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Big Mountain Enduro riders to descend on Purgatory this weekend

Race scheduled for Saturday and Sunday
A mountain biker competes in the Big Mountain Enduro last summer at Purgatory Resort. The event will return to Purgatory this weekend. (Cody Olivas/Durango Herald).

The Big Mountain Enduro returns to Purgatory Resort this weekend, bringing mountain bikers in from all over to test themselves on the mountain’s trails.

As a premier Enduro tour in North America, the race series is known for hosting some top mountain bikers from across the globe on the country's biggest and most challenging mountain bike terrain.

The discipline combines aerobic, cross-country fitness with grueling climbs and white-knuckled downhill racing. This weekend at Purgatory, racers can expect two big days of racing, a mix of backcountry and lift-accessed stages, high-altitude trails and big descents.

Official practices are scheduled on Thursday and Friday with racing taking place on Saturday and Sunday.

This year’s Big Mountain Enduro presented by Specialized kicked off at the Shepherd Mountain Bike Park in Ironton, Missouri, May 14-15, with Richie Rude and Bex Baraona winning the pro competitions.

Rude, along with Kera Linn, won the BME’s pro tour last year.

The tour’s second stop, which was scheduled for June 25-26 in Big Sky, Montana, however, was canceled after “a historic snowfall year, snow covering the entire mountain, and unprecedented amount of flooding in the region,” according to the tour’s website.

After the Purgatory stop, the tour will head to Brian Head, Utah, Aug. 27-28 and then hold its finals Sept. 17-18 in Bend and Mt. Bachelor in Oregon.

With the Big Sky event canceled, it makes the remaining races even more important. The BME series’ overall title will be awarded to the athletes with the most points from three of the four events in their divisions, meaning the competitors can only drop their lowest score.