After a quick stop in Germany, Team WTB piled themselves, two bikes, two wives and a baby for a nine-hour van ride to Vars, France—a few days before the French Enduro race was set to begin. And because French Enduro races strictly prohibit pre-riding the courses, the team resorted to hiking and riding some of the nearby trails to get a feel for the terrain—an important factor for guys with one set of wheels! Check out this link to see how the guys built their TCS wheels on the fly with only a hand pump, a tire lever, and a hotel cup. Maybe Gus helped a little too…
TCS with Moeschler and Weir from WTB on Vimeo.
French Enduro Series—Vars
Weir and Moeschler competed as individuals on three different courses that took roughly 15-20 minutes to descend depending on the course: 2,738 feet (morning course), 3,162 feet (afternoon course), and 1,332 feet (evening course). Because they needed an all-around good tire for varying conditions that could perform on rock, shale, wet grass, as well as hard pack, the guys opted to run the Bronson 2.3 All Mountain TCS tires. With no flats, the Bronson turned out to be the go-to tires that held their own on both days of the race that involved 11 runs (seven on Saturday and four on Sunday).
With the bikes and bodies in check, the guys were primed for a good race. However, after their first run, it appeared they were following the course a touch closer than the competition and it was reflected in their finishing times. The locals promptly advised them about not “cutting the course enough.” That in mind, the next run was faster, despite the magically appearing course tape in sections where there hadn’t been on previous runs. By Sunday, Weir was riding fast and finished the day in second place (sixth overall) with Moeschler in the top 20.
See you tomorrow with Part Three of our tale...