The first round of the 2022 Israel Enduro Series was held this past weekend at Mishmar Ha’Emek forest. The race showcased new trails, a new race location and 345 competitors! The largest number of competitors since the IES started in 2019.
The race fell on the Holiday of Purim, where it is a custom to dress in costume. This made for some interesting kit choices from the riders. Fans as well embraced the holiday spirit and showed off their crazy costumes.
The race was spread out over six stages, including two brand new ones built especially for the race. The sun came out at the end of a rainy week and brought hard-packed, perfect traction conditions.
The top three elite male riders - including series leader Yonatan Yatom - were out of the race, which left the overall wide open.
At the end of the day, it was young gun Roee Ostfeld who took the win by 0.84 seconds after battling back and forth with runner-up Israel Kaufman throughout the whole day. Tal Oren rounded out the top three in the Elite men’s category.
In the women’s field, it was Zohar Bar Yosef who took the win by over a minute! She was flying out there today and the results prove it. Noga Bernstein took second place and Liza Ya’akobok rounded out the top three.
The U21 category was on fire as well.
The large number of spectators and happy but exhausted competitors was all we needed to see how successful the event was.
Looking forward to the first-ever Israeli Enduro National Championship in Misgav on April 21st.
Photos credit: Eliran Kadus, Ohad Nir, Badoor Jbara, Uri Nizan