Pinkbike Primer - Everything You Need to Know Ahead of EWS Whistler
Round Six, The Great Known
The EWS returns to mountain biking paradise
Whistler returns this year as the most-raced EWS venue ever. It has been on the calendar since the inception of the series and is one of the unquestionable classics. The race is famed for long, physical days and devilishly technical trails and is loved and feared in equal measure by riders.
This year the race is split over two days with the traditional finale, from the Top of the World down to the village, coming on Saturday evening and the remaining five stages spread around the valley on Sunday. After a month's rest, the racers will be fresh and fired up to race. Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming race:
The Course
STAGE 1: 11.1km
Top of the World > No Joke > Drop in Clinic > No Joke > Little Alder > Express Way > Too Tight > Upper & Lower Angry Pirate > World Cup Single Track > Afternoon Delight > Longhorn > Monkey Hands
STAGE 2: 1.73km
Jaws > Billy Epic
STAGE 3: 1.93km
Golden Boner > Roam in the Loam > Instant Gratification
STAGE 4: 4.07km
No Joke > 7 Year War > 7 Years More > No Joke > Sabre ToothHorse > South Park > Delayed Fuse > Shomo Shabos
STAGE 5: 1.17km
Line of Control
STAGE 6: 4.02km
In Deep > Fatcrobat > Express Way > Fantastic > Upper Whistler Downhill > Clown Shoes > Lower Joyride > Monkey Hands
What Happened in 2018?
Whistler's CamelBak Canadian Open Enduro presented by Specialized Enduro World Series round once again lived up to its namesake of 'Crankzilla' as racers battled it out on one long monster of a day. In the women's race, Cecile Ravanel jumped to an early lead and stayed there, on course for her perfect season. In the men's race it all came down to the Top of the World, with just 1.5 seconds separating Richie Rude and Martin Maes. Unfortunately, a puncture near the top would spell disaster for Richie, while a stellar run by Maes ensured he wouldn't be playing the second-place fiddle on the podium this time around.
Women's Overall
1st. Cecile RAVANEL 47:24.95
2nd. Isabeau COURDURIER +1:25.18
3rd. Noga KOREM +2:50.40
4th. Andreane LANTHIER NADEAU +2:57.85
5th. Katy WINTON +3:10.56
6th. Christina CHAPPETTA +3:37.75
7th. Anita GEHRIG +3:38.89
8th. Brittany PHELAN +4:03.34
9th. Becky COOK +4:27.47
10th. Morgane CHARRE +4:32.62
1st. Cecile RAVANEL 47:24.95
2nd. Isabeau COURDURIER +1:25.18
3rd. Noga KOREM +2:50.40
4th. Andreane LANTHIER NADEAU +2:57.85
5th. Katy WINTON +3:10.56
6th. Christina CHAPPETTA +3:37.75
7th. Anita GEHRIG +3:38.89
8th. Brittany PHELAN +4:03.34
9th. Becky COOK +4:27.47
10th. Morgane CHARRE +4:32.62
Men's Overall
1st. Martin MAES 41:01.99
2nd. Sam HILL +0:41.74
3rd. Eddie MASTERS +0:46.55
4th. Florian NICOLAI +1:11.16
5th. Yoann BARELLI +1:20.48
6th. Remi GAUVIN +1:21.52
7th. Jared GRAVES+1:31.54
8th. Robin WALLNER +1:32.51
9th. Dimitri TORDO +1:38.82
10th. Richie RUDE +1:41.44
1st. Martin MAES 41:01.99
2nd. Sam HILL +0:41.74
3rd. Eddie MASTERS +0:46.55
4th. Florian NICOLAI +1:11.16
5th. Yoann BARELLI +1:20.48
6th. Remi GAUVIN +1:21.52
7th. Jared GRAVES+1:31.54
8th. Robin WALLNER +1:32.51
9th. Dimitri TORDO +1:38.82
10th. Richie RUDE +1:41.44
What Happened at the Last Round
After a week of dry, dusty trails in France, the rain rolled in on the final day to spice things up even more. The men's race came down to the final stage with Richie just a few tenths off Eddie Masters. Both riders kept their composure under pressure and put down blazing times, but it would be Eddie who would emerge on top. A first-time win for the Kiwi EWS and World Cup DH racer who has now catapulted himself into the running for an EWS world title.
