[Closed] 2018 EWS

Very Euro focused, would be nice to see it spread out into Australasia, South East Asia and perhaps Africa.

Is that the finalised calender, got to admit disappointed the Aspen and Rotarua events haven't been replaced with events in the same areas. Good to see 2 South American events again though.

I wonder if it just becomes too expensive for the teams to make it a really geographically spread out calendar. Just due to the nature of the event I don't think they can really televise it in the way they can the downhill and xc, so it becomes difficult for the factory teams to get the exposure they need to cover the costs.

sweary northerner in 10th place in the masters.........impressive.

Oooh September in Spain sounds nice !

I bet there will be some awesome lines in Colombia...

Gutted there's no Ireland round. Had my sights on that next year 🙁

Many of the competitors will be paying their own way, and even the pro teams probably have lower budgets than some people imagine.

So it's smart to do Chile & Colombia back-to-back. And it's good to see some lower-profile destinations in Europe - Slovenia & Languedoc.

Dunno if Chris Ball has a formula for mixing up new and familiar venues, but he can obviously only choose from the locations that have bid to host a round.

Gutted there's no Ireland round. Had my sights on that next year

IIRC Tweedlove stopped bidding to host after getting a couple of them, because all the takings were going to pay the EWS. They said they felt they'd raised their profile sufficiently.

Maybe Ireland is following the same thinking?

As above, Abigale is down for six this year and the ones where we havent been able to use the camper and tesco vouchers dont work out cheap and we have managed it on a very tight budget. The new ones look interesting. At least now we have six months to plan out.

[quote=chakaping ]Gutted there's no Ireland round. Had my sights on that next year
IIRC Tweedlove stopped bidding to host after getting a couple of them, because all the takings were going to pay the EWS. They said they felt they'd raised their profile sufficiently.
Maybe Ireland is following the same thinking?

I don't know about the money going to the EWS bit but I did talk to Neil Dalgleish after the 2015 Tweedlove EWS and asked him if it was coming back next year. He said funding was the main issue. Entry fees didn't cover costs and they needed to top up with funding, and securing the funding was a real challenge

Carroux is not too far for me. Not as close as having it on your door step though.

But the stages in Millau have been made permanent.

Good point Bob, it's got to be municipal funding that makes it possible for many places to host the EWS.

It'd be good to see another UK venue give one a go, maybe Dyfi or Dunkeld? Grizedale even.

It'd be good to see another UK venue give one a go, maybe Dyfi or Dunkeld? Grizedale even

After chatting to keV at national champs

Putting big races on in the lakes sounds like an absolute nightmare.
Far too many issues with other users meant shortened stages.

Dyfi would be brilliant is got some top trails and huge potential + stuff Dan Atherton has built ( Ews hard-line;-) ) just be where all that extra funding comes from,prob have to work with Parr & Charlie from UKGE to and in not sure how they get on with Steve Ball?

Grizedale would be the dream, not really likely I know. If only because I don't think the LDNPA or Cumbria CC would prioritise attracting more riders of the enduro variety.

Incidentally, it might get a bit easier to put races on in Wales in the not-too-distant future, as the Welsh Gov is seriously considering fixing the daft law about racing on bridleways.

so looking ahead to 2019 (assuming the current application process,etc stays the same) If there was a UK EWS round in 2019 and I want to apply, Do I have to have done some enduros and collected qualification points (e.g. done wges dyfi or tweed love) in 2018 or do the points just give you a better chance of getting a place.

Interesting, that's potentially 5 I could aim for next year, all the Euro rounds & Whistler would be great 🙂

jamesg55 - Member

so looking ahead to 2019 (assuming the current application process,etc stays the same) If there was a UK EWS round in 2019 and I want to apply, Do I have to have done some enduros and collected qualification points (e.g. done wges dyfi or tweed love) in 2018 or do the points just give you a better chance of getting a place.

[quote=jamesg55 ]so looking ahead to 2019 (assuming the current application process,etc stays the same) If there was a UK EWS round in 2019 and I want to apply, Do I have to have done some enduros and collected qualification points (e.g. done wges dyfi or tweed love) in 2018 or do the points just give you a better chance of getting a place.

In theory there's a pure lottery allocation, but the actual number spaces must be very low. I was easily able to get a spot in 2014 and 2015 but no chance since then. I suspect now there are so many pros plus those getting spaces via the qualification routes that true lottery places are like hens teeth.

So yes, you can try and enter without any qualification points, race wins etc, but the chances of getting a spot are very very low

so I rode both dyfi and tweedlove which were both ews qualification rounds. I never registered to collect points at the time. But reading the above, you only collect points from finishing near the sharpe end of the table. So me registering to collect points and then finishing mid table would have had no benefit at all to applying

Some regions have qualifying events and depending where you finish give you points that may help.

2017

[url] http://www.enduroworldseries.com/official-qualifier-events/ [/url]

[quote=jamesg55 ]so I rode both dyfi and tweedlove which were both ews qualification rounds. I never registered to collect points at the time. But reading the above, you only collect points from finishing near the sharpe end of the table. So me registering to collect points and then finishing mid table would have had no benefit at all to applying

Correct. They really need 95% of the field to be at the sharp end of racing with a 5% token gesture for the bimblers

due to the nature of the event I don't think they can really televise it in the way they can the downhill and xc

Speaking of coverage - what are peoples thoughts on the coverage this year. I think I much preferred the format and presenter last year, plus the highlights were 10mins longer. The previous rounds coverage was good but the recent one from Aspen I found quite boring and not a lot of riding in it. Maybe its just me?

The 2016 presenter was much better than the guy they are using now.

Tracy Moseley was OK if a little wooden.

I agree the coverage has taken a backwards step this year, I think tmo will be fine given a bit more time, hard to think of anyone with more knowledge than she has. Cunningham wasn't really a charasmatic force either, hew did ok but not great.

It also seems to be slower to any platform other than pinkbike, which IMO is a mistake.

Don't pinkbike sponsor the media coverage, hence getting first dibs?

Video of each or this weekends Whistler stages now out

[url] https://www.pinkbike.com/news/your-essential-guide-to-ews-whistler-2017.html [/url]

Looks like a great course this year. Stage 1 - TOTW into RDS, even with it being tamed is a savage stage. They could really put the hurt on everyone & raced that stage right down to Creekside with Boyds, which would have been 30 minutes of brutality 🙂

Stage 2 is one of my favourite sections of trail in the valley.

sweary northerner in 10th place in the masters.........impressive.

Do they still make vids Ton?

I've been to Manizales in Colombia , absolutely amazing place with fantastic riding. The altitude made me feel terrible mind, took a while to adjust.

The altitude made me feel terrible mind, took a while to adjust

That's what caoca tea is for !

My wife got laid low with altitude sickness, thankfully Peruvian chemists will dispense anything

Guy we were staying with was an experienced climber at altitude, waay fitter than us was laid too low to hike, even with the meds + cocoa tea.

It can be very tough up high!