Derby's date with the EWS
A look back at the fun and games (and downpours) when the Enduro World Series came to Tasmania
Words: Chris Panozzo Photos: Tim Bardsley-Smith
I don’t think anyone was truly surprised by the rain at the EWS on Sunday morning. When it was announced there was to be a Tasmanian stop for the Enduro World Series there was cheering, but also a collective sigh as almost everyone came to the realisation that no matter what time of year the event would take place, it would probably end up being wet. Classic Tasmania.
Part I: It’s not raining
Rumours about new tracks, old tracks, man-made or scratched in were red hot leading into the race. And as riders began using their downtime to get out there and walk the stages, it wasn’t long before social media started to fill up with pictures of giant boulders, long straights filled with rocks, as well as soil barely touched by machine or rake. It looked tough, it looked wild and best of all, it looked good. The top section of stages two and four were new, along with a completely new stage six, featuring the infamous trout rock, which for practice and the race was fitted out with a rather large durry (courtesy of some heavily inebriated locals!).
The remaining stages picked up some of the existing trail networks, which to be honest were not designed with an EWS in mind. The trail network itself is catered to bringing people to the region where they can explore the wilderness Tasmania has on offer. What they are not used to is being pounded by athletes from around the globe, whose sole purpose come race day is to be faster than any other rider on the planet. Tracks with long sweeping shallow turns, making you feel like you are carving a longboard, are transformed into the straightest line possible by riders trying to find their limits.
Practice kicked off with as much anticipation as possible, after the enforced downtime that rightly comes with course closures in the lead up. Everyone was out and about with massive smiles on their faces, the sun was out and riders were getting to grips with the new tracks on offer. Within our small group during practice, which included the future Derby EWS Under-21 winner Ben McIlroy, spirits were high. The long liaison to stage one was completed first and the lengthy pedal was met with further pedalling once we tipped into the stage – it was easy to decide that one practice run would be enough for this section.
The next liaison brought us back up the main climb we would do four times on race day, following switchback after switchback. It felt like we were doing circles and going nowhere, but that climb did lead us to stage two, and man was it good. Fresh cut greatness through the natural terrain on offer. Dusty deep ruts were emerging even after the first pass. Normally Ben Mac is close behind during practice, but after a full lap down the hill I looked back and there was no Ben. After chatting to a few guys down the bottom there was still no Ben! Eventually the laid-back cat made his way down through the dust, and even before the helmet came off you could hear the excitement in his voice: “That was the best fun I’ve had on a bike in ages.”
Practice continued without much drama, except for the early sections of stage four. Within minutes of the track opening, bikes were being assaulted down that now infamous straight. It’s what top flight racing should be – the best riders in the world pushing themselves and their bikes, no f**king about.
The top riders were again tormented at the beginning of race day – still feeling the effects from the previous round only two weeks ago when storms came in after 90 per cent of the field had completed stage one. For those not used to seeing the format up-close on race day, the entire field runs in reverse order, with the lowest ranked rider heading off in the early hours of the morning. Women’s classes are slotted in just in front of the top 30 men, then the best guys get to slug it out – and in the case of mud races, they get to tackle what is left of the hill.
With rain overnight, riders began making their way through stage one, an existing trail of Derby where there was one line top to bottom. Most of the riders got through the stage in relatively good weather conditions, but towards the pointy end of the group the predicted torrential downpour began. As the women set off in what felt more like nightfall than day, with rain belting down, the only thing left to do was put the goggles on the back of the helmet, warm up as best as possible, and ride the river down to the finish. I think Richie Rude summed it up best when someone put a camera in his face – he just looked down the lens, back at the interviewer, shrugged his shoulders and rode off.
