The Complete Guide to the 2020 EWS Teams

Feb 27, 2020 at 4:08
by James Smurthwaite  
Isabeau Courdurier was fighting Illness all day but pushed through to help pull her reach team to victory


With Crankworx Rotorua officially marking the end of the offseason this weekend, it's not long until we go racing again in the EWS. On the 28th of March, the new-look teams will congregate in Manizales, Colombia to kick off another campaign that will take them around the world and across three continents. Here's how they will line up in just over a month's time.




Canyon Factory Racing
Ines Thoma, Jack Moir, Dimitri Tordo, Fabien Barel, Loris Revelli, Melvin Pons

Two downhill signings enter the C(o)ll(e)ct(i)v(e) for Canyon as Jack Moir and Italian Loris Revelli fill the shoes of Florian Nicolai, who left for Trek. Jack has enjoyed decent success in the EWS before with a best result of 6th, however this is a totally new venture for Revelli who has only previously raced in World Cup DH. Jack has already had a bit of a setback with an appendix that's gone pop, but will apparently be back in training before the season starts. Canyon were the winners of the team competition last year and won't want to let go of that title without a fight.
photo


Commencal Enduro Team
Alex Rudeau, Laura Charles, Alexis Icardo, Cedric Ravanel, Cecile Ravanel, Antoine Vidal

Three fast, young French rippers join the Commencal program for 2020 as Cecile Ravanel continues to recover from her broken vertebrae. Alex Rudeau and Laura Charles have both shown bright sparks in the EWS races they have competed in, whereas Alexis Icardo has been ripping up the French Cadet series in preparation to embark as a Junior in the EWS.
photo


Giant Factory Off-Road Team
Youn Deniaud, McKay Vezina, Tyler Weyman, Josh Carlson (EWS-E)

No changes in the line up for Giant this year but McKay Vezina will come back from his year sabbatical racing the North American circuit to take on a full series. Josh Carlson is moving over to EWS-E to take part in the new series for 2020.
Once again Youn Deniaud makes things look easy.


GT Factory Racing
Noga Korem, Martin Maes, Wyn Masters

Another unchanged team comes from GT with the triple threat of Noga Korem, Martin Maes and Wyn Masters. All of these riders are also registered as part of GT's downhill squad in a super-versatile team. GT led the team standings for most of last year and are one of the few teams where every rider has a podium place finish to their name so will be charging towards that title again in 2020.
Martin Maes once again in a league of his own taking the win on Madeira


Ibis Enduro Team
Bex Baraona, Robin Wallner, Cole Lucas, Louise Paulin

Ibis say farewell to Lewis Buchanan and welcome Cole Lucas and Louise Paulin in his stead. Lucas has been knocking on the door in DH and Enduro for years and finally gets rewarded with his first factory ride. We'll be interested to see what's next for the Kiwi after his first two top tens last year. Louise Paulin was the 2019 Masters champion and will be the woman to beat in 2020.
Robin Wallner hits the rocks at the top of stage 2


Lapierre Zipp Collective
Isabeau Courdurier, Adrien Dailly, Chloe Gallean, Cedric Carrez, Yannick Pontal (EWS-E), Mathieu Ruffray (EWS-E), Nicolas Vouilloz

The biggest shakeup this year comes at Lapierre where the Enduro Collective have been absorbed into the fold to create a very young, very fast team. They're set to launch a French assault at the two titles with Isabeau Courdurier looking to extend her unbeaten run and Dailly set for a proper comeback year after injury struggles in the past couple years. It will be interesting to see how the two teams gel and perform as the season gets underway.
photo


Liv Racing
Rae Morrison, Leonie Picton, Isabella Naughton, Riley Miller

Liv is fielding the only all-women's team in 2020 with long-time Liv athlete Rae Morrison joined by Leonie Picton, Isabella Naughton and 14-year-old Riley Miller.
Rae Morrison tucking for speed on stage two.