In the women's race it was business as usual for Courdurier, who has now strung five wins on the trot together. A new challenger emerged though in the form of privateer Raphaela Richter, who took two stage wins and finished less than 30 seconds behind Courdurier.
Elite Men
1st. Ed Masters: 43:31.79
2nd. Richie Rude: 43:32.73
3rd. Adrien Dailly: 43:46.17
4th. Florian Nicolai: 43:48.98
5th. Dimitri Tordo: 44:13.89
6th. Kevin Miquel: 44:22.64
7th. Matthew Walker: 44:25.63
8th. Gustav Wildhaber: 44:43.62
9th Leigh Johnson: 44:44.95
10th. Hugo Pigeon: 44:53.72
Elite Women
1st. Isabeau Courdurier: 48:54.26
2nd. Raphaela Richter: 49:23.55
3rd. Miranda Miller: 50:46.89
4th. Ines Thoma: 50:53.88
5th. Noga Korem: 50:57.16
6th. Melanie Pugin: 51:10.07
7th. Morgane Charre: 51:18.99
8th. Katy Winton: 51:49.66
9th Anita Gehrig: 52:16.36
10th. Becky Cook: 52:39.36
See the full results here.
The Standings
MEN
1st // Florian Nicolai // FRA // 2140
2nd // Edward Masters // NZL // 1960
3rd // Sam Hill // AUS // 1840
4th // Kevin Miquel // FRA // 1830
5th // Dimitri Tordo // FRA // 1780
6th // Adrien Dailly // FRA // 1593
7th // Remi Gauvin // CAN // 1585
8th // Robin Wallner // SWE // 1500
9th // Keegan Wright // NZL // 1435
10th // Wyn Masters // NZL // 1410
1st // Florian Nicolai // FRA // 2140
2nd // Edward Masters // NZL // 1960
3rd // Sam Hill // AUS // 1840
4th // Kevin Miquel // FRA // 1830
5th // Dimitri Tordo // FRA // 1780
6th // Adrien Dailly // FRA // 1593
7th // Remi Gauvin // CAN // 1585
8th // Robin Wallner // SWE // 1500
9th // Keegan Wright // NZL // 1435
10th // Wyn Masters // NZL // 1410
WOMEN
1st // Isabeau Courdurier // FRA // 2700
2nd // Noga Korem // ISR // 1945
3rd // Morgane Charre // FRA // 1650
4th // Andreane Lanthier Nadeau // CAN // 1340
5th // Bex Baraona // GBR // 1020
6th // Anita Gehrig // SUI // 1015
7th // Becky Cook // GBR // 975
8th // Ella Conolly // GBR // 945
9th // Miranda Miller // CAN // 935
10th // Melanie Pugin // FRA // 925
1st // Isabeau Courdurier // FRA // 2700
2nd // Noga Korem // ISR // 1945
3rd // Morgane Charre // FRA // 1650
4th // Andreane Lanthier Nadeau // CAN // 1340
5th // Bex Baraona // GBR // 1020
6th // Anita Gehrig // SUI // 1015
7th // Becky Cook // GBR // 975
8th // Ella Conolly // GBR // 945
9th // Miranda Miller // CAN // 935
10th // Melanie Pugin // FRA // 925
Weather Forecast
It looks like the riders could have some rain to contend with by the time Sunday's race comes around.
Thursday, August 8 - Practice Stage 1, 5, 6
Abundant sunshine // 30°C // 2% precipitation // wind 6km/h
Friday, August 9 - Practice Stage 2, 3, 4
Partly sunny; pleasant // 27°C // 6% precipitation // wind 6km/h
Saturday, August 10 - Race Day - Stage 1
Variable cloudiness, a thunderstorm; not as warm // 22°C // 51% precipitation // wind 6km/h
Sunday, August 11 - Race Day - Stage 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Rain and drizzle in the morning; otherwise, cloudy; cool // 18°C // 59% precipitation // wind 7km/h
Weather forecast from Accuweather as of August 7.
