Day 1 Results: EWS La Thuile 2018

Jul 21, 2018 at 5:33
by Pinkbike Staff  



Due to overnight rain, day one of the La Thuile EWS started with a course switch up, starting riders off on stage 3. Cecile Ravanel unsurprisingly came out on top for the first stage of the day in the women's field. She was followed by Isabeau Courdurier in 2nd, Melanie Pugin in 3rd, Ines Thoma 4th, and Rae Morrison 5th. A crash set Katy Winton back in 12th on the stage. On the men's side, crowd favorite Eddie Masters had a killer stage, besting the field by 11 seconds when he crossed the line, only to end up being bested by Sam Hill and Youn Deniaud. Martin Maes and Greg Callaghan rounded out the top five for stage one. A shortened stage 2 was next up for riders and positioned stayed relatively the same. The third stage of the day, however, (which was intended to be stage 1), was when another curveball was thrown into the schedule. A long course hold due to injury in the men's field forced race organizers to call off the third stage of the day for the women's field. At the end of the day, Sam Hill and Cecile Ravanel walked away with the top spots. On to tomorrow, with only a slight chance of rain in the forecast, but as we know, anything can happen at the EWS.

EWS director Chris Ball drops into steep stuff.


Men's Results


1st Samuel HILL 27:05.95
2nd Eddie MASTERS +0:23.98
3rd Martin MAES +0:38.81
4th Jesse MELAMED +0:47.03
5th Damien OTON +1:01.96
6th Yoann BARELLI +1:03.58
7th Youn DENIAUD +1:04.84
8th Dimitri TORDO +1:10.82
9th Gregory CALLAGHAN +1:11.46
10th Thomas LAPEYRIE +1:12.71

Women's Results

1st Cecile RAVANEL 21:18.24
2nd Isabeau COURDURIER +0:34.21
3rd Melanie PUGIN +1:22.28
4th Ines THOMA +1:24.17
5th Anita GEHRIG +1:45.74
6th Andreane LANTHIER NADEAU +1:51.60
7th Raewyn MORRISON +1:54.94
8th Katy WINTON +2:15.83
9th Noga KOREM +2:17.82
10th Becky COOK +2:23.09



Full results and race updates here.


MENTIONS: @EnduroWorldSeries


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124 Comments
  • 176 3
 Where did Ed Masters come from? New found confidence? New bike? Penis enlargement? Performance enhancing penis enlargement?
  • 70 0
 He just has the spirit of enduro!
  • 15 1
 He has the “Vegan” Powers!
  • 37 0
 No longer managing a team Wink
  • 54 0
 You Germans always have to "porn it up" a bit LOL
  • 7 35
flag Rainozeros (Jul 21, 2018 at 11:57) (Below Threshold)
 @Dustfarter: I have always wondered where the term dickhead evolved from. The above statement just made things clear Wink
  • 16 1
 #ED4RAMPAGE
  • 16 0
 Eddie deserves a raise... probably one of the best brand ambassadors right now
  • 14 0
 He's always had the speed (I've seen him hit some obscene gaps in Queenstown on bald tyres, leaky suspension, sram X5 groupset,...), the difference is he's now just a rider whereas before he was team owner, manager, and rider for the Bergamont team. On top of that, the Pivot team must have a bit more budget/support than the shitstorm that was the Bergamont team
  • 3 1
 @fabdemaere: I'm interested in the berganmont team being a shitestorm. Why was that?
  • 7 0
 @browner: Eddie Masters was running it, obviously hahaha
  • 1 5
flag fecalmaster (Jul 22, 2018 at 1:25) (Below Threshold)
 This is insane, I always make my wife read me the results since it's done by the time we "wake up".
  • 106 2
 Nice to see Barelli in the top ten!
  • 48 1
 Does anyone not like this guy? Definitely great to see him do well.
  • 26 2
 Just what I was thinking. Dude is so positive. I'm happy to see him doing well.
  • 10 1
 Must've fixed that rotor pretty well
  • 3 1
 Scrolled down to say the same!!
  • 8 1
 Soo much for playing it safe, 1st on every stage,,, beast mode. Eddie Masters gets honorable mention also.
  • 10 1
 Not bad for a sleep deprived new(ish) Dad.
  • 6 1
 such a positive loveable dude. he probably bleeds rad
  • 7 25
flag thesharkman (Jul 21, 2018 at 13:16) (Below Threshold)
 @thenotoriousmic: he annoys the hell out of me
  • 4 0
 @thesharkman: paw need a nap?
  • 5 0
 @thesharkman: you need a hug
  • 1 0
 Exactly! Good for him. Nice to see good things happen to such a nice guy.
  • 1 0
 Time for Isabeau to trim those bars down. She could get extra seconds from there.
  • 43 1
 Good to see Jesse Melamed in 4th.
  • 7 0
 Few weeks out from being cleared, too. That's a hell of a bounce-back.
  • 41 0
 @jayacheess: still not cleared...
  • 32 0
 Thanks! Happy to be safe and 4th!
  • 9 0
 @JesseMelamed: does your doctor know what you've been up to?Wink
  • 11 0
 @JesseMelamed: may the 4th be with you.
  • 2 0
 MELAMED has signed with team sky for 2019. He will ride the new Pinerollo enduro bike.
  • 1 0
 @jayacheess: I sent her an email but I haven't heard back haha.
  • 38 0
 Eddie Masters is the man of the moment. Hope he wins one of these races soon.
  • 29 1
 FU*KEN GO EDDIE!!! Also Sam Hill is a machine
  • 9 0
 eddie the eagle...he is flying
  • 4 1
 @funkzander: *bald eagle
  • 25 2
 And as always Yeti riders performed like crap on wet courses
  • 18 0
 13th overall for Richie isn’t that bad. Looking at the overall results after day one, the Specialized guys would be stoked to trade places.
  • 6 1
 Richie was in the 3rd until the last stage where he went 44th. Not sure what happened, he either went down or had a mechanical.
  • 10 0
 @jaydubmah: bah jared and curtis would love to trade places with anyone anytime. no disrespect to those guys though, they put in the work and are top notch riders. I'm sure one of these days we'll get a to see jared graves make it through an ews without diving down for a penny, pressing his derailleur eject button, or taking a knife to his rear tire.
  • 14 1
 Specialied guys would love to trade bikes with yeti. Or anyone really.
  • 3 7
flag thenotoriousmic (Jul 21, 2018 at 16:53) (Below Threshold)
 I can’t help but to think brake and tyre choice is a factor. Rude runs dhf’s that don’t brake well and saint brakes which have a lot of power but little modulation combined with steep wet trails might not be the best brake tyre combo. Maybe that’s why he struggles in the rain.
  • 3 0
 @thenotoriousmic: Actually from the bike check, he's actually using the new xtr groupset and brakes.

