Ravanel and Callaghan triumph at Madeira EWS
Round No. 3 winner Greg Callaghan. Photo courtesy Enduro World Series
After two hard fought days of racing it was Greg Callaghan and Cecile Ravanel who came out on top at Enduro World Series in Madeira, Portugal. Full results are available here. Here’s a quick recap:
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMyGL9NOOLI
The third round of the 2017 EWS proved to be one of the most challenging to date – both race days stayed dry but rain on the first day of practice left its mark on the already difficult tracks. The variety of trails – from steep and rocky to long and physical – caught out plenty of riders, leading to heartbreak for Jesse Melamed (Rocky Mountain Urge-bp) who led for most of the race until a mechanical on stage 7 ended his hopes of triumph.
Jesse Melamed finished day 1 in the lead, but disaster struck on day 2. Photo courtesy Enduro World Series
The men’s race came down to the wire, with just two seconds separating Callaghan (Cube Action Team) and Martin Maes (GT Factory Racing) going into the final stage. However, it was Callaghan who pulled ahead to win the race, taking five seconds out of Maes, with Damien Oton (Devinci Global Racing) coming third.
Defending champ Richie Rude finished sixth. Photo courtesy Enduro World Series
Now sitting top in the series rankings, Callaghan said: “It was a hard weekend. I knew before the race it was going to be eventful with a lot of mechanicals and a lot of problems for people and so I tried to play it consistent. There was so many people that could have won this weekend so I’m over the moon. It was amazing, absolutely amazing.”
Cecile Ravanel put in a dominant performance today, winning every stage in day 1 on her way to the overall triumph. Photo courtesy Enduro World Series
It was a different story in the women’s race, with Ravanel (Commencal Vallnord Enduro Team) dominating from the outset, winning all but one stage. Isabeau Courdurier (Sunn) won a stage but it wasn’t enough to counter Ravanel’s speed and she had to settle for second. Israeli privateer Noga Korem put in an incredible performance that was rewarded with third place.
Isabeau Courderier ended up second. Photo courtesy Enduro World Series
Ravanel said: “It was hard because it was really slippery and stage 3 was scary. It was amazing though, to find all these different stages for enduro; long stages, short stages, some pedaling sections but not too long and some downhill steep stages. I really enjoyed everything in this race.”
Spectators came in all shapes and sizes. Photo courtesy Enduro World Series
In the U21 men Thibault Laly of France won, followed by Vajtech Blaha in second and Gabriel Torralba in third. Estelle Charles took the win in U21 women, Martha Gill was second and local rider Caroline Costa took third.
Karim Amour (BH-Miranda Racing Team) won convincingly in the master’s men. Photo courtesy Enduro World Series
In the master’s women Mary McConnelloug was the sole competitor, but still put in a blistering time. Karim Amour (BH-Miranda Racing Team) won convincingly in the master’s men, with Nigel Page (Chain Reaction Cycles Mavic) in second and reigning series champion Michael Broderick third.
Dropping in. Photo courtesy Enduro World Series
In the team competition Cube Action Team took team of the day, but it’s Ibis Cycles Enduro Race Team who lead the category in the overall rankings.
The Enduro World Series returns for round No. 4 on May 27 for the Emerald Enduro in County Wicklow, Ireland.
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