Rocky Mountain/Race Face Enduro Team
Remi Gauvin, Andreane Lanthier-Nadeau, Jesse Melamed, Peter Ostroski

Sticking with their core team for yet another year, the Rocky Mountain team will be keeping a close eye on the team rankings all year after coming second by just 300 points last year. Gauvin, ALN and Melamed all podiumed last year and will be looking to continue bolstering their tallies or go even better, as the year progresses.
Double horns today for ALN


Santa Cruz X SRAM
Iago Garay, Mark Scott, Romain Paulhan

After a strong showing at the Trans Provence and the one EWS round he raced last year, Romain Paulhan makes the step up from a Santa Cruz sponsored rider to becoming part of their enduro team.
Just a casual tire drag no big deal.


Team Chain Reaction Cycles
Sam Hill, Elliot Heap, Kelan Grant, Nigel Page

Why change a winning formula? Sam Hill targets four on the trot with the same team around him for 2020.
Sam Hill was so close to his first win but would have to settle for second by .8 of a second.


Cube Action Team
Zakarias Blom Johansen, Sofia Wiedenroth, Gustav Wildhaber, Claus Wachsmann

Cube lose a big rider in Greg Callaghan who raced with them since 2015 and brought in 3 EWS victories. Johansen, Wiedenroth and Wildhaber all stay on the team and they will be joined by Claus Wachsmann who will be racing in masters.
Zakarias Johansen and the Sweedish team quietly went about their business of beating just about everyone today to take home silver


Pivot Factory Racing
Eddie Masters, Matt Walker, Morgane Charre

Pivot are another team of polymaths with all their riders also registered on the downhill circuit. Speaking of downhill racing, 2012 World Champion Morgane Charre joins the team after her heroics as a privateer in 2019.
On fire and untouchable all day Eddie Masters flew to his first career EWS win and now sits second in the championship


SRAM Development
Yoann Barelli, Ella Connolly

Yoann Barelli is joined on the SRAM program by Ella Connolly for 2020. Keep an eye out for Connoly to pull in some big results this year. She was Under 21 champ in 2018 then picked up her first-ever podium just three races into her elite career last year. A training crash in Les Orres put her out for most of the season, but she'll be hoping bounce back strong this year.
An amazing performance from young British racer Ella Conolly would find her on her first elite women s EWS podium.


Trek Factory Racing
Pedro Burns, Florian Nicolai, Katy Winton, Harriet Harnden

One of the big scoops of the off-season was Trek plucking last year's runner up Florian Nicolai away from Canyon. Florian was just pipped to the title by a flying Sam Hill in Zermatt and will be out for redemption in 2020. Also new to the team is Harriet Harnden, a 19-year-old who has been mentored by Tracey Moseley. She has already made a winning start to her Trek career and was crowned British cyclocross champion in January.
during the 2019 Mavic Transprovence the original alpine MTB rally.


Unior Devinci Factory Racing
Greg Callaghan, Keegan Wright, Georgia Astle

Some big changes were rung in at Devinci as Damien Oton said his farewells and was replaced by Ireland's Greg Callaghan. Oton has been a consistent performer for Devinci up until his injury-filled 2019 but Callaghan should be a worthy replacement and will be relishing a new start to regain his top ten form of years gone by. Also joining the team is Georgia Astle who moves up to the factory team after being a Devinci supported rider last year.
photo


Orbea Fox Enduro Team
Vid Persak, Gabriel Torralba, Damien Oton, Edgar Carballo

Devinci's loss was Orbea's gain as Damien Oton jumped on board with the Spanish outfit. Oton is returning from a broken back in 2020 and will be battling to be back up in the top five overall where he finished in 2018, 2017 and 2016. Also coming on board is Edgar Carballo who posted some promising results riding fro a Mondraker program last year. Thomas Lapeyrie and Becky Cook leave the team to run self-funded programs.
photo


