SOR Enduro Championship - Round 2 Preview - Sprint Enduro in the Rockies!
Story: Noel Flatters - Editor - The Enduro Bureau
May 17, 2024
Note: This story was corrected at 7:45pm to reflect new information that Shelby Turner (Enduro Engineering / GasGas / FXR Moto) will be racing Round 2.
Phil Chainé comes back West for Round 2 with the Series Leader plate this weekend.
Image credit: Noel Flatters (The Enduro Bureau/Superfine Media)
Pro Fields Remain Stacked for Second Round of Canada’s Premier Sprint Enduro Series
After an exciting first round just under a month ago the SOR series returns with another stacked pro field racing at what has to be one of the most beautiful race venues in the world at the foot of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Round 1 saw stacked Pro fields and great battles for the top step of the podium on both the men’s and women’s sides. In Pro Men we saw Phil Chainé (KTM Canada / Fly Racing Canada) come west from Quebec to take the win over his multi-time ISDE World Trophy Team teammate Jared Stock (KTM Canada / Leatt / SOR Enduro) and new young Pro Kale Cuthbertson (BFD Moto / Husqvarna Canada / Rad2.0). Canada’s first lady of off-road racing Shelby Turner (Enduro Engineering / GasGas / FXR Moto) was pushed hard all day to take the win over ISDE World Trophy teammate Lexi Pechout (BFD Moto / Husqvarna Canada / Fox Racing Canada) while back home in Alberta on a break from her GNCC/NEPG campaign in the Eastern U.S.. Destiny Slingerland (HC Forest Products / EnduroTek / Team Mountains Edge) took the third podium spot.
Shelby Turner (seen here in Round 1 action) will be back with the series leader plate this weekend.
Image credit: Noel Flatters (The Enduro Bureau/Superfine Media)
This weekend we’ll be seeing Chainé back out west to defend his series leader plate, and we’lll also see the addition of Canadian ISDE World Trophy Team member Owen McKill (GasGas Canada / Riders Edge / TLD) to the mix before he heads East for Round 1 of the iconic FMSQ Cross-Country series. We’re also going to be seeing Kevin Dupuis (BFD Moto / Husqvarna Canada / Fox Racing Canada) taking the start following his strong win at the first round of the Alberta Provincial Off-Road Championship last weekend, and a P66 overall at Hoosier GNCC two weeks before that. To top it all off, Canadian Hard Enduro legend Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) has confirmed that he plans to be racing this weekend, too, as prepares for the next round of the US Hard Enduro Series and his primary season goal at Erzberg Rodeo coming up at the end of the month.
Trystan Hart, pictured here at the 2024 Grinding Stone Hard Enduro earlier this spring, is planning to be at Round 2 .
Image credit: Noel Flatters (The Enduro Bureau/Superfine Media)
McKill had the better of Stock last year at this stop of the series, beating him out by just under 13 seconds over the 10 tests. If we drop Chainé and Dupuis into the mix (using Chainé’s 17 second victory over Stock in Round 1 and Dupuis’ 23 second deficit to McKill at Round 2 last years as benchmarks), we’re in for some very tight racing this weekend. This will be a great opportunity to see where Canada’s top ISDE stacks up against each other, too - not something we often get to see domestically!
Lexi Pechout, seen here in action at Round 1, will be pushing Shelby Turner hard again this weekend.
Image credit: Noel Flatters (The Enduro Bureau/Superfine Media)
On the women’s side we will be seeing Turner again at this round thanks to a break in her U.S. racing schedule. We expect to see another hard-fought battle between her and Pechout, especially with Pechout coming off winning the BFD Moto Spring Super Series in Calgary. Slingerland (P3 in Round 1), and former Canadian ISDE World Trophy rider Kristen Broderick (Cycleworks Calgary / KTM Canada / Fox Racing Canada) will be back, too, after finishing just off the podium in P4 in Round 1 and then winning the first round of the Provincial Off-Road Championship series last weekend. It’s going to be tough to be Pechout, but anything is possible on race day and it would be very interesting to see if one of the Pro women could prevent her from taking over the series lead.
Jared Stock held nothing back in his all-day battle with Chainé at Round 1, but came up seconds short to take P2.
Image credit: Noel Flatters (The Enduro Bureau/Superfine Media)
The SOR Enduro Round 1 Pro Men’s Podium. (c) Phil Chainé, (r) Jared Stock, (l) Kale Cuthbertson
Image credit: Chris Grosenick (Grizz Moto Photo)
The SOR Enduro Round 1 Pro Women’s Podium. (c) Shelby Turner, (r) Lexi Pechout, (l) Destiny Slingerland.
Image credit: Chris Grosenick (Grizz Moto Photo)