Owen Davis Prepares for Europe at the Tennessee Nationals
[Oliver Springs, TN] Eminent Factory Enduro rider, Owen Davis, made his way with his custom Eminent Haste MT to the Tennessee Nationals Enduro event a few weeks back, hosted by the Windrock Bike Park.
Windrock is notorious for it's unforgiving East Coast terrain and with it's remarkably steep descents and natural technical features, it's serves as the perfect testing grounds for what Owen will face when he makes his jaunt across the pond for UCI Enduro World Cup events across Europe this Summer.
The TN Nationals Endro event spans 7 stages over two days of racing. Owen raced in the U21 Pro Category with Day One including the first 4 stages, and Day Two featuing the last 3.
Stage 1 served to be a challenge with Windrock's infamously muddy Spring conditions still thawing out from the frozen evening prior. The upper 'enduro' sections proved difficult as the track was a mixture of ice and wet dirt. Once the track made it's way into the lower well-manicured bike park sections, the hard pack began to provide the perfect amount of grip. Owen found his way in P6.
Stage 2 and Stage 3 were located on the XC side of Windock's map. While more pedally and less elevation to descend, Owen's fitness paid off. He managed to take 7th place in both Stages.
by the time the 4th and final Stage of Day One presented itself, the track's dirt was perfect and provided Owen with confidence. Sadly, near the top of the Stage Owen received a flat tire. The mechanical made him unable to make it down with a competitive time.
Luckily it was his last Stage for the first day, so by Day Two he had his tires and bike set up to confidently take on Stages 5, 6 and 7. Stages 5 and 6 were from the top of the mountain again and Owen felt in prime form. Very happy with his riding, he kept his results consistent and finished with a 4th and 6th place result respectively,
Stage 7, his final run of the event, proved to be his defining result. Owen took 1st Place for Stage 7 and solidified his satisfaction in proving what he can do in one of the country's top Pro enduro competitions.
While his mechanical woes in Stage 4 kept him from being competitive in the Overall, it's clear Owen was on his way to an easy Top 10 finish. He looks forward to continuing to improve his bike set-up to ensure a solid finish the whole way through to cement himself as one of the top U21 Pros in the United States and beyond.
Listen to a quick audio interview recap with Owen about his time at the TN Nationals here: