5 Things We Learned at Andes Pacifico 2019

Feb 24, 2019 at 6:26
by Ed Spratt  
Pedro Burns on the gas to kick off Day 3

The Andes Pacifico has proved again why it is one of the most fun but brutal races of the year, taking riders from high up in the Andes all the way down to the beach. Riders have spent the past five days tackling the Chilean anti-grip and razor-sharp rocks and here are five things we noticed as we watched from the sidelines:


1. The Chilean anti-grip is brutal


The infamous layer of thick dust took its victims throughout the week with Thomas Lapeyrie (broken hand) and Neil Donoghue (haematoma) both taking heavy spills that saw them finishing the race early. We wish all injured riders a speedy recovery.


Thomas Lapeyrie smashed his hand in the first stage of the day and was seen icing it down whenever possible.



2. Wyn Masters pulled off an epic final stage rescue mission


Coming back from his crashes at Red Bull Valparaiso, Wyn placed consistent results across each day beating EWS full timers like Remy Absalon, Iago Garay and Jerome Clementz. He was sitting in the top four for most of the race but damaged his crank on the very final stage. He battled through, limited his lost time to two minutes and would cross the line fifth overall.


Wyn Masters has dropped off the podium after Day 3 but is still very much in touch with the top 3 riders with two days to go.



3. Chilean Domination


Taking the win and with at least three riders in the top 10 across every category, the home advantage on the tricky slopes of the Andes clearly paid off. The Chilean anti-grip and altitude are tough to master but winning riders Pedro Burns and Florencia Espiñeira tackled it with ease.


Pedro Burns has been out front for three days but his lead is still just one second with two days to go.



4. Florencia Espiñeira was unstoppable


The standout performance of the past week has to be Florencia's annihilation of the women's competition, winning every stage across every day of the event she was unreachable. By the end of the race, she had put an impressive 18 minutes into second placed rider Laura Battista.


Florencia Espineira is in form control of the Women s race after day1.



5. The Andes provided a stunning backdrop for some intense racing


Just like at the first round of last season's EWS, the slopes of the Andes proved to be both a fun and extremely challenging venue for enduro racing. But, as with tradition for the Andes Pacifico, the time off the bike looked almost as fun as the racing. Swimming holes, delicious local food and lots of beer awaited the riders after a long day in the saddle.


The size of thew terrain here is mind blowing.



What did we miss? What stood out to you during this weeks racing?


Previously:
• Preview: 2019 Andes Pacifico Enduro
• Day 1 Tech Randoms: Fresh Bikes, New Tires, Rims, Shoes & Pedals - Andes Pacifico 2019
• Photo Report: Day 1 - Andes Pacifico Enduro 2019
• Photo Report: Days 2 & 3 - 2019 Andes Pacifico Enduro
• Final Results: Andes Pacifico

Author Info:
edspratt avatar

Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,063 articles
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46 Comments
  • 78 1
 "Home soil advantage"? seems to me like Chilean riding has kicked it up a notch in the past few years. With wins in Valpo, and spectacular results here, makes you wonder if the consistent, high-level competitions they are hosting are driving them to up their game... Well done Chile.
  • 8 2
 Home Soil on blind race gives you absolute massive advantage. Between knowing of the terrain reacts and probably already knowing the stages to not get caught in a tricky blind corner makes for "easy" wins. Most infamous one is Greg winning twice in Ireland on the stages he grew up on, and then posting good results in the season but not winning, and EWS is not full blind as you get a bit of practice.
  • 5 1
 Not to take away from the rise of talent from Chile but I agree with @Balgaroth, with a multi stage race with limited practice the locals have a huge advatage over the others because they know the trails. They know when to brake, which blind corners they let off the brakes and how the trail flows. Unfair advantage really. Image WC DH but with one pratice run. Then add a new section for the finals that wasnt there in practice. Local rippers almost always win these multi stage enduro races because of this. Unless they have to race against Hill, Maes, Rude, etc.
  • 2 0
 @Boardlife69: This is kind of how it is for all enduro races. Locals always have the home advantage. Unless you're an incredibly talented outsider, chances are, you wont be as fast as the fastest local. Coming in to a new race location and utterly dominating everyone is what separates greatness from just being really good.
  • 4 2
 @Almazing: "Unless you're an incredibly talented outsider, chances are, you wont be as fast as the fastest local."

