5 things we learned from EWS Whistler 2022 – Pinkbike

Seven of the top 15 pro men came from Canada, with season bests for Remi Gauvin, Jack Menzies, Evan Wall, Carter Krasny and McKay Vezina. In Pro Women, three Canadians made the top 15 for the first time this year, Andreane Lanthier Nadeau, Miranda Miller and Georgia Astle, while the entire U21 men’s top 5 were Canadian. In the women’s U21 category, series leader Emmy Lan was forced to sit out her home race after separating her shoulder in a practice crash, but Lily Boucher brought the Canadians home with a fifth place finish.

Compare that to EWS Tweed Valley, where there were only two Canadian men in the top 15 and one Canadian in the top 15 for women. Most Canadian men we’ve seen in the top-15 so far this year have been less than half in three, while only Andreane Lanthier Nadeau has made the top-15 in every women’s race.

2. Fox’s new electronic suspension has a hit before it’s even released.

EWS winner Jesse Melamed rode Fox’s new electronic suspension to his first win at Whistler. Even before it was released (or named), Fox’s new electronic suspension secured itself an Enduro World Series win, something RockShox athletes have yet to do on Flight Attendant, although the system will be officially released in October 2021. Women’s race winner Harriet Harnden’s Trek Slash is compatible with RockShox’s new electronic offering, but Harnden chose to run a coil shock for Whistler.

Mike Levy and Matt Beer came along to watch Jesse Melamed try out the electronic air spring damper for the first time in Squamish earlier this summer. You can watch this video here.

3. Pinkbike Academy alumni had the best results of their careers.

It was an incredible race weekend for the Pinkbike Academy alumni. Evan Wall got his best EWS finish ever with a 12th place, knocking Sam Hill off the hot seat and keeping the hot seat pressed until the last half of the top 30 men came down, Emmett Hancock took second place in the U21s -Men’s category, just ten seconds from the win, and Flo Espiñeira finished third in the Pro Women’s Race.

Filming for Season 3 will begin later this month in Big White and we have another great group of drivers battling it out for victory.

4. Mechanics played a big role for top contenders this round.

It was heartbreak for Andreane Lanthier Nadeau and Richie Ride on the final stage of the day when their podium hopes were dashed after the mechanics. For the second year in a row, Andreane Lanthier Nadeau led the race to the final stage and it looked like she could finally claim her first Enduro World Series win, despite an ankle injury sustained the week before the race. The race was close so it wasn’t a done deal, but a flat tire at the end of stage four prompted her to cut the tight time ahead of the final stage of the day, while she was able to fix her tire in time to drop in the final stage of the During the day, higher than usual air pressure and likely additional fatigue and stress contributed to a crash during the stage. She would be fifth that day.

As for Richie Rude, he sat in a close second place all day and with the final stage taking the first place finishers over eight minutes a win could have been in the cards. Unfortunately, a flat stretch on the long stage meant he finished a distant 44th, over three and a half minutes back. Jesse Melamed also suffered a puncture on the third stage of the day, which resulted in his worst finish of the day, a ninth place. Luckily he was able to reset for the second half of the race and achieve another podium at home.

Richie Rude led the overall standings with 1615 points ahead of Jesse Melamed with 1535 points, but that result slipped him to second place overall. Melamed now leads Rudes’ 1785 by 2080 points as the racers head to the United States for the next two rounds.

5. The women’s race was closer than the men’s for the first time this season.

The time difference between first and third place in the women’s race was the same as the men’s at Tweed Valley, just under 14 seconds. At Petzen-Jamnica, just 15 seconds separated the men’s podium, while 45 seconds separated the women’s podium. At Val di Fassa, third place in the men’s field was 26 seconds adrift of first, while the women’s podium was 37 seconds apart.

At Whistler, however, third-placed Flo Espiñeira was just 11 seconds behind race winner Harriet Harnden. In the men’s race, Remi Gauvin finished third but finished 52 seconds behind teammate Jesse Melamed.

Other facts:
• The DH and XC World Cup seasons are coming to an end, but EWS Whistler was only halfway through the season with four races to go.
• We’re still waiting for a duel between Mike and Mike, but we were faced with a showdown between Alicia and Christina in the EWS100 on Saturday. Unfortunately Christina injured her wrist on the second stage and couldn’t finish the race, so Alicia got the top honor in this round, but we’re already looking forward to the next match!