EWS Pro Rides - Preview

This is the first in a new series of articles, where I follow a pro-rider through their thoughts and processes of bike set up during a tough week of practice, and through gruelling race days. The Enduro World Series has taken the sport to another level of technology, testing and training. Bike development has been relentless over the last three years, with designers and athletes striving to find the perfect balance for this complex sport. A balance that certainly isn't easy to come by, mixing downhill tracks with climbing, low speed technical nadgery with high speed and huge compression. Plus the fact that these bikes need to be pedalled up to 80 kilometres in one day and occasionally upwards of 2000 metres. This demanding variation has lead to electronics, on-the-fly geometry adjustment, ever changing suspension settings and an influx of carbon. Riders have spent hundreds of hours in the off-season at home tuning and tinkering, often only to find a new venue needs a wholly different approach.


First up, the man, the myth the legend - Nicolas Voullioz - and his Lapierre Spicy Team in Rotorua, New Zealand. It's no secret that the ten-time World Downhill Champion is an expert in bike set up and race preparation, if not the benchmark? But how does the tropical terrain in the Southern Hemisphere compare to the gravel and dust of Provence? How did he adapt to battle through the forest, mud and roots, seven stages and sixty kilometres?


Nico put in a solid sixth place finish on the Lapierre yesterday, find out later this week how he attempts to perfect the bike for race day. Prototype tires and linkages, differing shock tunes and lighter wheels for more flex, yes, more flex. Thanks to Lapierre for providing me with a production model of the Spicy to race on myself, and compare against 'The Alien's' race machine, and Nico himself for giving me the privilege of tracking his trials and tribulations through the week.

Over the next seven months, at each EWS I will be following a different athlete and machine. We've got all the big-hitters lined up, to reveal their secrets, tips and tricks, giving you the inside line on what it takes to challenge the top ten.