Intro Text
Sam Hill and Cecile Ravanel win Enduro World Series races again and this time the victories are secured at the epic venue of La Thuile, Italy. Sam is 4 for 5 this season while Cecile has swept the 2018 series so far, even while dabbling in some World Cup DH. The EWS is a fickle beast with racers once at the top finding nothing but struggle and others remaining consistent. With 5000m of breath-taking descending in two days, this La Thuile event was a race for the ages.
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Sam Hill on a completely different line and trajectory than the 400 other riders before him, just touching the end of the catch bridge/berm instead of banking off it. His riding on the sketchy day one was heads above anybody else. Just amazing. -Sven Martin
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Sam Hill, alone, above anyone else. Stage one. -Sven Martin
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Cecile Ravenal on stage one has the focus. 6/7 stage wins. @maddogboris
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Martin Maes had a scorching second day with three stage wins. Clawing back a lot of time from Sam Hill (who had a lot to spare) - Photo Seb Schieck.
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Taking the stage win by 12 seconds on on the "shorter" stage 6.2 is simply amazing. Martin on a tear on Sunday and although we say it every week, we'll continue, his day is coming this year. - Photo Seb Schieck
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Eddie the Eagle living up to his name. IIRC the only one to triple out the final turn. Everybody couldn't be happier that the fun-loving, easy-going Kiwi finally sealed the podium deal after an hour of racing and 5500m of descending. -Sven Martin
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Factory as f*$k, Eddie Masters barefoot, dirty and about to uncork a four-Euro bottle of wine. -Sven Martin
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Long awaited celebrations for Eddie. -Sven Martin
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Eddie with a second on stage three despite having a crash. -Sven Martin
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Isabeau Courdurier closed the deficit on Cecile this weekend, this little pocket rocket has no weaknesses. -Sven Martin
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Theotim Trabac with an eleven second win this weekend. His second EWS Junior win after winning Milau last year. @maddogboris
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Jesse Melamed will be on the hunt for another win at the next EWS stop in Whistler. 4th place this weekend and on the gas. -Sven Martin
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Ines Thoma though the dust and light on the final stage. @maddogboris
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Great finish on day two for Thomas Lapeyrie with two thirds and a fourth. Look at the vista on stage four. @maddogboris
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A crash on stage two sidelined Raewyn Morrison. Even with a broken finger she finished the day, taping her finger and riding up to stage three. Check her X-Ray. -Sven Martin
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Rae Morrison in action. @maddogboris
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A good crew who work in support here at the EWS events, Alexis Bosson from Mavic was the rider who went viral last week jumping the Tour De France, your wheels are safe with him. -Sven Martin
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Yoann Barelli realizing that life-or-death risks during race runs are way less demanding than child rearing. @maddogboris
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Quad magnums for Yoann Barelli and an 8th place after a significant hiatus. Good job bro. -Sven Martin
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Matt Simmonds wins the Sagan award for taking a stage win on the short, punchy sprint stage through the town of La Thuile. A win is a win. -Sven Martin
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To give you an idea of how challenging and variable the stages and conditions are out there. With no mechanicals or crashes, Iago Garay had his worst EWS Stage result ever on stage three (106th) after freezing up, Then on stage four, the next morning, one of his best results (11th). So much more than just riding your bike this series. -Sven Martin
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Blenki race run on first stage of Sunday Morning. The other riders were firmly planted where he soars. @maddogboris
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The ladies huddle for warmth before dropping into the long stage four Sunday morning. -Sven Martin
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Moody start to Sunday's racing. Surrounded by amazing scenery and trails, La Thuile is a must-visit destination for any rider. Paul Van Der Ploeg not in Australia. -Sven Martin
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King of the Hill. -Sven Martin
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Stage four start. Almost five kilometers long with a drop of 800 meters through four different geographical zones. Mind-blowing. -Sven Martin
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The Spirit of Enduro. -Sven Martin
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Isabeau flying. -Sven Martin
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Anita Gehrig getting back up to speed after battling some early season injuries. Familiar fourth place for the Swiss twin. -Sven Martin
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Damien Oton jumps into second overall after Wallner skipped this stop as he is expecting a baby any day now. -Sven Martin
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When you watch how the bikes get worked and the lines the racers take, you could be mistaken for thinking this is World Cup DH photo, then you see the single crown fork. Mitch Ropelato bringing it home on the final stage. -Sven Martin
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Another top three finish for Cube junior and Kiwi, Cole Lucas, styling it out on the long stage two on Saturday. -Sven Martin
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Elliott Heap taking four stage wins out of seven but having to settle for second place this weekend. -Sven Martin
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Melanie Pugin was sitting in third when, sadly, a crash on stage four ended her weekend. -Sven Martin
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Craig Evans taking a dive and inuring his wrist 50 meters out of the gate on the very first stage. -Sven Martin
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A beautiful first stage start to kick off the fifth round of the series. -Sven Martin
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Another top finish for Yoan Deniaud. 7th. -Sven Martin
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Stage three was the gnarliest stage of the race (and possibly EWS history) due to the weather, mud, rain and fresh cut trail. The women's stage was cancelled with two injured riders halting their race. Mid-race bridge repairs were made after some chicken wire was torn off. Racing resumed with the Pro Men's shortly after. -Sven Martin
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Florian Nicolai streaking into the top ten. -Sven Martin
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Post-race footy (aka soccer) match between the Vanzacs and 50:01 crews. Score. 6-1. If it were rugby I'd expect the results reversed. -Sven Martin
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Haha from the Kiwis led by Kurt MacDonald, Eddie's mechanic. -Sven Martin
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Josh Lewis scores the opening goal for the Brits. -Sven Martin
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Ella Conolly taking the plunge off the sketchier spine rock on stage four winning Junior Women's race. -Sven Martin
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Richie Rude was in the hunt with some great stage results, sadly a destroyed wheel on Sunday ended his race that he won here so convincingly last visit. -Sven Martin
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Keegan Wright showing you just how diverse all these stage are. Stage two, 5km long with almost 1000m descent. -Sven Martin
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A couple of injuries this weekend. Miciades Jaque carted off the slippery stage three with an ankle injury after an awkward step off. Ironically the "easier" stage two saw more injuries than the treacherous stage three.
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Katy Winton fifth place with tough start to the race. -Sven Martin
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Another shot of Sam Hill. Why not. -Sven Martin
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You can see the altitude the riders are traversing through. Big terrain here in La Thuile. Isabeau dwarfed by a snow bank on the liaison to four. -Sven Martin
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Romain Paulhan with a Top 20. Not bad for a working class privateer. -Sven Martin
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Sam Blenkinsop with the second fastest time on rider-favorite stage six. -Sven Martin
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Vanzac corner on the final turn of the race. Much like Dutch corner at the TDF. -Sven Martin
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Mitch with beverage vent. - Lee Trumpore.
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After smashing the competition the last time we visited La Thuile, Richie Rude got off to a strong start with a second place on Stage 2. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side this weekend and he eventually retired from the race after a mechanical on day two, his first-ever DNF. - Lee Trumpore
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Mckay Vezina with a mid-stage foliage investigation. And he thought no one was looking. He wasn't the only one caught out by the greasy conditions on Saturday morning. - Lee Trumpore
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Francois Bailly-Maitre is only racing a partial EWS season this year, but he certainly isn't taking it easy. 11th place for the Frenchman. - Lee Trumpore
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Sam Hill textbook - poised and fast. @maddogboris
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Guess who placed third. @maddogboris
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Sven Martin, @maddogboris and Lee Trumpore deliver from the alpine.
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