[Salespunk]

Here we go! Chile is the first round and my bets on the men include a dark horse

1. Jared Graves
2. Nico Lau
3. Jerome Clementz


Women

1. AC
2. TMo
3. Anneke Berteen

So stoked this is starting up again. Even more so since I am signed up for Colorado!

 

[Salespunk]

Am I the only one in the Pivot forum that races Enduro and geeks out on the EWS?

 

[Salespunk]

AC completely dominated the Women's today, TMo in second and AB in third. Maes took Stage 1 by .2 sec overall! Fab had a massive crash on 1 and ruined his chances for an overall. Graves killed everyone on Stage 2 and is leading by 13 seconds now. Waiting for the full results from Stage 3, but EWS says that Graves leads, Clementz second, and dark horse Florian Nicolai in third. CG had a super fast run on Stage 3 and looks like he might have taken the stage.

Adam Craig is the top placed American rider in 13th currently. Once again Keene is the top 29r, but way off the pace. I wish Spec would either let him ride the Enduro 26 or give him a works E275.

Here are the top 20

1st Jared Graves Yeti / Fox Shox Factory Team (AUS) 17:42.08 3:31.89 (5th) 10:30.22 (1st) 3:39.98 (3rd)
2nd Jerome Clementz Cannondale OverMountain (FRA) 17:53.59 3:30.83 (3rd) 10:42.42 (2nd) 3:40.34 (6th)
3rd Florian Nicolai Rocky Mountain Urge BP Team (FRA) 17:54.71 3:29.98 (2nd) 10:44.43 (3rd) 3:40.29 (5th)
4th Cedric Gracia Santa Cruz (FRA) 17:58.83 3:35.06 (12th) 10:46.07 (5th) 3:37.70 (1st)
5th Justin Leov Trek Factory Racing Enduro Team (NZL) 18:03.77 3:34.37 (10th) 10:47.50 (6th) 3:41.89 (8th)
6th Nico Lau Cube Action Team (GER) 18:05.95 3:33.17 (7th) 10:52.61 (7th) 3:40.17 (4th)
7th Martin Maes GT Factory Racing (BEL) 18:07.18 3:29.73 (1st) 10:56.11 (10th) 3:41.34 (7th)
8th Alexandre Cure Rocky Mountain Urge BP Team (FRA) 18:09.12 3:38.31 (17th) 10:45.27 (4th) 3:45.54 (14th)
9th Remy Absalon Scott SR Suntour Enduro Team (FRA) 18:10.53 3:32.98 (6th) 10:53.41 (8th) 3:44.14 (12th)
10th Rene Wildhaber Trek Factory Racing Enduro Team (SUI) 18:12.15 3:31.42 (4th) 11:01.62 (18th) 3:39.12 (2nd)
11th Bryan Regnier (FRA) 18:15.77 3:34.33 (9th) 10:58.00 (13th) 3:43.44 (10th)
12th Francois Bailly-Maitre BMC Enduro Racing Team (FRA) 18:19.74 3:38.64 (18th) 10:53.93 (9th) 3:47.17 (20th)
13th Ludovic May Canyon Factory Enduro Team (SUI) 18:24.57 3:33.19 (8th) 11:06.82 (23rd) 3:44.56 (13th)
14th Aurelien Giordanengo Polygon UR (FRA) 18:24.78 3:35.84 (13th) 11:02.92 (19th) 3:46.01 (15th)
15th Fabien Cousinie Polygon UR (FRA) 18:26.17 3:39.55 (19th) 11:00.36 (14th) 3:46.26 (18th)
16th Damien Oton Devinci/Alltricks.com Enduro Racing (FRA) 18:26.60 3:36.84 (16th) 10:57.46 (12th) 3:52.30 (30th)
17th Adam Craig Giant Factory Off Road (USA) 18:30.38 3:43.62 (31st) 11:00.69 (15th) 3:46.07 (16th)
18th Iago Garay Santa Cruz (ESP) 18:30.43 3:36.24 (14th) 11:07.99 (25th) 3:46.20 (17th)
19th Jamie Nicoll Polygon UR (NZL) 18:31.79 3:43.98 (32nd) 11:00.93 (17th) 3:46.88 (19th)
20th Theo Galy Devinci/Alltricks.com Enduro Racing (FRA) 18:32.54 3:36.27 (15th) 11:08.68 (26th) 3:47.59 (21st)

 

[rehammer81]

Do you really think the 29 is what is holding Keene back? I'm interested in that Enduro 27.5 though.

 

[saltzzz]

Looks like the Capra is at 11th !


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[Zoo1424]

AC - she's a machine!

 

[hawthornspring]

Vital MTB has an interesting short interview with Graves where he talks about race tactics. Looks like he is taking a similar approach to last year's whistler round where he held back on all but the longest stage and won the event on that stage. I'm not sure if tomorrow has any long stages where a top rider could put serious time into his rivals

 

[Salespunk]

Do you really think the 29 is what is holding Keene back? I'm interested in that Enduro 27.5 though.

