Season Preview - EWS 2014 Preview

Mar 19, 2014 at 7:36
by Matt Wragg  
EWS Logo - image by Matt Wragg

























19-20 April
Round One: Chillan de Nevados, Chile

For Round One of the 2014 season, the Enduro World Series heads to South America as following the spread of the race format beyond the traditional North American and European heartlands of mountain biking. Chile has one of the most vibrant mountain bike scenes in South America and the team at Montenbaik have been running a national series there for a number of years now. Born from a network of old cowboy and hiking trails, Nevados de Chillan bike park has been open for more than five years now, hosting DH, Enduro and XC races in that time.


On Monday 14 April the race map will be released and official practice will be Thursday 17 and Friday 18 April. Racing is split over two days, with riders racing over three stages that will be repeated to reach a total of 6 or 7 stages in two days (to be confirmed). That should mean around 1,000m of climbing in the saddle each day, plus added vertical metres from chairlift, and a total of around 40 minutes of timed stages to compete over.

On special stages a full-face helmet, knee and back protection will be mandatory and riders must wear a helmet at all times when they are on the bike.

www.montenbaikenduro.com


























31 May - 1 June
Round Two: Peebles, Scotland

Scotland and the home trails of EWS head honcho, Chris Ball, in the Tweed Valley is the second stop for racers. The Tweed Valley is one of the most-established riding areas in the whole of the UK and each year the Tweedlove festival throws its doors open for riders of all types to come and enjoy the trails in the area. For the last few years they have added an enduro race to the festival lineup and this year that race is being dialled up to 11 as the worlds fastest enduro racers join the fun.


On 25 May the course map will be made available to racers - but the race course will be closed for marking until 10am Wednesday. There will then be unmarshalled practice on Wednesday 28 until Friday 30 May. Racing is split over two days, and riders should expect between 3 and 5 stages and 30-40km each day. In total there should be around 40 minutes of timed stages to race over. There are no chairlifts here, so all transitions should be pedalled.

Kneepads are mandatory. A helmet must be worn at all times, full-face helmets are strongly recommended for racers, but that will be at the riders' discretion.

www.tweedlove.com


























21-22 June
Round Three: Valloire, France

For the third round of the season, racers will head to one of the classic French Enduro Series venues - Valloire. While the sport is relatively new in North America, they have been racing enduro in Valloire for nearly a decade now, and they keep coming back because riders love it so much here - it is a real test for both body and bike. This is the place that Mark Weir says beats him up every time he races there.


French Enduro Series rules apply for this race - so there is no pre-race practice for this round. The course map will be revealed on Friday 20 June and riders can walk the tracks, but riding is strictly forbidden. At this stage the race organisers are not giving away any further details about the race, but racing will be split over two days, with Saturday usually being more DH-oriented and Sunday more all-mountain. Racers should expect to face around 10 stages, and something near 10,000m of vertical descending over the two days of racing and typically French Enduro races feature more than an hour of timed stages over the weekend. Transfers will mostly be by chairlift, but there is a chance there will be some short(ish) transfers to reach the stage starts. For this kind of format of race riders tackle each run multiple times - the first run on each track will be a practice run and therefore off the clock, then the following runs are business time.

French Federation rules have been relaxed slightly this year so elbow protectors are no longer mandatory, but full-face helmets, full-finger gloves, back protectors and kneepads are. Riders can use a backpack in place of a spineboard, providing it is CE-certified as a protector. Helmets must be worn at all times on the bike.

www.tribe-events.com


























12-13 July
Round Four: La Thuile, Italy

While the name may sound French, La Thuile very much sits on the Italian side of the border, in the famous Val D'Aosta in the shadow of Mont Blanc. This is a new venue for enduro racing, but Superenduro mainstay, Enrico Guala, has been working hard to get the venue ready for a race this big and is confident it's going to be something special.


Course map will be revealed Saturday 5 July, but riders won't be able to get on the stages for practice until Thursday 10 July and Friday 11July. Racing will be over two days, with a total of around an hour and a half of timed stages. Transfers will be a mix of chairlifts and pedalled ascents.

Similar to the French rules, full-face helmets are mandatory on stages, as are full-finger gloves, kneepads and CE-certified back protectors. Again, a protective backpack can be a suitable substitute for a spine board. Helmets must be worn on the bike at all times, but on the transfers an open-face helmet is acceptable.

www.superenduromtb.com


























26-27 July
Round Five: Winter Park, USA

For the second year running, for the first North American round the series will join the Colorado Freeride Festival at Winter Park, Colorado. This is the first round of the series repeated from last year, so riders should know what to expect - mixing up the bike park and the backcountry that lies beyond it.


The race format is Winter Park is unique. Racing and practice are split over four days. On Thursday 24 July the course map for stages one and two will be released so riders can practice. Friday 25 July riders will race stages one and two and the course map for stages three and four will be released for practice. Saturday 26 July riders will race on stages three and four and the course map for stage five will be released for practice. On Sunday 27 July riders will race stage five. Over the five stages there should be around 40 minutes of racing. Transfers will be a mixture of climbing and lifts, as yet to be confirmed.

