This was the pre-ride I did for the Specialized Cactus Cup in October 2020. The Cactus Cup is a three-day stage race in Phoenix, Arizona that started in 1991. It features a Time Trial on Friday, a 40 mile XC on Saturday, and an "XC-style" Enduro on Sunday. It's seen pros in it's history such as Ned Overend, John Tomac, and Tinker Juarez.

Typically held in March, it was pushed to October this year due to Covid, with many adjustments made to the format to enable this to still take place. Hige shout out to Mike and Sage for keeping the spirit of the Cactus Cup alive and organizing this awesome event.

The Enduro stage is quite mild as far as Enduro races go. There is very little technical riding but enough spice to keep it fun.

I placed 8/15 on race day, not terrible, but not as good as I would have liked. The Cactus Cup is one hell of a time and a real party when Covid isn't present.

Strava Route:   / strava  

Cactus Cup Website: https://thecactuscup.com/

Video from one of the early cactus Cups:    • VTS 01 1