That doesn't explain Eddie Masters who is running Shimano and Maxxis as well.

I think Rude just overcooks his run.
  • 2 0
 @DrSam: I think soo too. Hes still too fast but track condition makes it too hard for him to control the bike. See Enduroworld's instavid comparison between him ang Eddie and you'll see he's struggling.
  • 1 0
 @salespunk: he destroyed his wheel on that stage.
  • 1 0
 @DrSam: looks like he was on shortys as well.
  • 15 1
 Wait so what happened to Cecile Ravanel?
  • 1 0
 they screwed something up. she is leading after today.
  • 1 0
 According to their reporting she won the first stage, and allegedly stayed in the same place for.the second stage.
  • 2 0
 It's fixed now. Women had the 3rd stage cancelled.
  • 6 0
 The Queen is still on the top step! Timing confusion after stage 3 cancelation, my bad! Results are accurate now.
  • 6 1
 Darn. They edited it and now I look dumb.
  • 1 0
 How come S3 cancelled? Rain?
  • 4 0
 @IllestT: I think the report says it was called off as the track was shut to remove an injured rider. Such steep rough terrain must be a nightmare more emergency services.
  • 15 1
 S.A.M H.I.L.L = K.I.N.G
  • 2 0
 He destroy the field
  • 10 0
 I feel that Joe Nation should get a place with Specialized on a factory contract. He is a better performer than the other 2 guys on Specialized
  • 3 3
 Why would you want that for Joe,if he went to Spec he would probably perform as well as Keene and Graves.He's doing just fine without Spec sponsor.
  • 1 1
 I think he would suit a Norco more, his style reminds me of Blenki.
  • 1 0
 he has specialized sponsorship, it’s just national level rather than full factory
  • 11 1
 Go BARELLI, top 10 !!!!!!
  • 10 0
 Ed Masters is my new inspiration. A fine reason to follow. Good job!
  • 10 0
 jose ratland in 20th place ... rock on
  • 13 0
 Is that Ratboys Spanish cousin.
  • 9 1
 The womens results are wrong.
  • 8 22
flag onemind123 (Jul 21, 2018 at 9:32) (Below Threshold)
 Whatever you do don't criticize pinkbike staff on the confusion of their reporting. Just politely notify them that their results listed do not match up at all with what they have written. They work very hard to do a quality job.
  • 11 0
 Sorry all, results are updated now! Jumped the gun and copied them over before they had been updated.
  • 1 0
 @hazelcbrewster: Yeah, but the text is still wrong: "At the end of the day, Sam Hill and Melanie Pugin walked away with the top spots"
  • 2 1
 @hazelcbrewster: thanks
  • 13 7
 Rude and Graves are having a tough time, couple of years ago they were flying, think Rude messed around too much with wheel size
  • 12 0
 Keen to find out what happened to Graves on the 1st stage of the day, poor guy can’t damn take a break!
  • 2 1
 The same goes for Graves. He's running 2.6 tires on his 29er.
  • 3 0
 @aushred: Crashed and hit his shoulder pretty hard on a tree
  • 15 10
 You nailed it. They were king when they rode 26”/27.5” wheels and normal sized tyres. Then the marketing people got involved and dictated that they ride wheel sizes and tyres they are trying to sell. Graves also went over to Specialized, Which seems to have been a curse for several riders.
  • 5 12
flag mizzter-b (Jul 21, 2018 at 12:17) (Below Threshold)
 La Thuile is scary on a 29er
  • 30 1
 @Travel66: funny that Masters, Melamed and Oton are on 29 and in the top five
  • 3 1
 @Travel66: Can confirm that it is!
  • 5 0
 As I stated above, Rude was in 3rd through the first two stages of the day and then something happened on the last stage of the day.
  • 1 3
 @aushred: *Keene
  • 2 0
 Plus Barelli, Callaghan, Deniaud and Lapeyrie when you stretch it to the top 10 29ers are probably scary to us mere mortals at La Thuile but 70% of the top 10 are on them @chri92:
  • 3 0
 Joe Nation up in 19th on an 29 Enduro though.
  • 5 2
 Can't believe there is still wheel size discussion... doesn't matter. Fastest DH guy this year is on 29. Move on.
  • 4 3
 @mayha49: Only because Gwin injured himself ????Its been proven countless time that the big wheels dont provide a significant avandtage ( if any) other than fit/comfort for some riders and we clearly wouldn’t be here if MARKETING people doesn't get involved to sell more bikes.Unfortunately their plan worked as people like you drank the cool aid @
  • 1 1
 @mayha49: Sam Hill just won, again on 27.5 wheels and flat pedals.
  • 6 0
 I believe the secret to Sam's speed is in the eyebrows. They cut unwanted glare from the trail, allowing him to see obstacles better.
  • 4 0
 WTF is going on with Specialized..?
Today both riders were south of 120th place-and this is a 'factory' team mind you, and they haven't had anywhere near decent results all year.
Not much last year either.
Is it their bikes, equipment, riders?
I've always really liked Curtis Keene, but he hasn't had a good finish in years
  • 5 0
 Specialized. Can't stay on the bike or the bikes can't stay together. Don't know if its always just bad luck or now its just in their heads cuz it has happened so many times.
  • 3 10
flag RedRedRe (Jul 21, 2018 at 13:26) (Below Threshold)
 The bikes sucks as you can easily understand. The “Enduro” bike is a slouch with low bb and they cant use it. The new long travel stumpjumper is too slack and they cant use it. Both bikes designed for beginners riders, nice comfy sofas. These are JG words between the lines.