Kona Factory Racing
Connor Fearon, Miranda Miller, Shelly Flood, Rhys Verner

Norco Enduro Racing
Anita Gehrig, Caro Gehrig, Lucy Schick

Pole Enduro Race Team
Leigh Johnson, Joseph Nation

Sunn Enduro Factory Team
Kevin Miquel, Theo Galy

Yeti / Fox Factory Team
Shawn Neer, Richie Rude

Miranda Factory Team
Emanuel Pombo, Jose Borges, Maaris Meier, Tiago Ladeira

Team BULLS
Christian Textor, Marc Oppermann (EWS-E), Theresia Schwenk

Team Peugeot Cycles
Morgane Jonnier, Nico Lau

E-Team Moustache Bikes
Olivier Giordanengo (EWS-E), Diego Giordanengo (EWS-E), Kenny Muller (EWS-E), Jerome Gilloux (EWS-E)

Focus Scuderia Fontana
Marco Fontana

RMU Racing
Mattia Setti (EWS-E)

Tribe Rocky Mountain Power Play
Levy Batista, Irenee Menjou, Emeric Ienzer

Fulgur Factory Team
Nathan Secondi, Matteo Berta, Simone Pelissero, Stefano Giacobini, Matteo Mascellani, Francesco Giacobini

Team Dorrong Enduro
Bernd Dorrong, Max Fejer, Cri Maierhofer, Remi Allemann, Yana Dobnig

The Theory Global Enduro Team
Nicolas Bean, Daniel Self, Julie Duvert, Brady Stone

Yeti / Fox Development
Carson Eiswald, Jubal Davis, Quinn Reece, Lauren Bingham, Dillon Santos, Warren Kniss

Author Info:
jamessmurthwaite avatar

Member since Nov 14, 2018
1,770 articles
Must Read This Week
Thank You For Everything, Pinkbike
72329 views
How to Watch the 2024 Mountain Bike World Cup [Update: Staylive Offering Access in New Zealand, South Africa & More]
60112 views
First Ride: The 2024 Giant Trance X Advanced
50331 views
[UPDATED] Final Elite XC Results & Overall Standings from the Mairiporã XC World Cup 2024
41083 views
Staff Ride: Matt Beer's NZ MTB Rally-Spec Ibis HD6
38415 views
First Ride: 2024 Yeti SB165 - Now With Mixed Wheels
36901 views
Tree Root Pierces Harriet Harnden's Foot at Round 1 of the British National Downhill Series
35773 views
First Ride: The Sub-$600 RockShox Domain and Psylo Forks
34088 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup

