Story: Rachel Gutish | Contributor - Enduro.Media
January 27, 2024

“The US Sprint Enduro format is awesome for all levels of racer, from the beginner-level rider to the fastest pro! A really cool thing about sprint racing is you can get super focused and make it highly intense, because every second counts. It’s you against the clock. You are also given a chance to rest between tests, which allows you to make changes to the bike or just hang out with your competition before it’s time to hit another test. Best of all, there is no time-keeping required, it is all about speed and hitting your marks. And at US Sprint Enduro, you know you are racing against some of the best sprinters in the world!”

Series founders Billy and Nancy Schlag

The US Sprint Enduro Series (USSE) is one of the four major AMA-recognized series on the east coast (the others include GNCC, National Enduro, and US Hard Enduro). As such, you will often see top factory riders from the major teams competing in these events.

Sprint Enduro was originally developed in the United States as a version of the European-style racing done at the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) or in the EnduroGP series. Having the ability to race and practice this format is one of the many reasons Team USA has been able to step it up at the ISDE in recent years. The first example of the sprint format was the Full Gas Sprint Enduro Series, founded by Jason Hooper. However, Full Gas has since been bought and sold several times, and gone through several format changes. Now it is US Sprint Enduro, established in 2021 by Billy and Nancy Schlag, that is the AMA-recognized, premier sprint series in the United States.

The format is simple. There are two separate racecourses called “tests”, named after the “special tests” used at the ISDE. Traditionally each test is ridden three times each day for a total of six scores each day and twelve scores each weekend. You do not race head-to-head with your fellow competitors in this format. Instead, each rider enters the test one at a time, and is timed to see how long it takes them to complete the test.

Riders entering the tests are organized by class, with the faster classes starting first and the slower classes going later, to minimize the chance of needing to pass other riders in the tests. There are limits on how soon you can take off after another rider enters, and how long you can wait as well. Deciding when (within the allowed window of time) you want to enter the test involves some strategy. If you know the rider going in ahead is faster than you, you might take off at the earliest allowed time, in the hopes of using them to pull yourself along. If you need to make up time on a competitor who is ahead of you, it might be a good idea to wait as long as possible, that way you can gain more time (logically assuming that a competitor would not let you past them, even if you aren’t racing head-to-head). Tests are completed in order, and the procedure is very structured, with all riders completing the first test before moving on to the second, etc.

The two tests are quite different from each other. One is a “Cross Test” which is faster and more open. While parts of it might be in the woods, it is more common for it to take place in open fields, grasstracks or even parts of motocross tracks. The other is called the “Enduro Test”. It is tighter and slower than the cross test, and mostly takes place in the trees (though there is singletrack, it isn’t as tight as most traditional enduros are – think more hare scramble-style trail)

The tests range between 3-5 miles. There is no 25-foot rule either… both sides of the racecourse are marked with ribbon, and you are required to stay within the ribbon at all times (if you inadvertently exit the course, you are required to re-enter as close as safely possible to where you left it). This replicates the tracks seen at ISDE, without including the long transfer miles between the tests… another advantage, given that it usually takes less total land to run a sprint enduro than it does for the typical off-road race does.

Riders have enough time to rest and reset between tests, making the sprint enduro format more a pure test of speed and ability to concentrate and hit your marks perfectly, with fitness not playing as big a role as it does in other formats of off-road racing. Riders are also allowed to preview the tests on foot or bicycle beginning the afternoon before the event, so they can memorize the tests and plan their lines out in advance.

It takes most of the afternoon for the adult riders to work their way through all of the tests (the youth riders run an identical format – though sometimes modified tests – as the adults do, but they begin racing in the morning, and all of their tests are completed before the adult race begins). At the end of the day, all of  a rider’s times are added together, and the rider with the fastest combined time wins. Series points are paid out on a per-day basis, but awards for the weekend are handed out based on the combined times of both days. Since all adult riders run the same tests, it is easy to compare your scores against your friends in a different class, or even the top riders in the world.

If you are interested in learning more about US Sprint Enduro, or want to check out their series schedule and maybe give the series a try, their website can be found here (hyperlink)