They are left with the trail version of the stumpjumper, but they increase travel. It is a noodly bike to start with, can’t imagine how if feels with longer fork and shock while being ridden by those guys.
  • 5 0
 Hell yea Eddie! Stoked to see this dude doing well. Not a bad performance in Vallnord either.
  • 1 0
 www.enduroworldseries.com/live says : "So that’s it for day one! And as ever, it’s the irrepressible Sam Hill and Cecile Ravanel who lead the race!"

Something's gotta be wrong somewhere.
  • 1 0
 It's fixed now. Thanx!
  • 5 0
 Rain = no rude
  • 2 0
 What about the third EWS round in France? If i remember correctly it was also wet and slippery and Rude won...hard to figure this guy out.
  • 4 0
 An instavid comparison of him and masters made him look amateur. Or maybe hes too fast he cant control the bike durig braking. He should move to UK during offseason. Smile
  • 1 0
 It rains a good amount where he's from. Not like that sloppy U.K. Stuff but enough to get some wet riding in. Always gutted to see him go down like that. He was on a great pacetoday @ugez:
  • 1 0
 @ugez: whose Instagram page is that on?
  • 1 0
 @tomlynchwatson: www.instagram.com/world_enduro
  • 3 0
 Melamed... great result today in the wet! Comeback continues!!
  • 3 0
 Hell yeah Yoann!!!! This guy is so deserving of some good results.
  • 3 0
 Eddie Masters & Yoann Barelli in the top 10, heck yeah!
  • 3 0
 And in 53rd--Philippe Atwill--when did he join the French team : )
  • 2 0
 Awesome to see privateers in the top 20.
  • 2 0
 The eyebrows have it... again.
  • 3 0
 Nice work Sam!
  • 1 0
 Womens results are wrong. From the EWS site:

1st Ravanel
2nd Courdurier
3rd Pugin
4th Thoma
5th Anita GEHRIG
  • 1 0
 Updated now. Thanks for the heads up!
  • 5 2
 יאללה נוגה!!
  • 3 0
 Yeah
  • 3 1
 فلسطين حرة
  • 2 1
 “Yalla Noga”

Hell yes Noga is representing!
  • 3 0
 Hell ya Eddie Masters!
  • 2 0
 Let's go S@M H1LL .... ! F' yah bud
  • 3 0
 MR WORLDWIDE!!!
  • 2 0
 Was It Anneke? That sucks. No word on her condition?
  • 2 0
 The GOAT is on a roll!
  • 1 0
 What happened to Robin Wallner?
  • 11 1
 He's home because of an STD
  • 2 0
 @LaurensVR: ouch!but also funny.
  • 1 0
 I thought eds didn’t keep you at home@LaurensVR:
  • 2 0
 Sam Hill ftw
  • 1 0
 Bravo Mélanie!!
  • 1 0
 I like this!
  • 1 1
 Did anneke crash?







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