{"id":74987,"date":"2022-08-25T15:00:03","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygonbikes.com\/ews-burke-the-shortest-ews-ever-but-one-of-the-most-physical\/"},"modified":"2025-08-06T15:09:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T08:09:05","slug":"ews-burke-the-shortest-ews-ever-but-one-of-the-most-physical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.polygonbikes.com\/us\/ews-burke-the-shortest-ews-ever-but-one-of-the-most-physical\/","title":{"rendered":"EWS Burke: The shortest EWS ever, but one of the most physical"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From the buzzing crowds at Whistler, the Enduro World Series moved down south to the Eastern state of Vermont, USA. The East Coast is a new stop on the EWS calendar and is rapidly becoming a top destination for fast and fun mountain bike<\/strong><\/a> trails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tree-lined tracks in EWS Burke offered riders a mixture of loamy singletrack threading through the mountain\u2019s pine and birch forest, peppered with technical, slippery, rocky features plus some foot-out, fresh, grassy corners. Covering a total distance of 33.9km over six stages, and over 2,000m<\/strong> of elevation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practice day had the riders riding five stages, including the famous Rude Awakening MTB trail which drops nearly 600 vertical meters from the very top of Burke Mountain, all the way down to the event village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConditions were treacherous, due to the rain the night before, but the ground improved at the halfway point and the soil conditions were amazing.\u201d ~ Dan Wolfe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a great mix of trails on offer, from rocky tech to perfect loamy corners, the Burke Enduro MTB<\/strong><\/a> race included a bit of everything to challenge the riders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Day 1 Pro-Stage: Distance 2.70km | Descent 459m<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Upper J-Bar was a mountain bike<\/strong><\/a> trail of two-halves \u2013 the first half was slick rock and rooty tech, and the second half was down the hyper-fast single track flow.

\u201cI tried to ride smart and focus on where I could push and where I needed to stay smooth. \u201cThe Pro-Stage was sketchy but I held it together and pushed at the bottom \u2013 stoked with Top 20.<\/em>\u201d \u2013 Brady Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 2 Stage 2: Distance 2.74km | Descent 224m<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stage 2 was the second-longest stage of the round. Lower J-Bar featured a flowy top ridge line section, with a sting in the tail and some punchy climbs at its base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA tough race, with climbs that went straight up the hill and a few stages (S2) that felt like they didn\u2019t descend at all! The conditions were perfect, the stages were really fun, and the support from the crowds were amazing!\u201d \u2013 Brady Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 3: Distance 1.61km | Descent 224m<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wayne\u2019s World into Black Forest featured some natural drops and gaps for those willing to roll the dice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 4: Distance 1.58km | Descent 202m<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Enchanted Forest beckoned in Stage 4. The shortest stage of the day, featuring ski piste grassy turns leading into a forest full of bike park features and man-made goodness. A favorite for most riders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 5 Queen Stage: Distance 5.21km | Descent 572m<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Queen Stage, Rude Awakening, was a savage rocky test. It began with an extremely physical section and then hurtled down with Vermont\u2019s slickest roots and biggest rocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCrazy tight racing in Burke. You have to be really tidy and not throw away time on every single stage. The pace is coming back, I\u2019m stoked!\u201d ~ Dan Wolfe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 6: Distance 2.70km | Descent 459m<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Repeat of the upper J-Bar into Lower Excalibur, which the riders raced on the Pro-Stage in Day-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEWS Burke, the shortest EWS ever, but one of the most physical. That was the hardest 20 miles I\u2019ve ever done in my life! Thrilled with P25.\u201d \u2013 Matt Stuttard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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