The Essential Guide to the 2018 EWS Colombia

Mar 30, 2018
by Sarah Moore  



Racing in the Rainforest

The season kicked off last weekend in Lo Barnechea, Chile, in a similar fashion to how it finished in Finale Ligure last year, with 2017 overall winners Sam Hill and Cecile Ravanel reigning supreme. Martin Maes and Isabeau Cordurier both finished second at the last stop of the EWS in Finale Ligure, and reclaimed that position in Lo Barnechea. We saw hints of greatness from other riders such as Robin Wallner who finished third behind Maes, Jesse Melamed who crashed and flatted and still finished fifth, and Bex Baraona who finished fourth. Sam Hill won by a solid margin in Chile, but Richie Rude bested him in two stages on day one. Could this next stop in Colombia finally mark the end of the winning drought for the 2015 and 2016 EWS overall champion? After coming second overall last year, you can bet that Adrien Dailly spent the off-season dreaming of the overall this year, but 2018 may not be his, after a DNF in the first round.

For the second round, the racing stays in South America, and heads to another new venue in Manizales, Colombia, where the loose open trails of Chile will be replaced with pine forests, lush rainforests and coffee plantations. There's rain in the forecast for this weekend, and black soil is said to be very slippery when wet...

bigquotesWe’re in for an incredible race, and it’ll be interesting to see how the athletes handle something so utterly different to the conditions in Chile last week. That’s the beauty of this discipline, every round offers a completely new and unique experience for the riders, which is why the racing is so consistently exciting.Chris Ball

Enduro World Series Chile 2018
Sam Hill EWS Round 1 2018 winner. Photo Dave Trumpore.
Sam Hill and Cecile Ravanel with expressions of relief at defending the number 1 on their backs after a long off-season. Photo: Dave Trumpore

Sam Hill crushing the rocky steeps of stage two. Hill won stage two and sits in the overall lead.

Jesse Melamed hit the deck yesterday and is riding taped up today. He might be feeling pain but he s still smiling an sits in fifth despite the injury.
It was a long hard day out. Katy Winton gassed at the end of day one.




The Track


Manizales Colombia. Credit Enduro World Series
Manizales Colombia. Credit Enduro World Series
Photo: Enduro World Series

Enduro World Series releases its 2018 calendar
Stage one will take place on Saturday in downtown Manizales.

There's never been an EWS in Manizales, Colombia, but here's what we know so far:

bigquotesTaking place amongst the hugely varied terrain of Manizales, immerse yourself in this incredible culture as you race against the world's best on trails that take in everything from pine forests to lush rainforests and world famous coffee plantations. Home to some of the most famous urban races around, the event will pay homage to this as it starts with an exciting prologue through downtown Manizales. If you want to get the most of the Colombian experience then head out ahead of the event and experience a free guided ride through the iconic coffee fields on Wednesday, March 28. This is one you don't want to miss!Enduro World Series

There will be a total of eight stages, including an urban downhill prologue on Saturday. Stages will range from two minutes to approximately four minutes for the longest. Riders will travel over 40 km total.

urban dh ews manizales
Prologue on Saturday - Urban DH

ews colombia course map
Day Two

The first Stage is an urban stage using the famous Urban DH course in Manizales – featuring long steps sections, plus some wood jumps and a lot of pedaling. We're guessing it will be something like this:


Manizales is located at 2119 m (6952 ft) above sea level, in the heart of the Andes Mountains. The tracks have black soil and perfect grip when dry or slightly moist, but they are very slippery when wet.

Most stages are hand-cut trails in a Eucalyptus and pine tree cultivation. Courses feature a combination of some existing ‘DH’ tracks with some brand new tracks for the event.

The stages are singletrack mostly, with few wide-open sections.

Stages will be closed for riding until training on March 30-31. Dave Trumpore and Matt DeLorme will be on site to get photos of this brand new venue.


Manizales Colombia. Credit Enduro World Series
Manizales Colombia. Credit Enduro World Series
Photo: Enduro World Series




What happened last weekend?


The Lo Barnechea Montenbaik Enduro offered up one of the most explosive rounds to date, as two days of racing in the high Andes turned into a war of attrition, with riders battling to keep bike and body together on the infamous Chilean "anti-grip."

