The Faces of Suffering - EWS Whistler 2019

Aug 12, 2019
by Max McCulloch  
Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Stage 3 of the Whistler EWS had a doozy of a climb, with riders maxing out their leg strength and heart rates. I decided to camp out at the end of the stage to catch some unique reactions.

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch
Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

2019 Whistler EWS. Photo Max McCulloch

2019 Whistler EWS. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch
2019 Whistler EWS. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch
Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Whistler EWS 2019. Photo Max McCulloch

Photos: Max McCulloch | @max_mcculloch

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maxmcculloch avatar

Member since Oct 22, 2010
36 articles

29 Comments
  • 32 0
 Best Ebike marketing campaign idea ever.
  • 18 2
 For when they run out of juice and you're far from the car?
  • 2 3
 @mtbmaniatv: Soooooo user error?
  • 18 0
 Strong capture of that "empty tank" feeling. Thanks.
  • 3 0
 Thanks, glad you enjoyed them Ang!
  • 1 0
 i felt like that after my 45 min climb this morn sometimes watching others suffer makes me feel better congrats to everyone on finishing a brutal race!
  • 17 0
 Eddie Masters still looks happy though.
  • 1 0
 This was my first thought as well, even miserable Ed Masters looked psyched to be riding bikes
  • 1 0
 @cdubz09: Wasn't this the segment where he was talking about going to a dark dark place during the video recap?
  • 7 1
 Very rarely has there been a 2 minute fireroad climb after dealing with steep slick roots to drop in to a final section with slick steep offcamber roots again in an ews. So physical, I know because I slipped off the wood bridge at the very end of the stage. Absolutely demoralizing lol
  • 5 0
 demoralizing is a great word to describe the speed at which most of us dropped into the second trail. At least the pro's struggled too.
  • 1 0
 I rode that stage the day before you guys practiced it, and couldn't believe I was still on stage when I topped that road climb. So brutal, that last section of trail after the climb probably felt twice as sketchy as it should have due to fatigue.
  • 1 0
 Indeed. Ask the folk who raced the first EWS to come to Scotland, there was an evil fire road climb there too, joining two tricky trails. The drop off the fire road was a super steep chute to tight corner too, for extra nasty!
  • 5 0
 love the few people who appear to not be running any lens in their goggles, noticed it in a few other race posts. gotta keep those goggle sponsors happy ! haha
  • 2 0
 So what’s the deal with no lenses? I haven’t seen that before. Are they actually taking the time to pull the lens out? Hell, when I’m racing I don’t like sweating against the foam - I take the whole goggle off and put it on backwards on my helmet or hang it from the bars so the foam drys out. How is that lens attached to the visor in the photo?
  • 1 0
 @sledMXer: from what I can see it appears riders who don’t want to mess with tear off/ roll off systems In the rain are riding with no lens and just having goggles on for the sake of sponsorship .
  • 2 0
 @qman11: @sledMXer think the googles help keep the full face stable in your field of view, even if it’s too wet to keep the lenses clean. Nothing to do with sponsorship?
  • 2 0
 I was wondering!!! Funny thing!
  • 1 0
 With all the rain and moisture, most of them were fogging up and nobody could see out of them. Take the lens out, keep the sponsors happy. Couple pics of Isa with mud under her eyes that looked very cool as a picture goes.
  • 3 0
 @sledMXer: It keeps your helmet from shaking as much as well....
  • 1 0
 @qman11: If I recall correctly, the EWS rules prohibit tear offs etc
  • 1 0
 Over heard some u21 fellas saying it blocks mud better than nothing
  • 1 0
 @ibishreddin:

That’s funny!
  • 2 0
 I can now completely relate to those picture in a smaller magnitude. Over the weekend i participated on my first enduro race and a couple of the stages had a few climbs that completely drain you, trying to go full gas at the end is tough, but so much fun. Much respect to these athletes, the skills and shape to make it look easy is really hard.
  • 4 0
 These are great. I can almost feel the pain and agony.
  • 2 0
 Cheers! Definitely didn't expect my favourite photos to come from after the stage was over.
  • 5 0
 Nice article.
  • 2 0
 Thanks!
  • 1 0
 that horrible i wanna puke feeling...hanging!!!! blaaa







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