Stage two was going to be interesting! Everyone was well and truly soaked to the core, and possibly a touch nervous wondering what the first of the new tracks would look like after both bulk rain and numerous riders had passed through. Near the top of the liaison the wet stuff came down again, albeit lighter this time. Straight into the stage and the large rocks had grip, surprisingly, and you could push quite hard. Unfortunately, I made a few mistakes over-riding the course, while those that didn’t made up good time in the overall. Martin Maes, Adrien Dailly, Sam Hill and Jack Moir were able to show their skills and started to make their way back up the leaderboard after suffering the bad weather on stage one.
Stage three and another long, very twisty liaison, made all the better from the pouring rain and low clouds arriving close to the scheduled start time. The existing trail held up very well, but with the weather sucking the pace away from the track, it would show as the top 30 tried to push through the deluge and minimise the time lost. Adrien Dailly came through in 45th and Sam Hill in 19th. Martin Maes made the unfortunate mistake of pulling up short from the awkward main street tarmac finish, losing valuable time due to not being sure exactly where the line was. The big mover in the tough conditions was Irishman Greg Callaghan, who powered through with an eighth place even though he was one of the last riders on course.
Rolling back into the pits gave everyone a chance to reset following a wet morning, and although rain was still falling it was an opportunity to grab a hot coffee, change into some dry kit and have the bike washed down ahead of what promised to be an exciting next stage. Heading back up the twisty climb was good for the mind since it was the last time we had to do that liaison. But it was also leading everyone to the wheel-eating monster of a track that was stage four, blown out from dry practice and now heavy from the rain. The photos don’t show just how crazy the top section was – the short pedal across the top, again in substantial rain, was slow but once it started to point downhill it was wild. Greg Callaghan showed his euro wet skills, taking out the stage win in the toughest of conditions just ahead of Adrien Dailly with Richie Rude clawing his way back to fourth and Hill down in 19th.
Stage five had a short hike-a-bike to the start, finishing down inside the rock river bed iconic to the trails of Derby: short, sharp and sweet, with opportunities to make or lose time despite the relatively low speeds. Many off camber turns onto rock faces made the riding tricky if you lacked confidence, but if you were going for the win, such as Frenchman Dailly, Hill or Callaghan, there was no lack of aggression. Sam took the stage with Adrien in second and Greg in third, with all three only separated by a single second.
Stage seven was short, I mean really short – you could nearly hold your breath for the entire run. And the fight for the win came down to just a few seconds between Irishman Callaghan and the Frenchman Dailly, with Hill close by if anyone was to make a mistake. It was great to see after seven hours in the saddle, albeit with only 23 minutes of competitive racing. Could Sam make up the gap to deliver a home win? Could Callaghan hold on for the victory? Could Dailly lay it all on the line to take his first EWS title? Sam went out and did what he does best, riding his bike to take the final stage win, but it wasn’t enough as he had to settle for third on the day. However, it was a rock-solid start to the season where others have struggled.
Dailly put down the fourth best time, probably not enough to challenge for the lead, but to everyone’s amazement Callaghan dropped it on what was possibly the only real corner on the entire stage. Heading to the final timing check across the road from the finish must have been agony for the man from Ireland, unsure how much time was lost, before he realised the result… Adrien Dailly had taken the win, his first, by less than three seconds. This was a hugely impressive victory from the young Frenchman fresh out of Juniors. Despite the disappointment, second was still a big statement from Callaghan considering he had crashed earlier in the day on stage two and fought his way back to a podium spot.
The wash up
One thing that has seemed to not get much media attention was the big win for Australia’s Ben McIlroy as he went out and got the job done in the Junior Under-21 Category, by 18 seconds. He’s only 18 years old and was up against older and more experienced World Series riders. I’ve known Ben for quite a while, and his progression from squid to one of Australia’s top cycling prospects has been rapid. For those that don’t know, he is the current Australian National Series and standalone National Champion.
His time at Nationals (as a 17-year-old) would have placed him inside the top five in Elite men. There were many positive things that came out of holding an EWS in Australia, but none more so than seeing the first steps of what is likely to be a very bright future for one of Australia’s next big talents. And to top off the weekend, he threw a clean backflip off the podium for everyone in Derby…. Twice.