71 Comments
  • 30 1
 What about Specialized?
  • 17 6
 E-mtb only..Smile
  • 49 2
 @Redhill: Competing for the title of Biggest Loser
  • 28 1
 Tied up in court
  • 12 0
 So they launch the new (award winning??) Enduro... but don't have an actual Enduro team? Bit of an own goal that one?
  • 8 0
 The 2020 Enduro is so good it promotes itself. But they have Cody Kelly and he's pretty fast.
  • 15 0
 Someone should let Cody Kelly know?
  • 18 0
 While Raw Morrison does sound pretty cool, I think her name is actually Rae.
  • 16 1
 Josh Carlson to EWS-E. Be weird not seeing him on the main circuit!
  • 3 0
 Right! He comes from a XC background that’s really unusual
  • 8 3
 @lalientoxc: They gotta sell those e-bikes somehow... Probably a forced move by Giant
  • 7 30
flag ButtermilkBar (Feb 28, 2020 at 9:04) (Below Threshold)
 @azogas413: Or maybe he just has more fun riding e bikes. I know I do.
I suspect the e racing will actually be more interesting than the regular ews.
  • 2 0
 @ButtermilkBar: That's possible as well but I just don't see that being the case for a competitive racer like Josh who wants to compete at the highest level with the most talented rider fields. For me personally, I think the most interesting series will be the one with tightest racing, the more talented rider field, and the most coverage provided whichever that will be.
  • 2 0
 @ButtermilkBar: I agree, ones I hit an older age I’m gonna be riding e-bikes all day long but Giant has the money to bring someone new aboard instead moving athletes around
  • 4 2
 He has stated in interviews that he found e-bikes were a great training tool for normal enduro racing, so he clearly was familiar and enjoyed e-bikes.
  • 4 1
 @justwan-naride: Oh I don't doubt that. I'd just be curious if, given a personal choice, he'd rather race the e-bike series than the regular EWS. Being a sponsored rider means, that his sponsor is influencing a lot of buisness decision making if you will.
  • 1 1
 @lalientoxc: Just because they have the money to bring in new riders, doesn't mean it fits in their racing budget.
  • 5 3
 @azogas413: giant factory riders actually have a lot of say in how they want to spend their time, just look at Elliot Jackson. Following Josh Carlson on Instagram and it seems like he genuinely enjoys his e-bike and he's been riding it the most this offseason. Plus he has a family and the fewer races means more family time for him.
  • 3 4
 @azogas413: He likes riding e bikes and you don't think he would be interested in becoming the first ever ews e champion? Enduro e racing is only going to get more popular as the bikes get more popular, I won't be surprised if they take over enduro if things keep going the way they are. Out of all the bike racing disciplines, e bikes make the most sense in enduro. You can do more runs, less time climbing, and the uphill technical stages should be fun and will keep the bikes honest.
  • 1 0
 @ButtermilkBar: Fair assessment. Do we know the top level riders participating in the e-enduro series? I just question the decision being purely personal is all. I get that he likes e-bikes but I would think he'd want to race against the big dogs if given the choice. Being the e-enduro champion (and the first one at that) is cool and all but as a racer myself, I don't see the glory in winning if there's no competition but hopefully I'm wrong and there will be. I'm interested to see how this format progresses and whether it will be considered as prestigious as the EWS/WC or if it will turn into a d-league. The facts are that growth in the e-bike marketplace is exploding and so these manufacturers have a huge interest in capitalizing on sales so I don't think its' that far-fetched of an idea why a sponsored rider of a bike manufacturer would be making the move over to establish a presence.
  • 2 0
 maybe the ebike schedule fits him better.
  • 3 0
 He got 6th at whistler last year and can put down some serious watts! At enduro of nations Sam Hill was tucking in behind to get towed up the hills. Well looks like he will be putting even more watts down this year! All the best Josh.
  • 11 0
 Going through the different teams it struck me once again that teams don't sell their riders' jerseys. I don't get it. It brings more exposure to the sport and more $ for teams and riders, which opens up more opportunity.

Two years ago I tried to get a Blenki @norcobicycles jersey that he rode in and I couldn't.
  • 3 0
 I’d buy a Sam Hill or Callaghan jersey in a heartbeat tbh
  • 2 0
 Yeti sell theirs at points through the season as a Limited Edition.

But agreed, most teams don’t, and they totally should. Same goes for XC and DH, as I’d pay good money for my daughter to have a Courtney or Neff jersey!
  • 18 6
 Santa Cruz still looks has wowan fobia... starting to think weird about why they created Juliana...
  • 3 0
 Totally agree... I'm not sure where the Juliana/SRAM team went
  • 1 0
 @PAmtbiker: Good to know! I had no idea of this team and this riders... good luck and at least a move for SC... hope they make it soon on PB frontpage and others...
  • 10 0
 Cody Kelley on Specialized! Come on Pinkbike, you know we love Cody!
  • 5 0
 I thought he was sponsored by Specialized, because I don't think they have an enduro team this year. I could be wrong but I did a quick google and nothing came up for a 2020 enduro team
  • 3 1
 @swenzowski: Specialized Marqueting A.I supercomputer has determined has way more output to invest their minded $ in a good rider+instagrammer than few riders+team structure..
  • 7 1
 Jared Graves not listed in on of the Yeti teams....thought he wants to do a couple of EWS races.
  • 9 0
 He’s an ambassador.
  • 3 0
 yes but he signed as a "Yeti Ambassador", not an actual racer for the Yeti/Fox Factory Team, which is why he isn't published here
  • 1 0
 Noticed that, too, but the Ambassador explanation kind of makes sense.

