Photogrpahy by Marie Batista // BAT-COM
Levy Batista
The French eMTB racer Levy Batista only embarked on a career in mountain bikes at the end of 2015 after he found he didn't have enough time to focus on his work and compete in motocross racing. Despite being a previous French Motocross Champion, Levy made the switch to mountain bike racing and was planning on competing at EWS-e and eMTB races this season for the Tribe Rocky Mountain PowerPlay Team. We caught up with Levy to talk about his move in eMTB racing and his plans for the future.
Where are you from and where do you live now?
I am from France, in Nancy and I am still around there now.
Who do you ride for?
I am riding for the Tribe Rocky Mountain PowerPlay Team, focusing on eBike and EWS-e events.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I have a PhD in statistics, so I work on my computer all day long, computing some math equations, then by 6 pm I go for training either on the bike or at the gym. Then I have some rest with my family or I do videos for my YouTube channel.
How did you get into mountain biking?
At the end of 2015, I was searching for the best second career possible. After more than 20 years on a motorcycle, MTB seemed to be a great option. I was right, I am having a lot of fun and better results come every year.
Why did you decide to make the move from motocross racing into mountain biking?
With motocross I think I was nearly at my best level possible spending that little time on the bike. At the time, I was at school all week, I couldn’t train other than running or going to the gym. I could only be on the bike by the weekend and my level was a bit lost between amateurs and professionals. I was able to have top lap times at qualification but during the race, the lack of riding showed up with mistakes. In the end, I was like: 'Ok, now I can’t progress if I don’t ride more (and I can’t ride more), so either I stick with my level, or I challenge myself switching completely to another discipline.' Here I am.
Do you think there are any skills you can bring across from motorbikes to mountain bikes?
Of course, I was able easily to jump every jump, even putting some whip in the air at the very beginning, but on the other hand, I was really slow in the corners. I was entering corners really fast, but there was no speed to exit. So I had to learn how to corner on MTB. It is a long process but clearly, my background helped me a lot and is still helping me to be an MTB rider and even more an eMTB rider.
What are your strengths?
I am determined and really focus on my goals and I work hard for it.
What are your weaknesses?
I am not talented, and I miss a lot of riding skills on an MTB. It’s been only 5 years, I still feel like a junior.
What’s been the worse crash you've had?
Probably the big OTB I had on a supercross triple jump during a race. I missed the gear into the kick. Being short with the front wheel on such a big jump is gnarly. I fractured both of my wrists. But hey, I had more than 10 fractures, and some ligaments are missing. For that, I spent a lot of time on réhab.
Where’s your favorite place to ride?
I love to go to Les Vosges, a medium mountain one hour from home. There are so many sweet spots to ride over there. But what I prefer is doing races. When you can ride fast all day long on unknown trails without searching for it.
What bikes are you riding right now?
I felt in love with the Rocky Mountain Instinct BC, such a great bike. And I am so glad, I am able to have the same geometry for enduro and enduro eBike.
Who or what inspires you?
So many people and so many things, I try to take the best from every people I meet or see. If we stick with motocross, Ricky Carmichael brought me the work dedication when I was really young, then Ken Roczen helped me to contrast keeping the fun, and Antonio Cairoli inspires me with his loyalty with people that trusted in him before the successful story.
What do you enjoy doing away from bikes?
I enjoy to create. I am doing a lot of videos, or media things.
What do you do to rest and recover after a race?
Nothing, I sit all day in front of my computer at work. That’s my body recovery.
How do you get focused before a race?
My race routine is my way to be focus. From the week before I start preparing the bike, the gears, the car, I am constantly thinking about the race. By trying to let nothing to the hazard, you are in a mood that keeps you focused.
Where do you think the future of e-bike racing is headed?
I think and I hope it will stay really close to the enduro. With racing on the same race tracks during the same weekend. I think the EWS-e format will be just the perfect use of eBikes. With a format that mimics what is done with motocross enduro, with tight times for the transfers and normal enduro specials (plus one short technical special eBike). In the future, there will be eBike specialists, and classic enduro riders will have to adapt to be able to perform in the eBike format.
How were you feeling coming into the 2020 season?
It has been so much time that I am training that I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know if I am good or not. During training, sometimes the feeling is so great, and sometimes I feel so slow. I really miss the racing feedback that tells you: "ok you are good" or "you're not even close".
What are your plans for the future?
My objective is to upgrade my level, and being fast which is equal to having fun for me. I also want to spend less time on a desktop and being part of the development of a bike would be a great adventure.
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122 Comments
Since when is bringing more money into the industry a bad thing? Money IS a major factor in the speed and quality the sport progresses. The more money that is put into the machine, the better the value, quality, and variety it will produce.
