There aren’t many podiums that a mountain biker from Durango hasn’t stood on. After Ainsley Haggart’s performance at the Enduro World Series in Whistler, Canada, on Aug. 6-7, there’s now one less.
Haggart raced in the women’s U21 competition and, despite it being her first EWS competition, she finished in the top three on all six of the race’s stages to reach the podium with a second-place finish.
“It felt awesome,” Haggart said. “I kind of surprised myself.”
Haggart qualified for the EWS after finishing seventh at the U.S. national championships July 23 in Winter Park in the pro/open women’s competition.
The stages on the EWS, however, were much longer, and the transfers were also long and timed, she said.
“It was probably the hardest race I’ve ever done, but it was really fun, and the tracks were really cool,” she said.
She called the stages, which were heldat the Whistler bike park and on Blackcomb mountain, “super steep and rooty.”
“The stages were super-fun,” she said. “I loved them because they were really technical, and I love that style.”
The competition started with a pro stage, and Haggart finished third in 11 minutes and 19.39 seconds. Haggart then placed second on Stage 1 (7:58.13), third on both Stages 2 (5:52.15) and 3 (10:53.22).
On Stage 4, however, Haggart was the fastest rider in her division, finishing first in 8:19.67.
“That one was really long,” she said. “It was probably the steepest and most chunky stage.”
Haggart then finished the competition with second-place finish on the final stage in 11:19.98 to reach the podium in second with a total time of 55:42.54.
“I felt really good on my bike all week. I really enjoyed riding the trails,” she said.
Paz Gallo Fuentes of Chile won three of the stages to finish first overall in 54:53.67 while Lauren Bingham of the USA grabbed the final podium spot with a time of 56:13.68.
“I was out there with a bunch of super rad ladies in my category and the pro women,” she said. “Being in that environment, racing some of the best people in the world and riding next to some pro athletes that I’ve looked up to for years was incredible.”
Haggart, 19, began riding with Durango DEVO when she was 5. She graduated from Animas High School in spring 2021 and attends Quest University in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada.
She rides for Corsa, which is a bike shop in Squamish and competes on a Forbidden bike with 170 millimeters of travel up front, 154 in the rear and a high pivot.
She said getting into the EWS Whistler happened so quickly that she won’t ride in any more EWS races this year, but plans to compete on the world series again next year.
She’ll conclude her race season on the Norco Canadian Enduro Series with races in Sun Peaks Sept. 17-18 and Whistler Sept. 24-25.
At the first stop of the Canadian series this year at Harper Mountain, May 28-29, Haggart finished second in the women’s U21 division. She then placed fourth at the Crowsnest Pass stop before returning to the U.S. to race.
“This is the first season I’ve signed up for a bunch of races,” Haggart said. “I’ve trained and put a bunch of effort into it, and it’s been really rewarding.”
