Last year's Whistler round of the EWS was a monster by anybody's standards. With 2,500m of climbing and tight transfer times, for most riders it was a test of fitness and determination - and that's before you consider the descents. More than anything else it was a symptom of a series searching for the balance between professional limit pushing and amateur accessibility - between challenge and fun. Talking to the organisers after it was clear that they felt they pushed things too far, so for this years race the pendulum has swung back in the other direction. This weekend's race might be the least physically demanding on the calendar this year, there are only two transfers to climb (and riders have plenty of time to get them done), with the rest handled by the famous Whistler lift system. Some of this is because they realised that the Crested Butte race the week before was going to be an immense physical challenge for riders, and partly because they want the riders to enjoy the race.
Make no mistake, this is still not going to be an easy race - riders will still cover 50km and the stages are long and technically demanding, but that is what racers want. You are more likely to see riders switching to long-travel frames and forks, coil springs and downhill casing tyres than you are to see a 120mm 29er on track this weekend. Every year the circuit comes here the riders fall in love with the trails anew and this year they have been given a race that lets them focus on just that...