It was another wet wild day of racing as the cold and heavy rain hammered riders all day long while they took to the hills of Derby, Tasmania for the latest round of the Enduro World Series. For the second event in a row it would be a battle in the mud, but with much of it falling overnight and during the entirety of the race, the conditions were the same for all, so we saw fewer surprises than the previous round in Rotorua.
The dry and dusty conditions of practice were a thing of the past and having not had a chance to practice any trails in the wet, riders set out in the torrential rain unsure of what they might encounter in the forest. The seven stages had been the most fun ever during practice but were exponentially more intimidating in the wet. As always though, wet weather makes for the most exciting and dramatic racing, and this round would have no shortage of drama and upsets.
After multiple race leaders throughout the day, including Martin Maes and Jared Graves, in the end, it would be Adrien Dailly who reigned supreme. This would mark his first win since moving up from the U21 category, and proof of the potential he showed at the close of the 2016 season. The heartbreak would come for Greg Callaghan as he crashed while leading the race on the relatively basic Stage 7 to throw the race away. A late resurgence from Sam Hill and Richie Rude saw a battle for the final podium spot run right to the wire with Sam coming out ahead by the smallest of margins.
In the women’s race, Isabeau Courdurier showed right from the start that she was the one to beat in the technical slippery terrain, winning the first three stage of the day by a convincing margin. While Cecile Ravanel found herself in the familiar position of chasing down time for the win, she was able to rally back to take stages four and five, but it wasn’t enough to match Isabeau's pace. A hard fought battle by Ines Thoma (Canyon Factory Enduro Team) saw her take a very deserved third place.
As we head into a one month break, the series chase is now shaping up and at the top sit Adrian Dailly and Cecile Ravanel of France. But it's still wide open, and points are tight enough between lots of riders to ensure the drama won't be settling down anytime soon.
See the results from the day of racingWatch the one minute highlights video.
Also, did anyone catch the guy on the Ibis team wearing what appear to be skin-tight capris? Is that customary in Tasmania?
It is easy to forget that this was hosted in a town of 208 people (as of 2011, probably a bit higher now because of the bike tracks). So, I imagine that the publicity and success of this race will lead to a larger prize purse in the future.
11: Financial Obligations
- Event entries will be processed in Pounds Sterling and the exchange rate fixed with the host nation in the week prior to each event opening to the public (2016 onwards).
Minimum Prize Money per event:
-Event organisers are encouraged to pay more prize money than the minimum amounts stated above.
Overall Series prize money
- Five percent of all income generated by EMBA through Enduro World Series Official Supporterships will be awarded to the Enduro World Series winning Male and Female after the final round.
- The total amount will be divided equally between the Men and Women.
Men and Women
Prize Money (Euros)
1st
750
2nd
400
3rd
200
Graves prize money from whistler in 2015 was $10K
There's a lot of marshals, first aid, helicopter rescues on standby, etc to factor in.
Most of the riders are probably using this as a way to raise their profile, enabling them to command better sponsorship, etc. I'm not commenting whether that is right or wrong, just making the point that the race win money isn't the only money they'll get from a win... (It would be nice for bigger purses though!)
Unfortunately, mountain bike racing teams and promoters have not shown much success in attracting the outside industry cash support needed to grow prize money accordingly, especially in the past 15 years. There was a time when at least the auto manufacturers were on board, not just with the teams but the racing events as well (Volvo/Cannondale, Toyota/Schwinn, Subaru/Fisher, Volkswagen/Trek, Chevy/GT, Ford). Some of the team rigs were massive. There is only so much cash that will come from the promoters and bike/component/clothing manufacturers. Clearly, those who are willing to spend $5k-$10k on bikes have some disposable income worthy of some advertising dollars. But, for whatever reason, I rarely see outside industry ad dollars even here on pinkbike. Then again, the Cam McCaul VW content generated some mixed reviews in the comment section.
When I see the list of sponsors for national level events or teams these days I'll notice maybe a brewery here and a clothing or snowboard company there, but no big outside industry corporate dollars that other sports and even road biking enjoy. Hopefully this will turn around at some point so the racers can compete for better checks to bring to the podium. I'd like to hear the opinions of an industry long-timer like RC here at pinkbike regarding this issue. My guess is that if there were more quality streaming and TV coverage of racing, then potential sponsors would see a better possibility of return on investment. However, the logistics of covering mountain bike racing in a way that it is interesting to a wide viewing audience are a struggle.
When I was involved in mtb team management, I had dreams of landing Proctor and Gamble's Tide Laundry Detergent as a big $$ title sponsor with for our team. One can always dream.
a Privateer?
Some whiney divas that kick a ball across some green patch of grass for 90 minutes => millions of $$$
COME ON!
Why not more full size front fenders, like the mudhugger?
Looks like most were using some rain gear also but still others with little more than a jersey. For a huge full day of racing in a rainstorm? Madness!
Way different ride choices as well- A wild looking French 170/180 travel 27.5" with an Alien tuned coil controlling the rear end on the top step and a German 140/160(?) travel 29" with a double front ring battery powered drivetrain setup controlled by a single shifter in second... very interesting.
Besides the top riders will be getting some juicy bonuses from their sponsors.
I really don't know.. But I saw they used like these arm bracelets with the chip in it.. maybe he thought he had checked in but it didnt in the end... Really a bummer cause he was on fire!!
Anyway, very impressive photos...
m.vitalmtb.com/features/WINNING-BIKE-Adrien-Daillys-Lapierre-Spicy,1705
FWIW, Tasmania doesn't have a "rainy season" anyway. Looking forward to seeing how the tracks held up to the abuse, I'll be riding there in a couple of weeks.
While I don't doubt access is an issue for Europe or US based freelancers, a few of them made it, and did well in the standings. Guess what, getting over to Europe or the US isn't cheap for the Aussie & NZ crowd either. The issue for sponsors with EWS is always going to be the race format rather than where the races are - it just isn't easy to package for TV coverage. Brake pad trashing face planting chain busting wet weather epics are some of the most fun and memorable days I've had on a bike, and IMO give some of the most entertaining race footage too. Tough riders shredding (and getting shredded) in the rain is hardly going to harm marketability for sponsors.