I've consistently seen the top or regular EWS riders absolutely smoking the faster/more talented locals at each stop. What you're referring to seems to be rare because a lot of the EWS regulars are that talented. Melamed winning the 2017 Whistler stop was massive news because he's a local but he's far beyond the level of being a talented local rider who doesn't normally compete on that stage. Being a local is definitely an advantage but you have to be on another level to compete with these guys. Those Chilean riders are beasts.
  • 1 0
 callaghan win the madeira ews though
  • 1 0
 @Balgaroth: But, the trails here are most of the time so remote so noone rides them. Some would take more then a day to gett to if you dont ride to the start with a 4x4 car.

None of the stages in the years i done the race have been on established trails.
  • 34 1
 Wyn is an animal. Cyclocross, urban DH, EWS, WC DH, he’s in it for the love of racing, because racing is living. Did he get lost at one point in the race also?

How do you snap an XTR crank?
  • 121 0
 I didn't snap the crank.. I think possibly damaged it earlier in the race clipping a pedal on a big rock or it wasn't done up tight enough as I wouldn't pride myself on my mechanical skills. I wish I had that much power but its just not the case haha
  • 6 0
 9020 XTR cranks can bend pretty easily with a rock strike. I've a set that no longer clear the chainstays because of it.

If he bent them he'd still be okay to stand, just wouldn't be able to pedal.

edit: sniped by the man himself!
  • 15 0
 @wynmasters: dude I'm rooting for you all season man! Great start to 2019
  • 1 0
 @the6thElement: same thing happened to my new XTR crank. Bent so badly it wouldn't clear the frame. This was from a very small crash. The bike just basically tipped over and the crank bent. First time I have ever had an issue with Shimano cranks. Back to XT and fingers crossed.
  • 5 0
 Need to make some changes to my fantasy team.
  • 1 0
 Yeah, they are prone to it. I went from Saints to XTR's once, and changed back pretty quickly. Under power the XTR's really don't feel sufficient, at all.
  • 15 0
 How do you even ride with a snapped crank?
  • 24 0
 Apparently he ran the rest of the stage
  • 18 0
 He did a sitting wheelie instead of manual
  • 3 2
 Anyone know what model crank it was ?
  • 2 1
 @preston67: XTR
  • 2 1
 @preston67: Shimano crank, most likely XTR
  • 2 0
 Scooter skills Smile
  • 1 0
 @Austin014: wearing Jandals
  • 1 0
 @grabtindy: Hmmm....that's not good !
  • 12 0
 What the hell are eddie and wyn eating?? Both of their results are up there in the past couple years
  • 2 0
 Its speculated that Wyn might be on the Eddie training regimen of Tendies, Cheeseburgers and Tacos.
  • 5 0
 Good job wyn! But... I'd rather see wyn around midfield and afterwards with a mic in the pits. Well... Just kiddin. Ahm.. It's a toughie, really.
  • 4 0
 We are a spoiled lot but in my book you can't have a" x things we learned" until you've had a video of the event. Come now PB :-)
  • 3 0
 We learned that Wyn Masters is an animal!!!
  • 3 0
 Florencia Espiñeira -- I hope she gets factory sponsorship soon
  • 3 0
 She got a top ten result overall in the 2018 EWS, missing races.... I hope she can get that factory sponsorship.
  • 1 0
 Hey Ed Spratt, do you know there's a dude named Ed Pratt unicycling the globe on YouTube?
  • 2 0
 6- I need to race it soon!!!
  • 2 2
 Anti grip, more like Shimano's new ANTI BOND technology. dura ace been snappin'
  • 2 0
 Road cranks snapping? Those roadies are getting full endubro
  • 1 0
 haematoma in the brain is no joke! Get well Neil!
  • 7 0
 It was in the leg
  • 5 0
 @tobaldh: in the leg can still kill you, blood clots releasing from the damaged area, enter the bloodstream and then onto the heart. The blood thinners they end putting you on suck, but they will save your life!
  • 1 0
 Holy s.hit my bad. Xt ,s are bloody tough.
I run Saint cranks Smile
  • 1 0
 6, rotating photos is LAME!
  • 2 0
 Sickening. Words fail me.
  • 1 0
 good on ya wyn!
  • 1 0
 Awesome job Wyn!
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