Let’s hit the land access argument too. Land owners could give a rats ass who is recreating on their land. What they care about (in the US) is people suing, squatters trying to take what is theirs, and vandalism/pollution. More users increases the likelihood of a negative they’re trying to avoid. However, e bikes aren’t creating some new adversity to land access as some might say. What we really need is better communication with our generous land owners, and laws to protect them and assure that recreational users will not affect their property or well being.
Ride bikes, have fun. ✌️
I'll go along lets say that there is a regular 'dumb' bat championship and league we can call it MLB and there was a completely separate league started for Smart bats. Both played in the same stadium but at different times because, different leagues. Would smart batters be cheating? Maybe people give a sh*t and want to watch, maybe not. MLB almost died until a couple of chemically enhanced dudes started hitting a massive amount of home runs each game.
There is ZERO (thats right, ZERO) evidence that they cause any sort of problems on the trail. Your anecdotal experience with ebikes doesn't matter, and neither does an irrelevant article that you read somewhere. They don't contribute more to erosion as proven by a study, there isn't data to show that they are more dangerous, and they provide a similar workout to regular bikes.
On the plus side, more adoption of eMTBs and eBikes in general means easier option for transportation for a lot of people.
The only people that have issues with eMTBs are those that gatekeep fitness as a barrier to entry, not realizing how dumb they sound.
Also, comparing eMTB with XC is like comparing Enduro with dirt jumping and DH with road riding. It's not the same. It's still riding, but different. Dirt jumpers don't pedal much I don't see anyone hating on those guys?
Look at what already being marketed and sold: vimeo.com/149605716
I ride both ebikes and trail bikes. It's basically the same experience on the trails, except my legs last longer. The rest of my body still fatigues the same. I wouldn't say it fundamentally changes the sport. To me it seems like its one more niche in the sport.
Ebikes would only increase people's skill level, just like riding a mountain bike would. Yes, you may not get climbing legs, like someone would on a regular bike crushing hills, but it is still a good workout. I regularly ride both and I always chuckle when someone says it for lazy people. With any fitness equipment, its up to the user to get the workout. If you are taking it easy on an ebike, you would probably be taking it easy on a regular mountain bike too. You are either push yourself or you don't.
I get that you are concerned about the trail systems but I don't think the progression is going to go in the direction you think it is. I think the ebikes have reached peak power. We may see a few come out with a little more, but riders are more interested in distance and weight vs power output. I think the progression of ebikes will be in variety. At first they were mostly all mountain or enduro types (Shuttle bikes). Now that the market is pretty well established, we will start to see more bikes like the Levo SL, and maybe some aggressive hardtails. Lighter bikes with smaller motors, covering the XC and trail markets.
Added power doesn't help you on the trails. You can only go up technical sections so fast. If the sections are really techy, you have to turn the power down. Most of the time, the rider would use the full power for shuttling up fire roads, which is still more exercise than not being our there.
The video shows an electric motorcycle. It isn't even a pedal bike. It's a motorcycle. Yes, if we saw that on the trails there would be a problem. Just like if we saw a gas powered one on the trails.
I don't care if people don't want an ebike or like them, for that matter. I just seems like people are blowing the woes of ebikes out of proportion.
You insights on exercise physiology are wonderful
Its hilarious that you claim that i need to stop with "zero evidence" claims, when literally in the next sentences you pull some random statements out of your ass like they are fact.
You don't know the statistics of injury rates of new users in mountain biking in general, you have no data on how many new users to ebikes attract, you have no idea if newer people starting out on ebikes are more dangerous than newer people starting out on regular bikes.
I know this is mentally hard for you to realize because of your insecurities and consequently massive desire to gatekeep the sport, but as a mature person, you should be able to understand that unless you have concrete evidence for any of the statements that you are saying, you may as well not say anything, because all of that is empty. I can make a statement that ebikes are safer because they are heavier and promote slower riding, and that would be as valid as any of the shit you said.
I don't know exactly what the answer is. But maybe clear labeled stickers on the different bikes, stating classification and where they are legal to ride. And local authorities cracking down on illegal vehicles on the trails. We just don't have that problem here, in Northern California. Plenty of ebikes, but they are legal. 80% of them are Levos.
I am just going to have to disagree with you on where the crowd is heading. I see the Levo SL as an example of the next phase of ebikes. I think the last thing people want are heavier bikes. Fatter tires will only preserve trails. Force divided by area equals pressure. So the more area, the less pressure applied.
The lug pattern on the E wild tires is the same as the Wild Enduro tires. The tire is just a wider tire. It comes in 2.6-2.8 vs the enduro 2.4s width. the wider tire is going to spread the pressure out and have less impact on the trail.
> Putting an engine into a bicycle really does fundamentally change the sport into something else by reducing the skill and athletecism required to gain and hold speed.