A mixed weekend for Richie Rude. Bad luck on stage two set him back too far to recover but with a couple stage wins it s good to know he s back.
Sam Hill proving that flat pedals win medals even in the most brutal of EWS rounds.

Adrien Dailly sits in second after day one 19.20 seconds off Hill. Can he take the win away from the champ
Bex Barona was on a mission today. Barona finished the day in fourth after much passing.

Dave Trumpore and Matt DeLorme were there to capture all the action from Practice, Day One, and Day Two.




Weather Forecast


Crankworx Rotorua DH 2018

Thursday, March 29 - Practice
Showers | 19°C | 50mm | Wind 12km/h S

Friday, March 30 - Practice
Showers | 18°C | 20mm | Wind 12km/h SW

Saturday, March 31 - Urban DH
A few showers | 18°C | Rain 5-10mm | Wind 11km/h W

Sunday, April 1 - Day Two
A few showers | 19°C | 5-10mm | Wind 12km/h SE

Live updates from The Weather Network.




Current Overall Standings

Elite Women - Points
1. Cecile Ravanel - 400
2. Isabeau Courdurier - 350
3. Katy Winton- 320
4. Bex Baraona - 300
5. Carolin Gehrig - 290
6. Flow Espineira - 280
7. Noga Korem - 270
8. Rae Morrison - 260
9. Ine Thoma - 250
10. Becky Cook - 240
Elite Men - Points
1. Sam Hill - 500
2. Martin Maes - 450
3. Robin Wallner - 420
4. Gustav Wildhaber - 400
5. Jesse Melamed - 390
6. Zakarias Blom Johansen - 380
7. Josh Carlson - 370
8. Marco Osborne - 360
9. Dimitri Tordo - 350
10. Shawn Neer - 340

Team Rankings - Points
1. GT Factory Racing - 990
1. Cube Action Team - 990
3. Ibis Cycles Enduro Race Team - 950
4. Canyon Factory Enduro Team - 920
5. Yeti / Fox Off-Road Team - 760

Full details on how points are awarded can be found in the EWS Rule Book.




Matt Wragg's Predictions

When I wrote last week that Richie Rude is my favourite anywhere and everywhere this year, what I meant to say is that he is my favourite everywhere, except Colombia. Season form goes out of the window this week as there is a spoiler in play. Manizales is, in a very literal sense, Marcelo Guttierez's backyard, it's his hometown and these are his hometrails. In a race composed of an urban DH followed by seven stages that are all less than 2.5 km long, it seems tailor-made to play to his strengths. There are no questions of his speed, he is an experienced urban racer and he has a well-
Me
Pinkbike's EWS Predictionator.
deserved reputation as one of the fittest guys on the World Cup circuit. Aside from the logic, you'd have to be pretty bitter not to be rooting for him on what may be a one-time chance in his racing career - after all, how often does world-class racing come to Colombia? Let alone Manizales...

So with the top step out of the way, the battle for the final two steps of the podium should be spectacular. With Sam Hill looking in even better form than last year, Richie Rude finding form, Martin Maes looking like he can cut out the mistakes, and Adrien Dailly looking as fast as ever, how do you call it? Plus all the riders looking to bounce back from a tough weekend in Chile - I stand by the seven men I predicted to be at the front this year as the frontrunners, although, after his result in Chile, Robin Wallner is starting to look like he should be the eighth man in that group. I am also excited to see what Gusti Wildhaber can do with the confidence from his fourth place finish after five years of fairly average results. Physically, the man is a monster and he's certainly not scared of laying it all on the line. What I don't know, is what he's capable of if he really starts to believe that he should be at the front of these races. His training buddy, Nino Schurter, probably has a pretty good idea though. Going by stage results from Barnechea, I think Hill and Rude have the edge on the rest of the field, but how do you separate the pair? In the end, I have had to resort to the tried and trusted scientific technique of flipping a coin: Rude second, Hill third.

