Gab Amigo is on FIRE

^{photo by Carlos Castaño}

Gabriel Amigo III or Gab Amigo, Gab, is one-of-if-not the country’s top of the top enduro racer. He’s raced in more international circuits than most, and that includes the Enduro World Series and Crankworx, giving him the experience and know-how to become one of the most sought-after MTB personalities around.

Riding for different MTB brands over the years, Gab was recently in town to ink a deal with Pivot Cycles and Bike Town Cyclery. Being the enduro racer that he is, the 2023 Pivot Firebird in Silver Sunrise, decked out with XTR, Raceface, and FOX components, is the perfect NBD for Amigo. It’s definitely as fast, rowdy, and balanced as he is, evidenced in the recent two enduro races he just won (pictured below) — taking the TOP SPOT at the Carrascal Red Mountain Enduro Race and the Mt. Matutum Enduro Series.

^{photo from Gab’s FB}

And speaking of enduro racing, while building his brand new Firebird, we were able to take the time and pick Amigo’s brain as to what were the best experiences he’s had (so far) racing enduro.

CHAINLESS RUN, DUBAI 2018

“It exploded on the climb,” Gab tells us, smiling as he remembers his Aaron Gwin moment, “literally, as I was pedaling up, the chain just got ripped apart.” He continues, “It’s a good thing that after that uphill section, it was all downhill from there.” All he had to do was remind himself of that Gwin legendary moment and just pump, keep pumping, and go brake-less as much as he could the entire way down. “I remember telling myself that this is my chance, this is it. Survival!”

BROKEN HANDLEBAR, DAVAO 2022

“This one was in Nenita’s farm, Davao. I’ll never forget it because I broke my handlebar, snapped it in half…” Amigo still can’t believe it until now, that not only did he survive the drop, but he got up and dusted himself off, rode away on half a bar, and won the race. “It was so painful but I felt everything at the finish line, adrenaline really carried me through the end.”

ENDURO WORLD SERIES, NEW ZEALAND 2019

“The Enduro World Series is a goal of every enduro rider, that race in New Zealand is where I really experienced proper enduro racing,” Gab recounts for us, “imagine, 77 kilometers of racing. 45-minute liaisons, carrying my bike, it was the complete, punishing experience.” That is where Gab saw the biggest difference between racing here and there: discipline. “You can really see that the athletes there are 100% committed, mind-body-soul to riding. They take care of their bodies, eat right, drink right, train right, it’s really different.” It got so intense over there that he tells us he “ate through the tissue of my sandwich! I didn’t have time to open it or peel it, I just ate the tissue!”

FORWARD WITH PIVOT CYCLES

Now that he’s with Pivot Cycles, Gab has set his sight on more wins, more races, and more places. “I wanna go to Canada, my brother is there so that would be awesome– he’s in Vancouver.” He also wants to hit the Europe enduro circuit, taking on the rest of the world on board his Firebird.

Make sure to FOLLOW Gabriel Amigo III on Facebook & Instagram