Please understand that literally, not a single person in the world, gives a f*ck about what you think is the appropriate level of skill and athleticism required for mountain biking. You are nobody, your opinion does not matter, and you don't have any real voice in mountain biking that people heed or respect. All you are doing by whining about stuff like this is making yourself look dumb.
And turtles.
Not that it'd ever be a possibility for you but imagine having 3k descents down a coastal mountain range, ending just miles from some of the most beautiful coastline on the West coast. Now imagine thats all within 1.5 hours of one of the largest cities in the world. I mean shoot its got a greater GDP than all of Texas, its a very large population center. Try to do the math on the trail impacts that occur from that population pressure. Like I said, its easy to say laisse faire when you have very little to lose.
But try some more insults, that'll show everyone how awesome of a pinkbiker forumer that you are. I probably should just try to lose my job so I can have enough time to patrol every wee bike related topic and respond to as many posts as I can. That way people will know how awesome ebikes are and how I definitely don't have a chip on my shoulder at all or anything.
On a positive note, I cant imagine all the time youve wasted posting and not playing emtb. Guess its like a public service, one more dolt, err volt off the trails.
>Sorry I dont have the time to look up an article for you to not read. Too busy actually riding a bicycle or working in the f*cking hospital.
But it seems you have time to come on PB and state some baseless bs. HMMMMM.
So to sum up your argument, because babies with very little cognitive ability start with building blocks instead of legos, that means that newer people who manage to get enough money to buy an expensive eMTB sare going to somehow damage trails.
Its kinda sad that you don't even realize how incredibly moronic you sound.
Also, its funny how you assume that just because Im in support of emtbs, I ride one.
>I know my clubs trail crew is certainly not happy with them.
Nobody cares about your club trails crew or their opinion. Not sure why that is hard to understand.
The users all got old.
I reccommend this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMxLI6DbjL8
I have been riding an ebike for over a year, along with my trail bike, and I haven't grown to hate it. I started out with a Levo and ended up riding it less, because it required longer ride times to get a workout. Then I reduced the Eco mode so I got more leg workout in a shorter time. But at that point I was lugging around a heavy bike with a long chainstay, just for a little extra leg power. So I kept choosing my trail bike over it, unless I had time to do a really long ride. I liked the Levo, but it wasn't a great fit for me. Sold the Levo to a friend and bought the SL. Its been a perfect fit for my riding style.
I find that you don't save much time on a ebike. You only go faster on the ups, and if they are technical, you may only go the same speed you usually would. I would have to look at my stats, but I think I average about 2mph more on the ebike. Of course that depends on the elevation change of the trail. More climbing would increase the mph difference.
I love my motos too, but no on the ebikes for me. How ironic he goes from one motor to another.
Ebikes really just have the worst and unnecessary complicated accelerator throttle. Pedals...
Its not hard to understand that an electric motorcycle cannot be pedaled without power, and that vehicle optimization for eMTB racing will include things like whether to go heavy and have much more assist to make uphills irrelevant, or go lighter to speed up downhills at the expense of having to pedal more. And courses can be designed to be longer and more grueling so that some pedaling will be required.
Then again this is pinkbike comment section, so yeah, its probably hard for you guys to understand this. You see the word "motor" and instantly have a stroke.
I reccomend this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMxLI6DbjL8
Props to you if you think you could do this on a regular bike!
Again Moto Enduro, eMTB Enduro and MTB Enduro all are different sports, can't compare them they just all have 2 wheels.
PS: If Mr. Levy Batista is not doing any real training for eMTB EWS Enduro's he is not going to win any.
I don't race enduro because off all the lame lifting involved. Sure, if you are in a lower class, fine. But if you are Expert/Pro...you shouldn't be using a lift for a 4000' day.
Besides, if you aren't pedaling a DH bike to get more speed on the DH, are you even sending it?
And I do think people are forgetting all the flack enduro got a few years back when it was new, now everybody loves it. One rides enduro for the downhills, not the uphills, if you do; go race XC you O2-snapper! The uphills are just a neccecary evil to get to the downhill, which is why shutteling/lifts exists.
Enduro isn't the same. You are SUPPOSED to climb the bike. They compromise on the bike design so it can climb. They come with massive cassettes so they can climb.
I do also race XC. I raced this Saturday for the first time since last year. Felt pretty good to put in a hard effort again. But as I prefer the chunky style of riding, I also brought my E29 (I camp out every weekend). Packed the XC bike inside the car and did a light (for me) 1600 meter day at the bike park. Except instead of waiting in a line to take a lift, I pedaled up each lap.
No hate for the ebikes, but, emtb racer isn't a thing.
just enjoy what you ride guys
Doubt it.
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