Before we get into my predictions for the top three in the women's race this week, I would just like to take a moment to consider Bex Baraona's result last weekend. Now that she's receiving full factory support from Ibis, she's made the jump from the back half to the front half of the top ten over the winter - a testament to what is possible if teams are willing to step up and support more women. I think the podium is probably a step too far just yet, but I don't think it will be for long if she keeps progressing at her current rate. As for this week? I think we will see riders holding formation from Chile, with Cecile Ravanel on the top step, Isabeau Courdurier in second and Katy Winton in third. Ravanel is clearly still a class apart, and Chile shows how much it would hurt the series if she were to step away this year. Courdurier is still the closest to Ravanel and Winton looks to have upped her game to emerge with a firm grasp on the podium this year.


Elite Women
1. Cecile Ravanel
2. Isabeau Courdurier
3. Katy Winton
Elite Men
1. Marcelo Guttierez
2. Richie Rude
3. Sam Hill

Think you know who is going to finish in the top three? Enter to win the EWS Fantasy Contest sponsored by Enve and you could win an Enve Wheelset!




#EWSManizales






How to Watch

Still hacking the dust out of their lungs from the Enduro World Series in Chile, Pinkbike's hardworking team will be providing you with the best daily coverage from Manizales, Colombia this weekend. There will be the usual stunning photo epics from practice on Friday, the prologue on Saturday, and a full day of racing on Sunday, as well as tech reports throughout the weekend. View the full rundown of the racing schedule.

On Saturday afternoon and Sunday all day, you can follow the Live Timing on the Enduro World Series website and Pinkbike will upload the highlight video following the event.

Marcelo approves and so do we. Much of the woods are fresh cut and covered in loam. What lies beneath roots is still yet to be seen.


MENTIONS: @EnduroWorldSeries / @davetrumpore / @mdelorme



Author Info:
sarahmoore avatar

Member since Mar 30, 2011
1,305 articles

133 Comments
  • 104 3
 I LOVE THAT EWS went to Chile and is now going to Colombia....not like UCI doing everything in Europe except Mt Saint Anne.
  • 18 19
 I get your point but don't the races in Australia, South Africa and Windham in the US count?!
  • 32 0
 @millsr4, not this year. MSA is the only World Cup DH race not in Europe.
  • 35 1
 That is awesome an EWS round in my home country,the EWS is more awesome than the entire UCI.
  • 1 0
 @slumgullion: My point exactly.
  • 1 0
 @millsr4: Yes, but not this year.
  • 2 12
flag billreilly (Mar 29, 2018 at 14:42) (Below Threshold)
 @slumgullion: There's already been a World Cup XCO race in South Africa just three weeks ago!.
  • 11 1
 @billreilly: We talking DH my friend.
  • 4 0
 @diego-b: If you ask me the real issue is that there are not enough races... if they added more stops they would be forced to mix up the venue locations more.
  • 9 2
 Anyone with an organisers back ground can put a bid in to run a World Cup. Guessing that either nobody else put a bid in or that their proposal was weak. Therefore not necessarily the UCi's fault (for once).
  • 18 1
 @si-paton: Have you seen the requirements the UCI puts on a venue and organizer?! It is most definitely the UCI's fault... $40,000 fee just to sign up and they take half of anything you make during the event... not to mention all the amenities they require! It must be nice to be a UCI employee...

