The Enduro World Series Podcast

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 

This week it's the second part of our USA road trip as we get to know the people behind the 2022 Enduro World Series rounds. In Episode 28 it's the turn of Adam Craig (general all-round MTB legend) and John Tauses who is the Carrabassett Valley Trail Manager. Both of them are deeply rooted in mountain biking in Maine and have been driving forces behind bringing the 2022 series to Sugarloaf.  For those who complained that there wasn't enough Ruaridh last week then fear not! Cunningham returns for this one. He's partnered alongside our very own Finlay Anderson as the four discuss what promises to be a historic back-to-back East Coast block of racing next season.  If you want to find out more about the new venues then check out our EWS Destination Spotlight pieces, available here.  Or, if you fancy experiencing the Enduro World Series first hand and are good at waggling a camera, then why not apply to join us in our new Creator role which you can apply for here.

The (liquid) dust has now settled, the power washers have been put away and the riding kit is dripping in the garage... the 2021 EWS-E and Enduro World Series is in the books. After a failed attempt to broadcast from the road, Ruaridh and Ric are back however with plenty to discuss and debate. Over the course of the next few episodes we're going to be looking at the second block of racing, the busiest in Enduro World Series history with nine races in just five weeks! Who were the big winners, who were the losers and what were the stories behind them?  Also, EWS Travel has just launched an all-new MTB trip that has been years in the making. For more details about our brand new H+I Adventures EWS Travel Scotland package, CLICK HERE.   

With the white hot heat of battle set to rejoin in just a couple of weeks time, Ruaridh Cunningham and Ric McLaughlin look ahead to the Vittoria EWS-E Tweed Valley and how the former is getting on with designing his first race course.  What do the pro's look for in a race course? How tough should e-bike liaisons be and for the first time in its history the podcast gets interrupted by a man wanting to buy a coffee! To be fair, that is because we moved to our new home-from-home at No1 Peebles Road coffee shop. A heartfelt thanks to Craig and the team for taking us in and allowing us to talk nonsense for a prolonged period of time in their premises.    For the first time, this podcast is also available in video over on the Enduro World Series YouTube channel. 

We may well be between two epic blocks of Enduro World Series racing but there's still plenty going on! EWS regulars have been in action at Red Bull Hardline, the world's most extreme DH race. It just so happens that Ruaridh has won that race so he was more than up for providing an insight into what success in North Wales demands.  We discuss the latest developments with our Race Labs Pro Race Plate, hop around the planet for an EWS Gold Qualifier round-up and announce some new limited edition merch now available in our webstore.  And on top of all this... we answer YOUR questions! Or at least, do our best to answer your questions anyway...  To volunteer and get closer to the action than anyone else at Vittoria EWS Tweed Valley CLICK 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!

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! 

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

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?! 

After weeks of poking around the proverbial bushes, Ric and Ruaridh have finally solved the mystery of just who New Zealand’s Charles Murray will be riding for this year and it is Specialized Racing! The sixth place rider from the 2020 Bluegrass EWS Finale Ligure joins us on the line from the sunny Southern Hemisphere to talk about his new team, quitting his day job and just how confusing a mixed wheel bike can be when it comes to buying tyres! Also, we talk about the Dirt Fund Project - a new charity set up to help fund privateer racers, discuss what is next for Katy Winton and Ruaridh falls off a patio.

Another hectic week at the Enduro World Series office has passed under the teams front wheel so there's plenty for Ruaridh Cunningham and Ric McLaughlin to discuss. There's been racing action from the EWS Qualifiers in Dunedin, NZ and Windrock, USA, the mystery of who Charles Murray will be riding for in 2021 rumbles on (for now) and Yeti/Fox Race Team have announced their 2021 line-up.  Where does the two-time EWS Champ, Richie Rude, stack up as we head towards the new season getting underway? Or will it be his teammate and one of the form riders of 2019, Shawn Neer, who will be top turquoise rider this time out?  We also answer YOUR QUESTIONS, discuss the dark art of bike colour and whether or not trials has any place in an enduro race... 

The sixth episode of The Enduro World Series Podcast is a bit of a milestone in that we've got our first guest on the show!  The term 'mountain bike legend' is thrown around pretty liberally but if it fits anyone properly it's Chain Reaction Cycles' Nigel Page. Nigel has lived a life on two wheels from motorbikes, to BMX, to racing at the very top level of professional downhill during the sports late 1990's golden age. Since then, Nigel has been pivotal in first setting up Chain Reaction Cycles as one of the most professional teams in mountain biking and then recruiting Sam Hill and helping him to his three consecutive EWS overall titles. He still races too and is a Masters podium regular. In the show Nigel talks about everything from his early days right up to helping Nukeproof develop their latest race bikes and working intimately with one of the sports most mercurial, talented and humble talents... Ruaridh Cunningham. Oh, and Sam Hill too... 

In the fourth episode of the podcast Ric McLaughlin and Ruaridh Cunningham discuss some news about the EWS calendar, the first EWS Qualifier of the year in Falls Creek and our NEW BIKES! Well, Ric's new bike...  It's another whistle stop tour of Planet EWS with the guys discussing topics including Lapierre Zipp Collective's new young gun, how important comfort on an enduro bike is and whether or not it's better to be best mates with your teammate or your mechanic. Plus, we answer your questions in the second instalment of our Ask Us Anything section.