If ever there was proof needed that enduro as a racing format is growing here in the UK, then here it is. 2016 will see two ‘British Enduro Series’. One series will be sponsored by Marin Bikes (as reported here) and the other by Cannondale. Great news. There is bound to be some confusion arising from the fact that there are two ‘British Enduro Series’, but at least now there is a clear distinction between them… you have Marin or Cannondale.

Here’s the full press release and race dates for the ‘Cannondale British Enduro Series’ (and it is good to see that none of the dates clash with the Marin series):

CANNONDALE PARTNER WITH BRITISH ENDURO SERIES AS TITLE SPONSOR

American performance bicycle brand Cannondale have partnered with The British Enduro Series (BES) as title sponsor for the 2016/17 series, creating The Cannondale British Enduro Series – (The Cannondale BES).

The series will comprise of five key events held around the UK with venues in Scotland, Wales and England making the series truly national. The format will comprise of six individual timed stages over the event weekend. The first three stages will be raced on Saturday afternoon and those combined times will count for seeding; with the remaining three stages being raced on Sunday afternoon for the overall position. Open practice will commence each morning for that afternoon’s race stages. The final stage of each day will finish through the BES Arena adding to the impact of the event.

The Series will be delivered by the experienced team behind The British Downhill Series (BDS), the most successful and high profile, national downhill race series in the world.

The Cannondale BES timing partners are Action Sports Timing (AST), who are at the forefront of timing technology with the very latest Active Pro Transponders, GPS synchronised systems, wireless data transmission and their own Satellite system. AST will deliver live results with full social media integration and a text messaging service to text results directly to the competitor’s smart-phone.

The female and male riders will equally share the prize purse of £8,000 in cash with a further £20,000 plus in series prizes being available for those making the top five steps of the podium.

Event Director Simon Paton said, “With Cannondale on board as the title sponsor for the next two years, it allows us to build the British Enduro Series into one of the leading national enduro series in the World with a brand synonymous with enduro racing. We have brought in industry-leading partners, workforce and infrastructure to deliver The Cannondale BES equal to our revered British Downhill Series. The Cannondale BES will be the pinnacle of UK enduro racing, attracting the very best teams and athletes the UK has to offer, culminating in the National Enduro Championships at the final round in August.”

Cannondale Marketing Manager Clive Gosling commented, “We are very excited to partner with Si and his accomplished team on The Cannondale BES. With world class organisation, venues and support from a brand that’s been at the forefront of enduro from the start, it’s going to be a great series and will highlight the hotbed of enduro talent that lies in the UK. We’ll be at every round with our race truck along with full Trigger and Jekyll demo fleet and look forward to bringing some special guests from our Global Overmountain Team to various events.”

Dates:

Cannondale BES Rd1 12/13th March
Cannondale BES Rd2 30/31st April
Cannondale BES Rd3 7/8th May
Cannondale BES Rd4 11/12th June
Cannondale BES Rd5 13/14th August – Final and National Championships

Venues to be confirmed on October the 31st.

British Enduro Series Website here.