Final Photo Epic: Three For Three - EWS Madeira 2019
Photo Epic presented by ODI
Heading into the second day of racing in Madeira, race leaders Martin Maes and Isabeau Courdurier both held sizeable leads over their nearest rivals. While they had the luxury of possibly playing it safe in some spots, the riders chasing the final podium spots certainly did not. In both the men's and women's fields positions, two through five were separated by a few seconds or less. With five stages on the menu for Sunday, it was set up for some amazing and tight racing.
In the women's race, Isabeau Courdurier pulled further ahead through the day, while the battle raged behind. Ella Conolly would win a stage but suffer a mechanical on another, landing her in 3rd, only a second ahead of Morgane Charre going into the final stage. Noga Korem would push up into a secure second position and like Isabeau, had the luxury of being able to ride a bit defensively towards the end of the day. In the battle for third, it would be youngster Ella Conolly performing with the pressure piled on for the final stage, grabbing 3rd and her first ever podium appearance at the EWS against the Elite women's field. With new faces battling at the front of each round this year, this is the most competitive women's field the EWS has ever seen.
The men behind Martin Maes would swap positions back and forth throughout the day with Eddie Masters falling back and Jesse Melamed getting into the mix after a win on stage six. Martin and Adrien Dailly would pad their leads for first and second, but it would be Jose Borges who was putting on the pressure for the final podium spot. As the saying goes, "it's never over 'til it's over," and today that would ring true for Adrien Dailly who went down on the final stage to slide back to fourth. The mistake allowed Jesse Melamed to grab the final podium spot behind Jose Borges and a still undefeated Martin Maes.
Isabeau and Martin now carry commanding leads with nothing but wins across the board at the first three rounds, as the EWS takes a month off before picking up again in some big mountains with rounds in France and Italy.
Not a bad place to prep some race bikes.
Squatters rights for Marco Osborne this morning in the Santa Cruz pits.
With five stages and no chance to stop at the pits at all during the day, it is up to the mechanics to make sure everything is perfectly tuned before riders head off.
It was a hot one today and some riders decided to make some last minute jersey modifications to help stay cool.
Ah Madeira, you are an amazing place to ride.
Third for American Duncan Nason in U21 men.
Cedric Ravanel came out on top in Masters men.
Antoine Vidal took the win for the U21 men again.
Three wins in a row for Isabeau Courdurier.
Thomas Lapeyrie ended the weekend in 11th.
Dimitri Tordo quietly finessing into the top ten once again.
Another win for Isabeau here in Madeira.
Clouds below, and sun up high on the Gamble track this morning.
Race run berm explosions from Sam Hill?! We think he even had a grin on his face when he rode past.
Adrien Dailly took fourth today. We reckon he'll back on the podium in no time.
Sam Shaw speed tucks down the final stage of the weekend.
Florian Nicolai had a mixed bag this weekend and took home seventh place today.
Eddie Masters slays. Sixth place for the kiwi today.
Kevin Miquel took 13th place this weekend, with a fourth place on stage three.
Morgane Charre pushed as hard as she could on the final stage in an effort to make up time on Ella Conolly but in the end, she would have to settle for fourth.
Jose Borges delivers for the Portuguese fans taking second in Madeira
Jesse Melamed turned up the heat winning stage six and climbing back to third overall
Adrien Dailly was nearly a sure thing for the podium until disaster struck on stage seven.
Max Chapuis scrubbing into the final few corners of the weekend.
Cody Kelley always with some of the best style.
Rae Morrison had some good stages this weekend but is still struggling to find her consistency.
An amazing performance from young British racer Ella Conolly would find her on her first Elite women's EWS podium.
Adrien Dailly and Jose Borges take some time to refuel after stage six.
PB and J all day for Jesse Melamed.
Flyin' Flo with his eyes on the prize.
Matt Walker took 15th place this weekend.
Martin Maes once again in a league of his own taking the win in Madeira.
Unlucky 13th for Kevin Miquel.
Ella Conolly was the woman everyone was talking about this weekend.
Sam Hill was looking back on form but couldn't keep up to Maes.
What a ride for Noga Korem to take second in Madeira.
Anita Gehrig would end her weekend in fifth.
Morgane Jonnier had a hard fall this morning and had to pull out of the race.
Another win for the unstoppable Martin Maes.
It all came down to the last stage but Jesse Melamed managed to keep his composure to snatch the last spot on the podium in Madeira.
Eddie Masters enjoys a small beer after a long weekend of racing.
A frustrated Adrien Dailly after losing time at the end of the race. But he knows his speed is back after a year of injury and will be one to watch the rest of the season.
Another podium result for Noga Korem.
Three wins in three races this season for Martin Maes.
Your top teams for round three. GT Factory Racing, Canyon Factory Racing, and Rocky Mountain.
Isabeau Courdurier on top once again with Noga Korem second and newcomer Ella Conolly in third.
Martin Maes, Jesse Melamed and Jose Borges on top of the men's podium.
And that as they say, is that. Jack Reading reportedly rode this wheel on the rim Saturday, and nursed it through the day on Sunday until it finally failed on the last stage.
MENTIONS: @Odigrips / @EnduroWorldSeries / @davetrumpore / @mdelorme /
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I also don't understand why was Pedro on EWS100...he has the skills to deliver good results on the mais race. Let's not forget he already won a Portuguese Downhill Cup this season beating the portuguese favorites and the world cup champion Amaury Pieron.
He is still young, maybe the next time he competes on an EWS event, he will get a wild-card to race against the top riders.
/s
www.pinkbike.com/photo/17201345