The Enduro World Series Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

An old wooden door creeks open... nervously you peer into the darkness behind... look closer... what's that?! BANG! IT'S THE 2022 EWS-E AND EWS RACE SEASON! 

After nearly eight months of waiting it is FINALLY here! The Vittoria EWS Tweed Valley 2021 was consigned to the history books as one of the most talked-about EWS races in history but all that is now itself history and Ruaridh Cunningham and Ric McLaughlin are back to talk all things '22. 

What rounds are they most excited about? Who are they backing and, perhaps most importantly, how much action are they going to serve you up and where?! Ric talks us through the EWS' exciting new video model, Ruaridh pontificates on weird cockpit set ups and redesigning the EWS Tweed Valley course. There's also talk surrounding the new Santa Cruz Megatower V2, motorhome insulation foam and the motion picture film Deep Impact.

A video version of this podcast is available at: https://www.youtube.com/c/EnduroWorldSeries1 

The Specialized EWS-E Crans-Montana and EWS Crans-Montana were full of drama from start to finish with big name racers crashing left, right and centre and their opponents lining up to take advantage. Ruaridh Cunningham and Ric McLaughlin are back together to relive a hectic week in Switzerland on what would be some of the years best stages. 

Travis Pastrana is one of the most decorated extreme sports athletes of all-time and has blazed a trail through several different sports raising the bar ever higher for others to follow. And then he met Ruaridh, one fateful night in California...

Also in this episode; the Yeti 160E launch, surprise packages and vans not falling through ceilings. 

You can re-watch all the action from EWS Crans-Montana, RIGHT HERE! 

You can re-watch all the action from Specialized EWS-E Crans-Montana, RIGHT HERE! 

It's Ruaridh and Ric's last podcast from Scotland as they get ready to hit the road and head out to MET EWS Val di Fassa Trentino next week, but there's still much to discuss! First up it's a flotilla of new machinery headed up by Santa Cruz's new Bronson and a mountain bike that may need an air intake.

Last week the Enduro World Series announced the all-new, bigger than ever 2022 race calendar so the boys take a wander through it picking out some of the most exciting parts. For more information on the 2022 calendar check out:

https://www.enduroworldseries.com/news/1647-2022-the-biggest-ews-calendar-ever-/

For more about Wyn Masters' Privateer Of The Week, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/2021-world-cup-dh-and-ews-privateer-fund?utm_medium=email&utm_source=product&utm_campaign=p_email%2B4803-donation-alert-v5

Also in this podcast: Ruaridh's slippers, Nigel Page's slopestyle career, an F1 car in LA and a cold horse.

Next week: ITALY!

The UK's Bex Baraona is officially on a winning streak taking pre-season victories (by big margins) both in home soil and in Italy. We talk to Bex before she gets ready to hit the road taking her run of form to the opening round at MET EWS Val di Fassa in a couple of weeks. Is she set to be a title contender in 2021?!

And in other news, Greg Callaghan and Kelan Grant hit the road, Ruaridh has a haircut and Ric contemplates a bike build!

Zakarias Johansen is one of the most chilled out pro's in the Enduro World Series pits and has the speed and style between the tapes to back it up. He joins us this week to talk about starting life as a Norwegian downhiller before he was briefly coached by Ruaridh which was enough to turn him into a Swedish enduro racer! 

Zak re-joined his first pro team, Ibis Cycles Enduro Team, this off-season and has just returned from his first race of the season where he finished second in Finale Ligure. He made waves as part of Team Sweden at the Bluegrass Trophy of Nations back in 2019 and has some really interesting views about race bikes, surviving the Scandinavian winter, suspension and snowmobiles! 

To stand on the top step of an Enduro World Series podium confirms that you are one of the very best mountain bike racers on earth. When looked at as a group of people who have managed it, there is a fascinating collection of riders who have managed it 'only' once. Some are now retired, others are still in the pro ranks and may yet have more victories in them.

In this episode, Ruaridh Cunningham and Ric McLaughlin dive into the details and stories behind those wins and try and work out what they mean for the incoming 2021 season. 

Team camps can be tricky things - melting pots of egos, injuries and new equipment. The last thing anyone needs is two podcasters turning up to ask inane questions... With that in mind, Ruaridh and Ric went for a behind-the-scenes look at the Chain Reaction Cycles team's annual set-up straightener. 

They also look ahead to a pro-packed first big UK enduro - the Epic Hope PMBA Enduro (which carries EWS Qualifier status) at the end of the month. Anticipation builds ahead of New Van (better title pending) arriving, Ruaridh opens up about opening up shoulders, Ric retells one of his more spectacular racing disasters and the sporting career of Take That's Mark Owen comes up for debate. 

Donate to the BASE MTB HnD Yr2 Tweed Valley Everest challenge, here:

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=BASEMTBHNDyr2&pageUrl=1

This week we have some racing to report in on from the impressively-titled Fox Superflow sealed by Stan’s gravity enduro event down under which has raised a burning question; are Australian racers simply better at race kit than any other nation?! 

We look ahead to the next round of the Israel Enduro Series, discuss how fast Greg Callaghan's father is on an e-bike and lament the sale of Ruaridh's trusty old van. There's also talk of new vans, Shimano's revolutionary E-TUBE app and how tough it is to make the jump from U21 to Pro class racing. All this whilst trying not to get distracted by a small bird who seems determined to make it on to the podcast.  

It's been a long time coming but Ruaridh and Ric FINALLY get to talk about one of the biggest deals in the history of mountain bike racing coverage - Discovery, Inc's investment in the Enduro World Series and EWS-E. More racing, more coverage and more exposure for the riders and teams! 

Also, the boys have spent their first day on their new Santa Cruz Bullit MX e-bikes. How do the bikes differ from their old Heckler's and what were their initial impressions, how did Shimano's EP8 drive unit perform and what bits on their bikes could they not talk about?! 

It's been another busy week at the Enduro World Series and EWS-E office! But it probably wasn't as busy as Kasper Woolley should be preparing to be... Ruaridh and Ric catch up to discuss the young Canadian's upcoming mentorship under Jared Graves, one of the most complete bike racers ever, on the newly-announced Yeti / OneUp Components Pro Team. 

Forbidden Synthesis - another all-Canadian super squad has arrived as the Battle for Squamish heats up! 

We also take a look at the uniquely suspended race machines of the new Juliana Free Agents team. Plus how to embarrass yourself outside of an ice cream parlour, stuffing/preloading Medjool dates, rappers in space and a whole lot more...