www.uci.ch/mm/Document/News/News/17/41/03/UCI-MTB-World-Cup-EN-low_Neutral.pdf
  • 2 0
 More expensive to do live broadcast so whoever foots the bill gets the race.
  • 3 0
 Agreed. But at least UCI usually get's their elevation profiles right. Looked at the profile for that urban prologue and thought WTF 1000m!? I'm buying a ticket to Colombia! ...And then I realized that the last number (1192) is probably supposed to say 1992.
  • 13 9
 @millsr4: I'm sorry, but what planet do you live on? $40,000 is a very reasonable fee to host a world-class sporting event - have a look at how much it costs to hold an F1 race or a stage of the Tour de France to get some perspective. Indy Car looks to charge a $1-$2 million fee to host a race (www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2016/06/20/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/IndyCar.aspx). Also, I don't know exactly what the current cost is, but the EWS charges something very similar to hold a round. As for the "they take 50% of anything you make during the event", I don't think you have understood what "marketing rights" means, as it certainly is not what you are suggesting here.
  • 14 5
 @mattwragg: yes because clearly UCI DH has the same economic impact as F1/indy.
  • 20 2
 You 'Muricans are too busy building Sea Otter DH track
  • 5 1
 @jaycubzz: And that's why UCI charges a fraction of what F1 and Indy car charges.
  • 10 0
 @mattwragg: Well when the organizer is 100% responsible for advertising, prize money, drug testing, medical services, insurance, and accommodations for 60 days for UCI officials that fee and half the rights seems like BS to me. Also how is $40,000 valid when the race winners only get $5000?!?! Aside from trophies, assigning officials, and registration; the UCI does hardly anything to help each event.
  • 1 0
 @mtbmaniatv: I'm pretty sure Redbull foots at least part of that bill...
  • 2 0
 @Whipperman: too true unfortunately Frown
  • 5 0
 @millsr4: Yes, part, but it's actually the venue that pays the most. Windham was upwards of $200,000 to put on.
  • 1 0
 @mtbmaniatv: My assumption was that the UCI covered that but after rereading from the link I posted it appears its only production and distribution... so they add even less value and get to control the content... lame...
  • 1 0
 @patrick-marsh: they shouldnt even be compared. shouldnt be spoken of in the same breath. a ridiculous comparison to make. thats the point.
  • 1 0
 @millsr4: Welcome to being a race organiser! You forgot toilets, number boards, marshals, commentator, showers, stewards, internet, marquees, bike wash, insurance, commissaires travel expenses etc..
  • 1 0
 I have no idea what it takes to run a WCDH race but I cant help but think that overregulation is helping put nails in that coffin.
  • 49 9
 Is there going to be a jump thru a burning hoop and another jump over a crushed car? Urban DH is cool and all but making the worlds best racers participate in Red Bull circus stunt like this is lame.

They never made Aryton Senna jump over 18 parked school buses during an F1 race.
  • 19 0
 Upvoted for Senna reference.
  • 15 0
 I think I'd agree if they did a whole EWS round that was urban DH. But the EWS is intended to be eclectic and test the limits and versatility of the athletes and equipment, hence why they decided to start the season off on (I'm fairly certain) the moon last weekend. And as UCI DH rounds seem to get increasingly more homogenous, I'm glad the EWS organizers are mixing things up!
  • 4 0
 the way I see it I would only have a massive issue if this stage made a big difference in the results but I imagine when the times are added up a tiny roughly 2 minute stage really won't show up on the results as massively as you might think. From an analytical standpoint I would suggest racers take this stage with a certain level of caution, the only way this stage could really put you out of contention would be if you were to crash. All in all I think the urban stage is just a bit of fun and I appreciate the EWS crew including it, I don't think it could properly be a Colombian enduro without at least trying it.
  • 2 1
 Agreed, I get the whole side show to grow interest thing. Like shopping malls an urban DH/slalom but, how many people in this community can afford to get into enduro/DH......
personally, I ride to get the FK outta the urban environment
That Croatia WC DH round is gonna be cringe worthy
  • 5 0
 Cheer up buddy! You're going to be ok.
  • 6 2
 I figure I'm in a minority here but I absolutely detest urban dh races. I'm glad the fans are stoked to come out and watch the events but the whole spectical is a circus. I don't even watch the events or replays anymore. I know it's good for local economies to host races of this calibur but I believe if you want the worlds best to come and race in your area you should build real trails. Urban dh is just a lazy half assed attempt to make a race happen for as little effort as possible with little no emphasis on rider or spectator safety.
  • 3 0
 @triptex: same minority as you..
  • 1 0
 @Ryanfitz81: very funny
  • 25 1
 I would be willing to bet that after this season of EWS we are going to see more DH pros jumping ship over to race Enduro. If there were only a way to stream the event live. I'm sure they are racking their brains trying to figure that out. I love DH and it's exciting to watch but the pros racing EWS just look way more stoked to be part of this.
  • 11 0
 There is a real opportunity here for someone to create drone based chase cams to follow/lead individual racers than cycle back after the stage is over.
  • 6 0
 Enduro isn't really made for tv like dh is so the big money will probably stay there. But ews is more fun to read about and the organizers and pinkbike are doing great work. I hope its a good battle between Marcelo and Sam.
  • 6 0
 As much as the EWS would be nice to watch live, I don't think its what EWS needs. Look at UCI dh, where all of the tracks are designed to look fun, and be spectator friendly, where the EWS has venues and tracks that are fun to ride. With the venues being in remote areas of the world, the riders are having the times of their lives, riding what they want to, and having fun. I think that this is why lots of dh guys are moving to enduro.
  • 21 2
 Watching that urban DH, is it only me thinking it's only a matter of time before a spectator is seriously injured or killed? Spectator management (inches behind some course tape) or in some cases not at all is just not good enough. Riders, spectators and media need to be careful as do the organisers, duty of care etc.. Not just for urban, but for all MTB gravity related events. It's only a matter of time.
  • 3 3
 well wrc still exists, and how many spectators have been killed over the years? quite a few. so no, its not an issue.
  • 2 1
 Agree and very good point. Wasn't there a terrible incident in the UK in recent years at a DH race? Spectator injured (or killed?) when racer went off track and collided?
  • 2 0
 @gramboh: enduro, an the tumbling bike hit a spectator Frown
  • 4 0
 Just last year Grossmann's accident happened when he hit that balcony. These races are dangerous by default, but some steps should be taken to minimize the accidents.
  • 3 0
 It is only a matter of time, correct, so enjoy the good times while they last.
  • 13 1
 I'm so happy and proud that this awesome event will be in my city. We had the great visit of Cam Zinc Phillip Polc and Mike straight before and now the best riders of the world are there. Epic. Good Job Enano Chiguiro Marcelo. Have fun Guys and back soon.
  • 3 0
 Stoked for you guys. I love watching the EWS for the places it visits and a change to see the country. They just need a better opener vid showing the place and culture like I remover them doing for Chile a few years ago good for the event and a good way to put Colombia on the map as a bike tourist location
  • 15 0
 Bike checks please!
  • 12 1
 Insane place. I remember someone puked on the bus due to the altitude and the driver covered it with coffee. No smell! Microclimates , 5000m above sea level ,mad thunderstorms. Can't wait for the pinkbike coverage!
  • 32 1
 usually i will just eat the bus puke but i would probably eat the coffee covered bus puke too, which would cause some issues i could only assume.
  • 13 0
 @IamTheDogEzra: Good boy!
  • 1 0
 Ezra's back! WOOF WOOF! Oops... WOOT WOOT!
  • 6 0
 Manizales is only 2,000 masl. There are mountains above it that are more than 5,000m, but not where these guys are biking. That said, I have been to Manizales and this should be an awesome race. Colombia has one of the greatest cycling cultures in the world.
  • 1 0
 @axcooper: Aha yes tru dat.
  • 1 0
 @IamTheDogEzra:

