With summer heating up, so was the action at Mountain Creek Bike Park for the first stop of the CLIF Enduro East. Friday afternoon started with a lift ride up the mountain and a short pedal over to stage one to get the pre-ride started. It was a long day in the saddle riding all eight stages. The stages featured everything you expect from a true EWS qualifier; long descents, gnarly rock gardens, and brutal uphill sections.
After a quick riders meeting Saturday morning, Airborne Factory Pilot Tommy Zula jumped right into action. Tommy had a small mishap early in stage one, putting him way back in the field with a sore ankle, but still all good to push on with the race. Photographer Andrew Santoro was in the right place at the right time to capture all the action. Stage four was Tommy’s favorite of the day (it was basically a downhill course) and was also his best stage with a 6th place finish that left him sitting 15th overall leading into day two.
With temperatures reaching the high 90’s on day two, the promoters moved the morning start times up to beat the heat. Riding clean and steady through stages five to eight on day two moved Tommy up a couple positions, ending his weekend in a respectable 13th place.
With great weather and an awesome venue, Mountain Creek Bike Park and Eastern States Cup put on an amazing event! Special thanks to all of our sponsors: Fly Racing, KMC Chains, and Box Components. Next up for the team is National Champs at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia on July 17-22.
Airborne Bicycles presents a look at Tommy Zula’s trip on two wheels from young BMX upstart to UCI Pump Track World Champion.