EWS 2016 - Here We Go!!!

Discussion in 'Racing' started by herzalot, Mar 23, 2016.


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  1. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Just like Rachel Atherton - no legitimate competitors.
     
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  2. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Cougar and kioti like this.
  3. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    Jim Jennings
    Current Bike:
    ibis ripley
    First time for me, and your (j/k) right, worth the time. Great riding and I learned rear tires are optional and old girls can fly!
     
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  4. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    The EWS is back in action at one of the most picturesque places on the planet - La Thuile Italy. I had the good fortune of skiing fresh snow on a bluebird day there in 1997 - unreal scenery.

    Day one is in the bag, and some Rude dude is KILLING it, once again. But #2 is a familiar name in gravity racing who is (prematurely) at the other end of his DH racing career. I hope both boys keep it going tomorrow without incident. Local boy Curtis Keene finally had a good day on the EWS too.

    Enjoy this photo essay from Pinkbike.
     
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  5. SoCal_Rider

    SoCal_Rider Member

    Location:
    Temecula/Murrieta
    Name:
    Ryan
    Nice to see Keene in the top 10. He really needs a good result.

    Rude...wow...just wow.
     
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  6. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    To be that far ahead on one of the stages is pretty amazing. The men's field is usually much closer than that. Hopefully he avoids injury and keeps at it!
     
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  7. Makoto

    Makoto Member

    Location:
    Costa Mesa
    Name:
    Mike
    I think it's time for Jared Graves to go back to the wheel/tire combo he ran w/ Yeti. Nothing against Specialized wheels/tires, they just aren't working for him this season. What can I say, I'm an armchair quarterback or Captain Obvious. I'll settle for either. And this is not to discredit Rude. That guys a beast!!!! Stoked to see Keene have a good full race result too. So many great story lines...Sam Hill with a heck of a race. Anyone else see that high speed crash he walked away from yesterday? Wow!!!
     
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  8. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Oh yeah - but not just walked away from - he won the next stage - the only stage Richie didn't win! Good on ya Sam Hill!!!

    Jared is just out of sorts. Bad luck with tires and crashes, then inadvertently tackling Cecile Ravenel during her race run... I am reminded of the first season that Gwin went to Specialized. He never seemed comfortable on his bike or in his program. Granted I think he still finished 4th or 5th overall in the WC that year. I think we would all love to see Jared move away from Speshy - back to Yeti would be awesome, but Yeti won't even be able to hang onto their one superstar after this season, let alone pay for two.
     
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  9. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Nothing profound to say... Go Ritchie!
    I dig this stuff...
     
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  10. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    herzalot and Makoto like this.
  11. Makoto

    Makoto Member

    Location:
    Costa Mesa
    Name:
    Mike
    herzalot likes this.
  12. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
  13. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
  14. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Crap. Richie Rude caught a pedal and had a horrific OTB in training. Spent the day in the hospital with a shoulder problem and may not race this weekend. He certainly won't do any training runs, so if he races, he will be running blind. I think I jinxed him above.
     
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  15. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    I saw that crash, it didn't look great :| Pedal strikes stink, nearly flat ground and it sidelines you rather than some actual tech sections.
     
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  16. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Mikie likes this.
  17. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    And for the two of you who are interested:

    http://www.pinkbike.com/news/ews-aspen-final-results-2016.html

    Another good EWS round for Curtis, and a win for somebody who has won a bike race or two in his career. And it appears that Enduro is going to be won by 29ers from here on out. Rude is still on his 27.5, but for how long?

    The women are once again being dominated by one rider - with Tracey Moseley retired, Ravanel has taken her place. Seems to be the trend on the women's side in DH and Enduro over the past ten or more years. Anne Caro Chausson, Rachel Atherton, Tracey Moseley and Cecile Ravanel.
     
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  18. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    SoCal_Rider and Cougar like this.
  19. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    I saw that, but I don't have any personal experience with Vail Associates. The comments are overwhelmingly negative however. Too late in the season to spontaneously plan a Whistler trip, sadly :)
     
  20. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Vail is to the ski industry as Specialized is to the bike industry.
     
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  21. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Speaking of Specialized, Jared Graves and Curtis Keene will be on one of these this weekend:

    SpeshyBeast.jpg

    It's becoming abundantly clear that the 29er will take over the EWS. Tracey Moseley dominated on one, and slowly the rest of the field on the men's side have been shifting over. Will Richie Rude be the next (and thus last) one to shift to a 29er for most EWS races? The 29er is just that much faster in a straight line, and can monster truck through unexpected holes and rocks. True, they require some manhandling in tight spaces, but the 0.25 seconds slower in the occasional corner won't overcome the 20 seconds gained in the straights and the margin of safety in the chunk and chunder. I assume the bigger wheels are now strong enough to hold up under big, powerful dudes.

    The front end of the rig above seems quite high because of the 170mm travel fork, so perhaps only taller guys will be able to handle this particular combination, but I think the end is near for the 275 in Enduro racing except for the shortest of competitors. 275 will continue to dominate in DH though.
     
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  22. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    SoCal_Rider and Mikie like this.
  23. SoCal_Rider

    SoCal_Rider Member

    Location:
    Temecula/Murrieta
    Name:
    Ryan
    I think your prediction may come true. The bikes have to come up with the next "thing " and this may be it. Either this or 28.25"wheel size.
     
    herzalot likes this.
  24. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    1.) Rude
    2.) Melamed
    3.) Carlson

    http://www.pinkbike.com/news/sram-canadian-enduro-presented-by-specialized-results.html

    Stoked to see Richie pull it out after dumping a ton of time in the 2nd stage. He injured his shoulder at the last EWS two weeks ago, so he's riding hurt.

    Unstoked to see Jared Graves get two more flats - one each in stages 1 and 2 I believe. Gotta get him some blacked out Maxxis (like Gwin) instead of the Speshy tires that have failed him every round except Snowmass.

    Keene finished 8th. Another strong result from our local boy, but off a little from last year. He must be lighter on his wheels than Graves.

    Not sure what happened to Sam HIll.

    Oh - and on the women's side - guess what? One woman dominated the race! I know that's hard to believe. Cecile Ravanel again.
     
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  25. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    Yes, although she came from behind in the last stage to win it; she had troubles on one of the earlier stages. So while the result was the same, there was a bit more drama this time!
     
    herzalot likes this.
  26. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Thanks for keeping this thread alive @herzalot ! I really enjoy the commentary and the links to previews, race highlights and results!
    Keep the stoke!!!! :thumbsup:
     
    DangerDirtyD, herzalot and Cougar like this.
  27. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    @Cougar , you too bud!
    You better be hitting it with us on Saturday Craig!
     
    herzalot likes this.
  28. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    Are we going? I don't know that I see enough confirmations. Was sort of waiting for the work day today to see if more people are signing up.
     
    DangerDirtyD, mtnbikej and Mikie like this.
  29. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Oh... we're going. There are enough unsung hero's that said they are going. Oh..... we're going....
    I just signed up...
     
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  30. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    I'm going.....Faust is going as long as shuttle seats can be wrangled.
     
    DangerDirtyD likes this.
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


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