Devinci Announces Oton and Wright as 2018 EWS Riders
PRESS RELEASE: @devinci
![EWS Switzerland 2017]()
Devinci Riders Bring Speed, Skill to the Enduro World Series Stage.
With a new Enduro World Series (EWS) season in sight, Cycles Devinci is proud to present this year’s team roster, ready to dominate podiums while piloting the latest iteration of the race-winning Spartan.
Frenchman Damien Oton, the “Catalan Eagle,” once again leads the charge—entering his fifth year as a pro and celebrating his fifth year with the Devinci family. Oton snatched a trio of podium finishes in 2017, capping a remarkable season in Finale Ligure, Italy, by landing on the highest step of the box.
![EWS Announcement.]()
Alongside Oton, 21-year-old Kiwi phenom Keegan Wright joins the Devinci ranks—with impressive results in tow. In 2016, he won the New Zealand Enduro overall title. And riding that momentum, last year Wright captured overall honors at the Downhill National Cup. He also pocketed podiums at the New Zealand Elite Downhill National Championship and in front of a riotous home crowd at the Crankworx Rotorua Pump Track Challenge.
![EWS Announcement.]()
The EWS season kicks off March 24-25 in Lo Barnechea, Chile. Stay tuned for more team updates as we get closer to the start line.
Devinci Riders Bring Speed, Skill to the Enduro World Series Stage.
With a new Enduro World Series (EWS) season in sight, Cycles Devinci is proud to present this year’s team roster, ready to dominate podiums while piloting the latest iteration of the race-winning Spartan.
Frenchman Damien Oton, the “Catalan Eagle,” once again leads the charge—entering his fifth year as a pro and celebrating his fifth year with the Devinci family. Oton snatched a trio of podium finishes in 2017, capping a remarkable season in Finale Ligure, Italy, by landing on the highest step of the box.
Damien is more than ready to attack 2018
 | I’m stoked to continue with the team, and I’m looking forward to kicking off the season with a talented and highly motivated teammate. |
Alongside Oton, 21-year-old Kiwi phenom Keegan Wright joins the Devinci ranks—with impressive results in tow. In 2016, he won the New Zealand Enduro overall title. And riding that momentum, last year Wright captured overall honors at the Downhill National Cup. He also pocketed podiums at the New Zealand Elite Downhill National Championship and in front of a riotous home crowd at the Crankworx Rotorua Pump Track Challenge.
| I’m absolutely over the moon to be racing for such an amazing bike brand. Ever since I hopped on a Spartan last fall, I’ve felt right at home. My ultimate goal is to be on that podium, and I can’t wait to blast into the international season with all cylinders firing. |
It's a match!
The EWS season kicks off March 24-25 in Lo Barnechea, Chile. Stay tuned for more team updates as we get closer to the start line.
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Worked in the bike industry for plenty of years, used to stock and sell lots of downhill bikes and a couple of years ago (and I not only moved countries but continents) we just stopped stocking them all together. Order a few here and there, but the customer is voting with their dollars and they’re buying 160mm “enduro” bikes. Because they can survive a weekend at a bike park but can be pedalled around elsewhere. DH is too specific of a sport, that requires too much investment to both get into and to actually participate in. Thousands into the bike, then you need to either buy a lift ticket or shuttle to actually use it. Riding a V10 would be rad, but what would you really gain from riding a nomad V4?
Wish it wasn’t the case, grew up riding downhill bikes. Still have one in the garage, but no chance I’ll ever buy a new one. Maybe if a zerode g1/g2 pops up.
People who crap on about how Enduro is the future of racing are ignorant of the fact that there are some practical constraints to the racing format of Enduro which are going to make it very for it to ever be the racing spectacle of DH.
How long is the average DH track? An average of 4 minutes for the fastest riders? Compare that with Enduro where certain individual stages can be as long as 30 minutes, and where a single say might cover as much as 60km of terrain with very limited access; and that racers may be out on the field all day long. That's going to be very challenging to ever broadcast and create the sense of drama which DH can.
I agree that as a racer/rider, Enduro is an awesome racing format. Personally I love it! It's the type of riding most comparable to what most (advanced) mountain bikers choose to ride these days. But I do think the logistical challenges of its broadcast will mean that it will always be more for enthusiasts rather than the mainstream.
That’s not going to be an issue soon, I see better drones coming to take care of that
Drones also ain't gonna turn a 6+ hour stage race into a 4 minute time trial.
No everyone is gonna wanna ride/race DH but its unquestionably a better spectator sport.
DH is dead... long live DH!
The way drones work and the way we will be able to deploy drones will change drastically. The big adjustment will be in the amount of editing.
In saying that, I still agree that DH will very likely always be the most entertaining
But going back to my analogy, how many petrolheads or car racing fans own or want to buy an F1 race car? In the future I see DH as pushing the technology boundary that then trickles down to the masses in a more practical (for most people) form. DH racing will remain the spectacle though as it pushes the limits of what an off-road gravity bike can do.
The purpose of sponsorship is marketing your product to sell more bikes. I think when we watch enduro we don't identify with the product as much because there isn't enough difference between bikes.
The bread and butter of mtb sales is probably the 1-2k bikes and does Enduro or DH sell more of those?
But what about Global Racing in DH?
Who will stand for Steve's DHéritage?