French Suspense - Samoëns EWS Day One
Take your plan for the weekend, shake it up, then throw it away. Whatever you thought was going to happen this weekend quite simply didn't. When the heavens opened this morning and an unexpected thunderstorm closed in over the mountain the entire script for the day was thrown out of the window. From then on things continued to veer off course with a couple of big injuries delaying racing and requiring the second run on stage two to be cancelled, to the weather changing completely in the late afternoon and attempting to cook us where we stood. And that's before we even get to the drama that happened when the clock was ticking...
Take whatever you thought was going to happen and pay no attention. Between changes in weather, changes in schedule, and changes in track conditions, today was as random as they get.
It was welcome back to Ludo May after breaking his collarbone in Rotorua and his team manager, Flo, was clearly happy to have him back.
Fred Glo looks on as racing finally got underway after a few hours delay. With thunderstorms and serious injuries threatening to cancel stage one, he was more than relieved to see the timer start ticking away.
Justin Leov was relaxed this morning, the weight of the series lead didn't seem to weigh heavy on his shoulders.
Isabeau Corrdurier cruises past a French farm house on stage one. She is sitting fifth after the first three stages of racing.
Anne-Caroline Chausson was more than a bit under the weather and had to retire with health issues after stage one and looks set to miss the next the couple of rounds.
Stage one was a massive effort and Tracey Moseley was happy to have gotten it out of the way. Bonus points for doing so one minute up on her nearest rival.
Nico Vouilloz set the pace on the first stage and backed it up with consistent times through the day to hold the overnight lead.
The current top privateer, Mark Scott, shakes the water out of one of the trees trackside as he slides down stage one.
Curtis Keene had an eventful stage one, going down somewhere on the upper part of the stage.
Jared Graves is back at it, but crashes and a broken brake lever on stage one have left him chasing at the end of day one.
Eddie Masters threading the needle through the slick mud at the bottom of stage one.
Rene Wildhaber crashed three times on stage one after pouring rain moved in after practice. He lost 43 seconds on that stage alone, but would get redemption with a 4th place on the final stage of the day.
Jerome Clementz stormed down the slick stage one to take the win but would struggle later in the day, eventually settling into 4th overall.
On stage two the conditions were turning for the women which meant the mud was drying and clogging the tires.
An already big day made bigger by changes in weather and course holds requires an even bigger sandwich. Matt Wragg, no stranger to surviving French enduro came prepared for himself and three others.
Florian Nicolai is one of the most talented bike handlers on the planet. On this section most of the amateurs were struggling to get through without crashing - the catch berm actively tried to kill you. Whereas Florian spotted the photographer on the exit of the corner and bust out an easy manual down a 30% grade slope.
Remy Absalon had a great start to the day with a 2nd on stage one. The 29" wheels fitted to his 27.5+ bike seems to be working well here in the French Alps.
It's been a mixed day for Graves, after stage one he was frustrated after a couple of crashes and a broken brake lever put him 30 seconds back - yet the pace to only be that far back after such an incident-filled run shows the speed is definitely there.
Josh Carlson likes to set his bike like his moto, and is not scared to hit stuff hard.
Did we mention there are sharp rocks everywhere?
Thomas Layeyrie has a real breakthrough ride - he's been doing well at national races and today turned that form into a great ride on the international stage.
Matti Lehikoinen learns a little more each race in his first semi-serious year of enduro racing. We are excited to see what the future holds for the former DH star whose career was cut short after a long list of injuries.
Cecile Ravanel carried on her run of solid form and took a comfortable second behind Moseley in the absence of Chausson.
Anneke Beerten holds down a solid third headed into day two.
Richie Rude continues to show amazing form this year and has been the most consistent racer of the day here in Samoens. He is sitting 2nd overall going into Sunday, just 6 seconds back.
Here are at least 8 of the 6 seconds Richie Rude is trailing by. He crashed off course, then ran back up to where he broke the tape and still managed to finish with the top guys on stage two.
Things didn't really go Justin Leov's way today, after losing a minute to a heavy crash on the first stage he could only manage 17th this evening.
Francois Bailly-Maitre took the win in La Thuile last weekend and used that confidence to propel him to fifth after day one.
It was a big ride for Thomas Lapeyrie and a celebration was in order at the finish.
After a tough, disappointing day for Rene Wildhaber the fountain in the center of town offered welcome relief.
The rare confident smile from Nico Vouilloz as he heads for home after day one. In the lead.
About the Photographers
Matt Wragg • Age: 32 • Years Shooting: 3 Maybe best-known as a long-standing member of Pinkbike's European editorial team, Matt is also a successful commercial photographer. As the first English-speaking photographer to follow and document the nascent European enduro scene, he was shooting enduro well before it became a marketing buzzword or a shade of blue. Today he is still one of the few photographers to make his living following the discipline and has built up an enviable client list that includes many of the top teams and brands in the world.
MENTIONS: @EnduroWorldSeries / @mattwragg / @davetrump
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Keene and Absalon on 29ers, nice !
Big up to F.Bailly Maitre just back from his injury (a crash just before the finish lane in Scotland where he broke is shoulder) and straight in the top spots ! The new colors on his BMC 29 are a bit too flashy to my taste...
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