Ezra buddy, just be sure to stay the hell out of the way on stage one!

Don't be that random dog that gets sawed in half by someone's bladed spokes!
  • 22 8
 Stage 1 is an Urban Enduro track???!!!! Wtf are they thinking.
  • 7 4
 Yeah I'm not loving that either.
  • 8 3
 @bsavery: if I was one of the racers I'd be really pissed off.
  • 12 0
 SO amped to race the Urban DH track on Saturday!!!
  • 14 3
 @panaphonic: What is wrong with you guys? Why would anyone who loves riding mountain bikes be pissed off about trying something new?
  • 7 0
 Just about anything should be acceptable in "enduro". As long as the stages are primarily downhill and there is enough pedaling in-between to keep full on DH bikes away then game on.
  • 3 0
 Probably better exposure of the sport to the public, as is far much easier to attract people to spectate EWS in the town rather than bringing people info the plantations.. Something different, i guess.
  • 1 0
 Prologue. They had had urban Prologues at European races before.
2-4 minutes remaining stages?
  • 2 0
 @panaphonic:

but you're not one of the racers, so you're not pissed off then, right?
  • 2 0
 They just raced sandy trails in Chile where the referred to it as "anti-traction dust', people in tropical places race in muddy trails that are impossible to gain traction (Cairns-World Cup stage). So urban DH isn't really off par with how bikes should be raced no? If anything it will make it for good watching like this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2lbehW5V_0&t=43s
  • 1 0
 Yeah. It's supposed to be mountain biking not urban biking
  • 9 0
 Grateful of the coverage we get, wish we had more.
  • 7 0
 Marcelo Guttierez is easily one of my favourite riders, looking forward to a great race!!!
  • 3 0
 My prediction is a second place behind Dailly,but I wouldn't be surprised if Marcelo smashes it.
  • 4 0
 He is the local favorite by a Giant margin.
  • 1 0
 So is Rafael Gutierrez!
  • 1 1
 @mtbmaniatv: Either woulf Reign in the Glory should they win.
  • 4 0
 Man I love EWS, it is amazing. From Treeless dusty Chile to the jungle of Colombia the very next week amazing. Feeling very conflicted about the Urban track and the length of these tracks overall. Either way EWS is making things so damn exciting. If only they could live stream this (I get why thats impossible).