Bigger question is: Why didn’t Pinkbike see fit to say anything about the Yeti team? They’re 2/3 of the World Champ team, and Rude is as much a title threat as Maes or Hill.
  • 6 0
 Filter fail. E-team moustache bikes? Extra-electric watt storage? Who cares.
  • 9 7
 The COVID-19 hasn't hit South America yet (Manizales is in South America), but I wouldn't be surprised to see some EWS or World Cup events cancelled if the COVID-19 continues spreading around the globe.

The UAE Tour was cancelled yesterday after two team members were believed to have been infected with coronavirus (the final two stages had been abandoned).

Some Italian races are under threat of cancellation following the confirmed coronavirus cases at the UAE Tour; Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico and Strade Bianche

Finally, Mathieu van der Poel will not be at the start of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad this weekend. Supposedly Van der Poel has the flu and not the COVID-19.
  • 31 0
 More news at 11.
  • 6 0
 MISS RIDER 404 THOMAS LAPEYRIE
  • 3 0
 Nico Lau on Peugeot? Good to see the fast man formerly with Cube back on this list.
  • 6 1
 What about Randy?
  • 1 0
 Congrats and have a great season Riley Miller. The future is bright for the 14 year old ESC graduate and go get them Richie Rude the ESC's first DH Champion 10 short years ago.
  • 3 0
 Is Marco Fontana doing a full EWS season?
  • 1 0
 Really interested to see how he'll do this year, knowing how quick he is on an XC bike, hopefully he'll be doing the full calendar
  • 2 0
 He's racing E-bikes, isn't he?
  • 1 0
 To answer my own question. Yes, he is.
www.worldebikeseries.com/teams/focus-scuderia-fontana
  • 4 2
 What about Specialized Racing Team this year?
  • 2 0
 It's just Cody Kelly so no full Enduro team
  • 2 0
 Canyon C(o)ll(e)ct(i)v(e), nice one PB
  • 1 0
 What does that mean?
  • 2 0
 Joe Nation still has the coolest name of the bunch!
  • 1 0
 He's pretty handy on a bike too.
  • 1 0
 I was hoping for for Propain to put together a team now when they released the supposedly awesome new Tyee.
  • 2 0
 What about Lewis Buchanan riding for Forbidden
  • 1 0
 I saw an interview he did last night, he’s only doing selective events as he’s not on a team and has to arrange everything himself. The first event he plans to do is France.
  • 1 0
 @Binney: Shame...
  • 1 0
 Where is Richie Rude listed, whats with Yeti ?
  • 2 0
 Dope.
  • 1 0
 Has Fearon made the switch too or doing both ?
  • 1 0
 Doing selected EWS I read somewhere
  • 1 0
 Pleased to see Shelly Flood on the Kona Factory Team.
  • 1 0
 Commencal definitely playing the long game.
  • 2 2
 Specialized. Shame. Trek should say: we put our bikes to the test in competitions instead of being just bloggers.
  • 1 0
 where (and how) is Jared Graves?
  • 1 0
 What about BH ? Alex Cure and Karim AMOUR ?
  • 1 0
 Marin??
  • 2 2
 Specialized?
  • 1 1
 Sam hill?
  • 5 0
 ...reading is hard...
  • 2 0
 @NorCalNomad:

put my glasses on, found Richie and Yeti Smile
  • 1 2
 Where the f*ck is Randy?! Cummon PB! Give the man some love!







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.039489
Mobile Version of Website