most of the guys contesting it are older and not likely to surprise anyone with huge improvements over the course of a year. So, how do we see these aging sand box warriors falling into place next year? 1) Jim Senecal – It's silly to pick anyone other than Senecal considering how dominant he was last year. With the exception of being DQ'd for getting lost at the Tri-State Enduro, Jim easily won every Enduro in 2012. Jeff Staples and Ryan Bottesi closed the gap in the latter part of the season, but it's still fair to say that Senecal is riding at a whole other level than everyone else in the series. If Jim Jim Senecal can avoid injury while contesting both the Hare Scramble and Enduro Series, he should win the Enduro Series easily. It's also important to note that Jim didn't make many time keeping errors last year, so anyone pinning their hopes on errant time keeping is likely to be disappointed. . 2 Jeff Staples Jeff has been a perennial AA rider for over a decade and managed to find some additional speed towards the end of the year; closing the Jeff STAPLES gap on Senecal. However, the 1 2 www.TrailRider.com

• Cover