Another thing about EWS I love is the one practice run per section
  • 1 0
 Live broadcast of EWS is not quite impossible, just cost prohibitive at the moment. I would guess that the solution would involve a mesh radio network with a combination of these:

www.persistentsystems.com/mpu5-applications/#section-19

some on temporary towers/masts, a bunch on drones.

Have one of the radio nodes hooked up to your core network equipment and to a commercial satcom WAN link. Unfortunately, those radios are not cheap, nor is commercial satcom bandwidth Frown . If you are in range of a cell tower, that could substitute if the data bandwidth is high enough in that location. I am guessing Pinkbike/EWS is already using one of these transport methods for the live timing, so maybe live streaming isn't far off.
  • 0 0
 double
  • 1 1
 triple
  • 1 0
 Foursome
  • 1 0
 That's the beauty of the EWS circuit, they are not bound by the UCI rules so it's really cool to see the organizers exploring racing locations. I am pretty sure if the racers will love it. How can you not? It's such a different style that can get so many kids in those cities to fall in love with MTB.
  • 3 0
 beautiful part of the world, but those forests will be unbelievably slippery when wet. And at this time of the year it's never really dry... not sure if that is Richie's strength.
  • 21 0
 Keep in mind Richie grew up racing downhill in the east coast of the US. Lot's of rocks, roots, and mud, don't underestimate his technical skills in adverse conditions.
  • 10 0
 He didn’t become champion by riding in bike parks, if he’s got a weakness it’s how hard he pushes that poor bike. #iwouldntwannabeoneofhistyres
  • 2 0
 @PhilKmetz: I thought you said the east coast... Wink
  • 1 1
 @PhilKmetz: love your youtube vids. Why dont you join the EWS?
  • 1 0
 2009 us open juniors when he bested his quali time, which was in bone dry conditions, by a few seconds after a torrential race-delaying thunderstorm rolled in mid way thru finals?
  • 2 0
 @PhilKmetz: hey Phil, nice to see you on PB!
  • 1 0
 @PhilKmetz: You're right, the weather last season probably wasn't the key factor. Rude is my number one in the fantasy contest nevertheless. But knowing those woods I expect most racers will have trouble when it pours down, I suppose that dirt would be similar to Rotorua last year... and those 5000 m peaks from Los Nevados sure seem to attract these rainclouds!
  • 2 0
 @PhilKmetz: hopefully he throws on some wide rubber, those 200 lbs don't belong on small contact patches, especially in the wet. Also sick seeing you on PB, little request from a fan- please give an enduro race a try, I'd love to see you f**k up some stages
  • 1 0
 @Travel66: poor bike indeed. That kid is an animal on his bike.
  • 1 0
 Día 1, etapa PE1Urbana, ya tiene nombre, anoten los puntos de una vez, Lechón se conoce eso de arriba a abajo, las otras esperar a ver hasta dónde aguantan las piernas, igual no asistiré a este show, sólo más daño colectivo, espero no ser anti-pinkbike, ojalá acabe esto pronto, gracias por nada ChiguiroExtremo...
  • 4 0
 Im confused, is there only the urban stage on saturday, followed by 7 stages sunday? or is it split up more evenly?
  • 3 0
 You've got it - Stage 1 is an Urban DH prologue on Saturday, followed by a full day of racing (7 stages) on Sunday.
  • 3 0
 @sarahmoore: So does that stage count? What the hell is a prologue stage?
  • 3 0
 @KUBBY: It counts.
  • 6 0
 @KUBBY:

The Prologue stage concept is used in some motorsports stage events such as the Dakar Rally and the Roof of Africa Hard Enduro. The purpose is to provide fan engagement and marketing at the beginning of an otherwise rural competition. Generally the Prologue stage is much, much shorter than the later 'regular' stages, so that the ultimate results are not affected too much. We'll see how this EWS rendition ends up being.

