EWS 2016: The Season So Far - The Middle Part
La Thuile was a riders' favourite when it last featured on the circuit in 2014 - only narrowly losing out to Nevados de Chillan for the best race of the year. While the altitudes may not be as lung-busting as Colorado, the young, jagged Alps provided for what was surely the biggest mountain race of the year. The tracks were unforgiving too, with one former World Cup racer remarking that the fifth stage was essentially the Val di Sole race track, but extended indefinitely. Unlike the series' last visit here the weather played nice this time, to put together what would be the betting man's early favourite for 2016's race of the year...
At the start of the week the weather threatened to repeat the conditions of 2014, but come the race days the clouds disappeared and the sun shone over the mountains.
La Thuile always provides some of the most stunning backdrops anywhere in racing.
Sam Hill bagged a second place in Ireland, riding consistently all day. In La Thuile he went one step further and although he still ended in second, was consistently second place on every stage, ahead of the season regulars. What's more, he was enjoying himself more than he has on the WC DH circuit in recent years. His move to focus on the final two EWS races of the season over the World Cup comes down to one simple thing: he's a man who just loves riding his bike and the EWS is offering him a great chance to do that.
While Tracy may have bested her in Ireland, Cecile took the race in La Thuile to reaffirm that she is a class apart from the rest of the field right now.
Richie Rude was in commanding form to show that Ireland was just a blip on the radar in his campaign to retain his title.
Photo Epics:
Intro
Practice
Raceday One
Raceday Two
Privateer Special
For round five the series headed to the thin air of Colorado - always a punishing weekend for riders who don't live over a mile above sea-level. The organisers worked hard to put on something that would surprise the riders. In a country where it is notoriously difficult to build new tracks, they convinced Aspen-Snowmass to dig in almost an entire day of racing on fresh tracks. Coming from Europe that may not seem like a huge achievement, but honestly, it was a huge step that took a massive amount of work behind the scenes. On day two the racing took a turn towards the more usual fare people expect in the US, but the important thing from the first day was to show the resort what riders prefer and expect for racing at this level - and expect things to get even better for next year.
You need to get oxygen however you can in Colorado...
The big news as practice began was that Richie Rude went down hard early on, tweaking his shoulder and putting him on the backfoot for the rest of the week. It's a testament to how tough he is that he skipped day two of practice, but raced over the weekend to salvage vital series points.
In the men's Under-21 competition Adrien Dailly continued to dominate, putting in a ride that would place him in the senior top ten.
In the women's competition, Cecile Ravanel continued to dominate, making it 4/5 in 2016.
After a difficult start to the season, Jared Graves put himself where many expected to see him all season, taking his first victory aboard a Specialized in commanding fashion.
Photo Epics:
Intro
Practice
Raceday One
Raceday Two
Round six took the series back to its annual stop in Whistler. While the venue may not change, the race does each year, mutating and evolving to keep riders on their toes. This year the race added more pedaling compared to last year, but continued to mix trails on different sides of the valley to offer a real diversity to the challenges on track. All this was topped off by the final descent down the iconic Top to the World trail which would ultimately decide the race.
Whistler saw the legendary Anne-Caroline Chausson back on track after her battle with cancer last year. Despite the illness, she showed she still has the bike handling skills by taking third on the shorter stage four, even if her fitness may not have been what it once was. This may well be the last time we see the Olympic gold medalist and 18-time world champion on track at world level racing as she plans to step away from the race circuit next year.
Racing in Whistler takes no prisoners as the day broke both bodies and bikes, as Alex Cure found out the hard way, taking a big knock to the head on the final stage.
Whistler-native, Jesse Melamed, has started to really come into form this year, becoming a frequent visitor to the top ten. In Whistler, he stepped it up even further and only a heroic ride from Richie on the final stage denied him the overall. While at first he was clearly stunned and heartbroken at being edged out at the last second, once it settled in that he had taken second it was clear how much the result meant to both him and his family.
A difficult morning did little to slow down Cecile Ravanel as she shrugged off mechanical problems on the early stages to once more stamp her authority on 2016.
When we talk about a champion's ride, we talk about overcoming adversity to shine through. That is exactly what Richie Rude did in Whistler. After problem-filled stages one and two, he regrouped on stages three and four and utterly dominated the final stage to make one of the biggest comebacks we have ever seen in EWS racing. Going into the final two rounds his lead is such that he only needs to ride conservatively in the final two rounds to ensure he holds onto that number one plate for 2017.
Photo Epics:
Practice
Raceday
We are excited to see what unfolds at the next two rounds.
MENTIONS: @EnduroWorldSeries / @mattwragg
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*I can never tell one way or the other because I'm usually riding in places so much hotter that I'm having trouble dealing with the heat...