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 …

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 …

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 be…

In this weeks episode we're going on the road and beginning to look ahead to the 2022 race season. The EWS team are just back from a site visit to our two brand-new US rounds in Burke, VT and Sugarloaf, ME. Our very own Finlay Anderson sat down with one of the driving forces behind the first of those races, a man who has ran race teams, fostered so…

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…

It's happened. It's finally happened... someone has let us record the podcast in a brewery! This week, Ruaridh and Ric report in from Tempest Brewing Co. where the team are hard at work producing something special for the Vittoria EWS-E/EWS Tweed Valley. An exciting block of racing lies ahead with six races taking place in just three weeks includin…

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 hist…

One of our favourite things about enduro racing is that pretty much any mountain biker can have a crack at it. But, as we all know, there is no such thing as 'the average mountain biker' and with that in mind, Ric has been down the enduro library (we're fairly certain that no such place exists) to compile a list of unlikely racers to have strapped …

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 la…

To use the parlance of our times, it's been a minute! Ruaridh and Ric have returned from nearly a month on the road with the opening four rounds of the Enduro World Series 2021 now in the history books. There's been a lot to talk about too... the Pro Women's championship has (as we predicted) really caught fire with no fewer than three different wi…

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 t…

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 Callag…

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…

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 victor…

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 …

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 i…

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 Cr…

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. Fo…

Cecile Ravanel announced her official retirement from racing last week so this week we're looking back at what made the three-time EWS Champ such a formidable competitor. Will her influence continue to be felt and has anyone got any chance of replicating her dominance?! We also talk about Kevin Miquel's latest Specialized Racing S-Works Enduro race…

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, qu…

Do you know your progressive siping from your ETRTO?! Tyres divide opinion like no other bike component and their performance can dramatically affect not just how your bike feels on the trail but where you end up at your next enduro race. Rather than just battle through Ruaridh and Ric's own (often non-sensical) opinions, we enlisted the help of Ke…

On episode 9 of the Enduro World Series podcast we have a brand-new partner announcement in the form of sporting event logistics giants, Ship To Cycle. We help to celebrate 100 years of one of the most trusted bike industry brands in the world, Shimano, with a ride down Memory Lane whilst taking a look at some of their more curious creations and th…

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 …

With all the Enduro World Series and EWS-E entries now live and all but a few being accounted for it definitely feels like we've been asked to stow the tray tables in preparation for final descent into the 2021 race season! This week Ruaridh Cunningham and Ric McLaughlin discuss the official launch of (nearly) all of the official teams with some no…

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 l…

In the fifth episode Spring is threatening to spring and thoughts are turning to bike racing... We report from the Intense Cycles Capital Kamikaze from Mount Stromlo down under as the EWS Qualifiers continue to roll out. Ruaridh and Ric also debate whether or not we've reached the ceiling of big enduro bike tech developments and what elements of th…

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 import…

This week Ruaridh Cunningham and Ric McLaughlin discuss Devinci's announcement that they are committing to enduro and if they can be a factor in the overall Teams championship. We also discuss Forbidden's new Dreadnought as the latest long-limbed enduro frame breaks cover alongside the future of EWS and EWS-E courses. Will we see the first 6000m of…

It's a funny old time of year with many Enduro World Series pro's making announcements, upping sticks and moving teams. Ric McLaughlin and Ruaridh Cunningham set about the mammoth task of attempting to untangle which EWS pro's will be riding for what teams this season. The watering hole is shrinking and there are some big names still to announce! P…

Join Ric McLaughlin and Ruaridh Cunningham as they discuss Enduro World Series race bikes getting ever more suspension travel on the day that Nukeproof launch their new 180mm travel Giga. How much is too much and on which 2021 EWS courses will added bounce come in handy?! They also discuss the rise of the mixed wheel size 'mullet' bikes, Sam Hill t…