Full-face helmets, kneepads and full-finger gloves are mandatory for racing. A race book will be released with further details of equipment rules.

www.coloradofreeridefestival.com


























9-10 August
Round Six: Whistler, Canada

Round six sees the series returns to the Crankworx festival for the second year running. Last year Crankworx drew in the racers' vote for the Pinkbike Enduro Race of the Year 2013, so the expectation is high for this one. Details of the course are sparse at this stage, but last year it took in both the bike park and the trail network in the surrounding valley. Last year there was a $10,000 prize for the winning rider, making this the richest race in enduro, so expect some of the big race specialists to pull out all the stops for this one.


It's a short, sweet affair for this race, with everything condensed into just two days. Course will be announced the week before and the only confirmed practice so far is on Saturday 9 August, although this may yet be extended, and then it's just one day of racing on Sunday 10 August. There will be five stages for riders to compete over, with a combined racing time of somewhere between 45 and 60 minutes. Transfers are likely to be a mixture of chairlift and pedalling.

Full-face helmets are mandatory on all stages and British Columbia law states that riders must wear a helmet at all times when they are on a bike. Elbow, knee and back protection are strongly recommended, but that is at the riders' discretion.

www.crankworx.com


























4-5 October
Round Seven: Finale Ligure, Italy

Once more it will be the finale in Finale. For the second time in 2014, Superenduro will host the EWS as the season closes out on the shores of the Ligurian Sea. Narrowly beating Crankworx for the title of Pinkbike Enduro Race of the Year 2013, the enduro season has come to a conclusion in this riders' paradise for nearly a decade now - the combination of the trails, seaside and the late Autumn sunshine are always a great place to end the year.


The course map will be released Saturday 27 September, but practice will only be on Thursday 2 October and Friday 3 October. Racing will be over two days and while course details are not available yet, all transfers will be pedalled and riders should expect to face around 60km in the saddle over the two days.

Full-face helmets are mandatory on stages, as are full-finger gloves, kneepads and CE-certified back protectors. Again, a protective backpack can be a suitable substitute for a spine board. Helmets must be worn on the bike at all times, but on the transfers an open-face helmet is acceptable.

www.superenduromtb.com

www.enduroworldseries.com

Author Info:
mattwragg avatar

Member since Oct 29, 2006
753 articles

30 Comments
  • 19 3
 Gravesy for the overall, Maesy to win at least one round. 650b all the way to the bank, er, finish line
  • 4 2
 keep your eye out for Marco Osborne this year. That guy pins hard and might turn a few heads.
  • 5 1
 Of course 650 will dominate, are there any top enduro racers even on 26"?

It should be a good battle between Graves and Clementz.
  • 10 3
 As far as I know Graves is pretty adamant about staying on the 26" SB-66. Has there been anything posted different?
  • 7 1
 The only reason Graves is still on the 66 is because Yeti haven't got a decent 650b bike yet. Rather than a over supply of old tubes from the 95A to get rid of with the SB75.
  • 6 0
 RenĂ© Wildhaber will be back to full steam. Good luck, Wildi!
  • 4 1
 Fabien Barel FTW!
  • 5 0
 Rooting for Graves/Yeti. That guys rips, and that bike is f*cking sick. Hard to contend with Clementz' consistently. He's definitely the safe bet.

Can't wait to see how Jamie Nicoll does. He's got my vote for dark horse candidate. I hope SC hooks him up with the new Nomad. vimeo.com/77743785
  • 1 1
 I can't tell if Ratboy is just saying "Solo" funny or if he is actually calling the 5010, "YOLO."
  • 1 1
 And how about a hair cut before next semester?
  • 7 0
 Im signed up for the E1 category at the Scotland round quite frankly I'm bricking my pants but it should be fun !
  • 7 0
 Now that is really an enduro WORLD series
  • 3 0
 Getting there. Bring on the Asian and Antipodean rounds next year.
  • 8 1
 Amazing locations. See you all in Peebles!
  • 6 0
 Impressive, never seen a preview with all the maps.
  • 1 0
 Peebles is awesome BUT for the world stage of Enduro I think The Highlands of Scotland would've provided a better stage such as Glencoe or Torridon. More natural terrain and breathe taking views!
  • 1 0
 Now that is an awesome schedule! I wish I could hit each event and just vacation as well! I need to go buy a lottery ticket today!
  • 1 0
 La Thuile's the best place I've ever ridden a bike, it is as brilliant as it is unknown. Should be an amazing round. Guess I have to be content with the scottish one Smile
  • 4 2
 Can't believe Chillan is close to Los Angeles, just look at the map...
  • 1 0
 Winter Park! CO represent! Glad to see this park getting some love on the international scene. Can't wait to watch the race.
  • 2 1
 Finale Ligure, "Narrowly beating Crankworx for the title of Pinkbike Enduro Race of the Year 2013", so proud....
  • 2 0
 Stoked! Fantastic places to ride, let alone race!
  • 1 2
 Which locations allow track-reading and extensive practice sessions? Are there other regulations unique to certain locations?
  • 4 0
 Did you read the article?
  • 1 0
 Do not forget Damien Oton with new Devinci Troy
  • 1 0
 notable la foto de alargaos pa abrir, saludos
  • 1 0
 I think Marco Osborne will slay it
  • 1 0
 Nobody thinking Nico Lau?? Awesome rider
  • 1 0
 Great!!!
  • 1 0
 awesome







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