Press Release

2019 Big Mountain Enduro - Stop #1, Santa Fe, NM 1


Memorial Day Weekend means a weekend of grilling burgers, drinking beer and half price sales at your favorite Macy's, but more importantly, it means it was time for the first stop of the 2019 Yeti Cycles Big Mountain Enduro Presented by Maxxis. This is the fourth year that the Big Mountain Enduro has started the season at Glorieta Camps, located 20 minutes South-East of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and once again, it was a huge success with a sold out field of racers! 

The weather leading up to the event included gusty winds, snow, hail and rain, but just before the first day of practice was to commence on Thursday the clouds opened and it left the trails in prime condition, and the sun kept smiling for the rest of the weekend which brought out plenty of supporters to cheer / heckle the athletes. 

35 miles of pedaling and 8300 feet of climbing spread over six stages meant two big days on the bike, however, once the racers reached the top of the grueling climbs, they were rewarded with gnarly, rocky, tight and steep descents - and even some pedal to your hearts content, and then some more, descents. The big days did not scare away the positive vibe though, and everyone had a huge smile on their face as they rolled across the finish line on their last stage on Sunday; albeit a tired, dust covered, (in some cases blood covered) smile.

Racing was tight all weekend throughout all categories, but by the end of day one the leaders of their respective groups were making their presence known, and were not about to give the lead up without one hell of a fight. Cooper Ott (Crested Butte, CO. Pivot Cycles) took the top step of the podium in the Pro Woman's category, with first place finishes in 3 of the 6 stages, and second place in the other 3 stages - Cooper even got a second on stage 6, with her bars 90 degrees to her front wheel following a crash just above the Chili Dog Drop (see picture below) with a running finish!!  Much like Cooper, Shawn Neer (Golden, CO. Yeti / Fox Shox Factory Team) had no interest in messing around on the hill; Neer secured his gold medal spot in the Pro Men's category with a first place finish on 4 out of the 6 stages.


The climb for Stage One was brutal in both length and elevation gained, however, the view at 10,119' was more than enough reward.

Mike West was the first to drop Stage 1 on Day 1. He ended up first overall in his category.

Eli Smith from Avon, CO. working through the trees on Stage One.

Shawn Neer pinning it to his first win of the day on Stage One.

Cooper Ott picking her way through the sharp rocks on Stage Two - more affectionally known as Janker DH.

Carson Eiswald (Golden, CO. Yeti / Fox Shox Devo Race Team) sending it through a dicey gap / drop towards the bottom of Stage Two.

Local racer, Lewis Stavrowsky (Santa Fe, NM. Janker Racing) tweaking it for the girls on Stage 3, "Jagged Axe".

Not to be outdone, Shawn Neer had to show Lewis who's boss!

Stefanie McDaniel (Phoenix, AZ. Pivot Cycles) was nipping at Cooper's heels all day, and through her consistency found a well deserved second place on the podium in the Pro Women's category.

Hungry? Arnie was sending out the good food and rad vibes to all the racers.

Kaile Vierstra (Colorado Springs, CO. Elevation Wheel Company) making the bottom double drop of Stage Four look simple.

Geoff Dunn (Colorado Springs, CO. Pro Cycling) was stoked on the first stage of day two, Broken Arrow.

Unfortunately, not everyone was having as good of a day as Geoff was...

Cooper Ott with her eyes on another stage win. A true force to be reckoned with.

"Look Ma! I'm flying!!" Cole Picchiottino (Murrieta, CA. Trek / Fasthouse)

Alicia Leggett (Missoula, MT. Knolly/PNW Components/TRP/MTN LAB) hustled her way into a second place finish on Stage 4, with an overall third place finish.

Caitlin Sullivan (Colorado Springs, CO. Bicycle Experience) creating a splash with a top ten place in the Pro Women's category.

Jubal Davis (Golden, CO. Yeti / Fox Shox Devo Race Team) spinning towards the finish line on Stage 5 "30 Acre"

Peak-a-boo! Stefanie McDaniel.

Lewis has style for days...

Shawn Neer making it look too simple.

The future is upon us...Luke Leavitt of Boulder CO racing in the Youth Groms 10-16yo category.

Nainoa Love from Durango, CO charming the trail like a well trained snake charmer.

Camille Lamarque (Superior CO. Azonic 100% WD40 GoPro) making easy work of the rock garden below the Chili Dog Drop.

Oh look at you, you fancy fella!

The heckle zone brought out a huge crowd, who had love for every rider, no matter their line choice.

No caption needed...

Scott Countryman of Flagstaff, AZ. keeping it rubber side down for a fifth place overall finish in the Pro Men's category.

Oh, oh, oh...

Argh, argh, argh...

Well, sh*t.

Curtis Keene is always a crowd favorite.

#longlivechainsaw

Max Sedlack (Viejo, CA. Specialized/FOX/TLD)

International superstar, Nate Hills (Dillon, CO. Maxxis / Yeti / SRAM / RockShox / Ergon / Smith)

Cooper still got a second place finish on Stage Six, even with her handlebars like this!?!?

Shawn Neer didn't even blink...

As soon as racing finished, the heavens opened over Glorieta and it rained. Oh, how it rained. Cooper Ott on the top step!

BME Stop #1 Santa Fe

Women's Pro Open Final Results

1. Cooper Ott  0:43:42.08

2. Stefanie McDaniel  0:44:58.14

3. Alicia Leggett . 0:45:06.96

4. Lia Westermann  0:45:17.76

5. Isabella Naughton  0:46:09.68

Shawn Neer holding down the top spot.

BME Stop #1 Santa Fe

Men's Pro Open Final Results

1. Shawn Neer  0:37:50.72

2. Carson Eiswald  0:38:12.86

3. Cory Sullivan  0:38:13.46

4. Trevor McCutcheon  0:38:20.21

5. Scott Countryman 0:38:20.26


A solid weekend for all racers, fortunately there were very few injuries, and the weather held out. For a full list of all the results; Click Here. The next stop for the Big Mountain Enduro is Winter Park, CO July 13th, and it will be exciting to see if Copper Ott and Shawn Neer can keep their feet firmly planted on the top step of the podium, or if some of the other contenders have something up their sleeve!

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