Adam Craig of the Rabobank-Giant team took time off from his busy World Cup XC season to win the opening race of the 2012 Oregon Enduro Series on a prototype Giant mountain bike that he is helping develop. Craig won the two-day race in and around Bend, Oregon, where he lives and trains. His fellow Giant riders, Australian Josh Carlson and American Carl Decker, finished second and fourth respectively.

A talented field of close to 45 pros, including former world champion Brian Lopes, who won a World Cup Eliminator event earlier this season, showed up for the unique enduro-format event. Over two days, riders competed in a series of five timed stages and rode longer transition stages in between. The first day was comprised of four short, mostly downhill stages. Day two featured one long decisive stage.

At the end of the first day, Craig led Lopes by 6 seconds despite crashing in one of the stages. “I made a rookie mistake with my tire pressure and had to use a quick-fill on it,” Craig said. “I might have lost 20 or 30 seconds.”

In Sunday’s final, Craig was the only rider to break the 18-minute mark. In the end, he won three of five stages and took the overall. Meanwhile, Carlson, riding a Giant Trance X Advanced SL, moved up from third to second on day two, and Decker, riding his Anthem X Advanced 29er, moved up to fourth.

Craig’s main focus this season is the World Cup XC series, but he said after trying the Oregon Enduro format he hopes to fit in a few more later this season.