Abundant sunshine // 30°C // 2% precipitation // wind 6km/h
Friday, August 9 - Practice Stage 2, 3, 4
Partly sunny; pleasant // 27°C // 6% precipitation // wind 6km/h
Saturday, August 10 - Race Day - Stage 1
Variable cloudiness, a thunderstorm; not as warm // 22°C // 51% precipitation // wind 6km/h
Sunday, August 11 - Race Day - Stage 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Rain and drizzle in the morning; otherwise, cloudy; cool // 18°C // 59% precipitation // wind 7km/h
Weather forecast from Accuweather as of August 7.
The Schedule
Thursday, August 8
• 09:00-11:00 Stage 5 Training
• 12:00-14:00 Stage 6 Training
• 16:00-17:45 Stage 1 Training
Friday, August 9
• 08:00-10:00 Stage 2 Training
• 11:00-13:00 Stage 3 Training
• 14:00-15:30 Stage 4 Training
Saturday, August 10
• 14:30-19:15 Race Day 1 - Stage 1
Sunday, August 11
• 08:00-18:30 Race Day 2 - Stages, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Note: All times are local and subject to change by the event organizer.
Follow Along
Pinkbike will be providing you with the best daily coverage from our team in Whistler this week. Tune in to Pinkbike to catch photo epics, videos and results from practice and race day, as well as tech bits and news.
Following the Enduro World Series live can be a struggle with remote stages and hundreds of riders tackling trails at the same time. We're lucky to have Polygon rider Dan Wolfe bringing you behind the scenes action from each round LIVE through the Pinkbike Instagram stories this year. Find what's going down on course during training and race day through our Instagram. Be sure to follow @pinkbike to keep up with the action.
Pinkbike Predictions
 | It's truly wide open for this year's race and we've had plenty of debate in the Pinkbike office over who we think will take the podium spots. In the end, we've settled for Richie Rude repeating his successes of 2015 and 2016 and taking the win here on Sunday. He came back strong after his suspension with a win in Val di Fassa and second in Les Orres, proving he's the in-form men's rider of the moment. Remi Gauvin has been consistent on home soil here for the past three years and 2019 could be his time to step up for the podium. Eddie Masters has the potential to do well here but he'll have to shake off fatigue and jet lag from Val di Sole. If he can, he'll be a real contender for the win. It's hard to bet against Isabeau Courdurier in the women's field and she comes into this race on unstoppable form. She has a perfect season in her sights and will not be slowing down to safeguard the overall title now. Lanthier Nadeau has shown that on her day she's one of the fastest women in the world. Hopefully, a race on home soil will give her the boost she needs to show that off over the course of a full race weekend. Finally we've picked Noga Korem, who has been clinically consistent all year and never finished lower than fifth. She'll be keen to get back on the podium here in Whistler. |
ELITE MEN
1 // Richie RUDE
2 // Remi GAUVIN
3 // Eddie MASTERS
1 // Richie RUDE
2 // Remi GAUVIN
3 // Eddie MASTERS
ELITE WOMEN
1 // Isabeau COURDURIER
2 // Andréane LANTHIER NADEAU
3 // Noga KOREM
1 // Isabeau COURDURIER
2 // Andréane LANTHIER NADEAU
3 // Noga KOREM
Fantasy League
Don't forget to complete your EWS Fantasy team before the race starts on Saturday. If you don't know who to pick, check the Start List . There are prizes for each round, so if you haven't already, make sure to build your team today! If you've already got a team in the mix you're in the running to win the Grand Prize, so visit the Fantasy homepage to make sure you have the fastest team possible for Round 6.
The Fantasy Enduro League is Presented by Shimano.
MENTIONS: @shimano
Author Info:
Member since Nov 14, 2018
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What about Ed masters ? Lenzerheide DH or EWS ?