Photos from a Mucky Day of Practice at EWS Colombia
The Enduro World Series stays in South America for round two, but this time the dust of the Chilean Andes is replaced by the tropical rainforest of the Colombian mountains. As if the two venues could not be any more different, racers will also tackle an urban DH stage for the first time to kick things off on Saturday afternoon. For round two, EWS – Alcaldia de Manizales – Mas oportunidades, promises to be a completely different challenge.
Starting with an urban prologue in downtown Manizales on Saturday, the main race taking place on Sunday will then see riders take on seven more stages in a single day. Many of the stages are short and punchy as they flow through terrain dominated by some of the world’s most iconic coffee plantations. Sitting on the equator it is a tropical climate this week and racers can and should expect at least some rain almost every day.
And whilst the trails may be fun, don’t expect the competition to be anything less than fierce. Mechanicals forced many of the big names out of contention last weekend, including Richie Rude, Adrien Dailly, and Greg Callaghan, and they’ll all be gunning for the podium as they look to pick up valuable series points. Unfortunately there has also been one casualty this weekend as round 1 runner-up Martin Maes dislocated his shoulder in training and will not take the start for round 2.
Reigning champs Cecile Ravanel and Sam Hill will enter the race as series leaders, but will face stiff competition in their respective categories. Adrien Dailly and Richie Rude will be out for revenge, and Robin Wallner should also be feeling confident after his podium finish last weekend. In the women’s race, Cecile remains the athlete to beat, but strong performances from both Isabeau Courdurier and Katy Winton mean she won’t have room to relax. Bex Baraona put in her best performance to date with a fourth place finish in Chile, proving she has the speed to keep up with the sharp end of the pack.
Practice kicked off in true Enduro Wet Series fashion with a day of hard rain, and things turned into a slip and slide real quick. Some riders struggled while others felt right at home in the muck, and with weather changing in the rain forest by the hour it is anyone's guess what Sunday will bring.
The fresh juices down here are unreal. Oranges awaiting the squeeze.
Manizales is colorful to say the least.
Riders who arrived from Chile early were able to take shuttles up to the coffee plantations to ride some unique terrain that could not be included in the race.
Shuttling in style through the streets of Manizales.
The people in Manizales are truly kind. This fellow made us coffee while we were shooting practice.
Rafael, the younger Gutierrez brother, plays tour guide for riders through the coffee plantations a few days before racing kicks off back in town.
EWS fever is strong here in Manizales, Colombia.
The unique gondola high above the city of Manizales takes riders up to the top of stage 1.
Even in the street of Manizales there are trees and bushes to avoid.
Ratty sets the height benchmark for the wall ride in practice.
Last week's 3rd place finisher inspects the short one-minute urban stage that will kick off racing Friday afternoon.
Bex Baraona heads for the stairs on the stage 1 prologue.
Grandes Leches. These cows need a milking.
It's the rainforest, so everyone should expect a little rain after all.
Avocado growing wild throughout the forest here in Colombia.
Actor, Juan Pablo Raba, best known in North America for his role in the hit show NARCOS, flew in from a shoot late last night and will be taking part in the race on Sunday despite not getting any practice in.
When the squids realized an iPhone wouldn't tow the shuttle out...
Josh Carlson gets his slip and slide on on stage 6.
Jared Graves weaves his way through the slippery jungle.
Adrien Dailly moving at warp speed through the slick as snot "Death Tunnel".
Katy Winton is happier than the proverbial pig in sh*t to be in slippery conditions.
Mark Scott heads into the bobsled tunnel on stage 5.
Greg Callaghan hails from the Emerald Isle and should be right at home in the green and in the mud.
It's a different type of anti-grip here. These trails are greased lightning.
The Gehrig Twins and Noga Korem head up the road to the top of stage 2. Riders will climb this long gravel road twice to kick things off on Sunday.
Yoann Barelli drops into stage 3.
Noga Korem drops into one of three huge bamboo bridges that crisscross the road on stage 3.
The liaison to stage 5 in a unique one.
Damien Oton slips and slides down stage 6 which winds through a botanical garden
Marco Osborne tries to find some grip on stage 2.
Sam Hill rails his way down stage 5.
Pedro Burns tweaks it on stage 3.
Richie Rude dives into a mucky stage two.
Cecile dives into the start of stage two. It's a hell of wild ride from here on out.
Anneke Beerten leans back for the big g-out on stage 6.
Sam Shaw took a bit of a faceplant on stage 6. This is also the same section that took out Martin Maes with a dislocated shoulder.
When you crash in a bog and half your handlebar gets eaten alive.
It was loamy and perfect just one day ago. Then it rained.
MENTIONS: @EnduroWorldSeries @davetrumpore @mdelorme
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