As for prologues in cycling, I don't follow the Tour de France too closely, but I recall the final stage is a somewhat of an epilogue, if not a true formality. I wouldn't be surprised of the TDF has a prologue too.
  • 2 0
 All things considered, probably not a half bad idea to leave the urban stage to its own day. In love with the idea but I can imagine there will be more than a few mechanicals that need fixing and it'd totally suck to see riders taken out by busted wheels on the first stage.
  • 1 0
 @WRainey88: last day of TDF is a mere formality for all bar the sprinters the final sprint stage is in Paris and counts towards the points.
From memory most of the big roadie prologue events are open days where normal riders get a chance to ride a stage of the event
  • 1 0
 @WRainey88: from some races I have done the prologue also allowed racers to choose when to drop based off of their results. So if you came first in the prologue you have first choice in when you drop into the first stage. But who knows if that is the idea here.
  • 1 0
 @nation: I think it's too short of a stage for technical issues
  • 1 0
 @Batipapo: Certainly very short but urban races regardless of length are notorious wheel killers.
  • 4 1
 I think if it Rains both Eddie and Wyn have got good chances, as does Greg Callaghan. They have proven to be spectacular in the rain.
  • 3 0
 Please correct the name of the city in the cover photo... is MANIZALES, not Monizales
  • 4 0
 Whoops, typo - fixed. Thank you!
  • 1 0
 The Urban DH prologue is going to separate riders in a huge way. The cream will rise to the top! Those willing to get gnarly, and risk it will gain seconds without even a pedal stroke...
  • 1 0
 I'm unsure how Rude will do when it gets wet, as he had not done well in the mud last season. Hill will be on the podium, yes. GFORT will probably do really well, and not just Marcelo, btw.
  • 1 2
 bring on the POWDER
  • 6 2
 Urban thing I'm not excited about...but the rest looks sick
  • 2 1
 It doesn’t matter how fast you are if you can’t keep air in your tires on all the stages. I’m predicting Hill in first or second. Richie will be further down.
  • 3 0
 Go Marcelo!
  • 2 1
 The best bike in Colombia will be the Guerrilla Gravity,... :-)
  • 1 0
 Team Yeti/Fox is going to dominate if Richie's bike can hold up!
  • 1 0
 The EWS don't have Guttierez listed as racing?
  • 1 0
 Feel like this guide Columbia is missing something...
  • 2 0
 Should be great racing!
  • 2 1
 Top 3 predictions on point!
  • 4 2
 Columbian girls are hot!
  • 1 0
 Watch out for Paulo Valle in masters! The old guys don't F around
  • 1 0
 We need an ews race in asia.
  • 1 0
 The coolest uplift bus EVER!
  • 3 2
 Coke rush...
  • 3 6
 It will level the field... ooooh I didn’t!
  • 1 0
 Hill FTW ! ! !
  • 1 3
 Man, Sam Hill is fast! He got 100 more points than Cecile even though they both placed first. Is there a reason we don’t have point parity?
  • 1 0
 entry numbers?
  • 3 3
 is there dopping in EWS?
  • 2 0
 After watching Icarus on Netflix.... I find it hard to believe Elite level mtb riders would not dope. XC, to me, is highly suspect. EWS is harder to believe, but there could be big benefits had.
  • 3 9
flag WAKIdesigns (Mar 29, 2018 at 12:46) (Below Threshold)
 And does Facebook sell personal information? What I mean is... why would you give a fk.
  • 2 1
 Theres doping controls and random checks are in the rule book yes.
  • 12 4
 Sam Hill is on a strong pill, it’s called Flat Out
  • 4 0
 @aushred: “Enduro racing isn't overseen by the UCI, however, and Enduro World Series racers are currently not screened for any performance enhancing drugs on a regular basis, especially out of competition. That'll change in 2018 when the EWS says that they'll kick off their own testing program, although I'd like to think that none of the racers will be caught doping because, well, none of them are doping.”

Source:
www.pinkbike.com/news/poll-how-clean-is-ews-racing.html
  • 7 0
 These riders are dope, not doping.
  • 2 2
 Sam Hill you legend!
  • 1 1
 #fundedbycocaine
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