I do believe it is a factor. There was not a single stage last year where a 29 was in the top 5 and I think only one where it was in the top 10. My experience with the Enduro 29 (I bought one and had it for 6 months) showed it to be ok, but no faster, in rolling terrain. When it got steep and rough the thing was scary. I could feel the wheels going in opposite directions as the frame/wheels flexed. You never knew exactly where it was going to be in a high speed corner or rough trails because of it. There is no carbon rear triangle and you can feel it.

I believe that Stage 6 is another 8-10 minute stage. Graves learned a lot last year and I think had more pure speed than JC, but he lost based on tactics. JC would put a ton of time into the field on a single stage and then didn't have to push hard on the rougher stages. This allowed him to avoid having a single mechanical from what I can remember. Graves had a lot of them in comparison.

In the womens, AC is in another league again. Last year was tough for her since she could not get back up to speed fast enough mid season.

Day 2 tomorrow and it should be interesting! I think CG's result is going to be hugely motivating and he will take things much more serious for the rest of the year. Hopefully not too serious though!

 

[hawthornspring]

Dirt magazine loved the enduro, but said an upgrade to very stiff carbon wheels was mandatory. I guess they thought most of the flex was in the wheels. I love the ews series. I went to winter park last year to watch. The course wasn't set out in a way to make it easy for spectators, but I was able to ride stages while the pros were practicing on them. I really enjoyed the experience.

 

[Salespunk]

All of the mags liked the Enduro 29, the above was just my personal opinion with a LOT of hard data based on my riding. Doesn't translate to everyone I am sure.

Round 1 is in the books and what a crazy race. Clementz came back on the last stage to take the win from Graves. Fabian fell off a 30' cliff yesterday and did not line up today. Maes won 3 of 5 stages in his first Seniors race. AC showed utter domination in the Womens. This is why EWS is the best MTB race series!

it is going to be a great season!

 

[Blatant]

I have data, too. 200 pounds of pretty hard charging in some of the most technical terrain in the US. I'm not noticing any flex in my E29.

 

[Salespunk]

Glad you are enjoying it.

 

[Verbl Kint]

I really hope someone in the organization puts a highlight show after every race similar to the WRC coverage on TV.

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[Haggis]

I really hope someone in the organization puts a highlight show after every race similar to the WRC coverage on TV.

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Me too. Seems to be a bit of a hole in the planning of EWS

 

[bbeltramo]

Do you really think the 29 is what is holding Keene back? I'm interested in that Enduro 27.5 though.

I forget if it was reported on pinkbike or dirt or somewhere else, but Keene supposedly came down with the flu upon arriving in chile. So wheel size debate aside, that would probably have a bigger impact on his overall performance than 1.5 inches of wheel diameter

 

[hawthornspring]

I love the slideshows, highlights, rider diaries and interview coverage. I would like to hear more about tactics and equipment choice from the riders who talk most fluently about those topics. I am not sure the race format would be a good subject for live coverage because I imagine you would need an awful lot of cameras to do event a single stage justice. I would be happy to be proved wrong though.

I am really looking forward to the next venue. I feel like i get a better sense of the locations and riding at the locations than I do from downhill coverage (which I also enjoy).

I am rooting for TMo and am worried she doesn't have a reply to AC's form this season. Perhaps some of the other courses will suit her better. I don't think she get to practice carving sandy turns in the UK much.

Mass is a super exciting rider too. If he can bring his short stage form to the longer stages he might be a title contender this season.

 

[Salespunk]

I forget if it was reported on pinkbike or dirt or somewhere else, but Keene supposedly came down with the flu upon arriving in chile. So wheel size debate aside, that would probably have a bigger impact on his overall performance than 1.5 inches of wheel diameter

Heard that as well. I also heard that Ben Cruz had Lyme disease over the winter. Hope they are both back up to speed for the next round.

 

[Salespunk]

I really hope someone in the organization puts a highlight show after every race similar to the WRC coverage on TV.

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Dirt TV does 20 minute edits that drop about a week after the event. They also do quick edits for each day. Here is day 2

Read somewhere that Graves completely jacked up Stage 6 and straight lined several corners at the top. After JC came down he went straight over and congratulated him on the win before it was even finalized. In addition I saw several pics where they were riding up the Liasons together. Awesome sportsmanship and definitely good guys to look up to.

 

[Salespunk]

Jared Graves rider journal. These are probably the best write ups done. Also shows his complete bike setup including air pressures etc.

Rider Journal - EWS 1 - Nevados de Chillán - Pinkbike

 

[Salespunk]

So what are the bets for this weekend in Tweedlove? My call is;

1. Jared Graves
2. Martin Maes
3. Joe Barnes

1. TMo
2. AC
3. AB

This is going to be a strength race with over 9K of climbing between the 2 days! Add in the slick nasty Stages and it should be interesting. Manuel Ducci already broke his ankle in practice and is out for the season now. So what does everyone think?