With the 2018 season just weeks away, the Enduro World Series (EWS) is delighted to announce the 30 teams competing for the coveted team championship this year. It’s been a busy off-season, with plenty of changes to some of the biggest brands and some new teams entering the arena keen to make their mark on the year ahead.
Sam Hill, EWS Finale Ligure 2017
This year’s Platinum EWS teams are Chain Reaction Cycles Mavic, Cube Action Team, Santa Cruz SRAM and Specialized.
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Chain Reaction Cycles Mavic will welcome Irish rider Kelan Grant alongside reigning World Champion Sam Hill and Elliott Heap – and with Master riders now eligible for points, they will be one to watch with Team Manger Nigel Page also on the roster.
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Over at Cube Greg Callaghan will be joined by Zakarias Blom Johansen, reigning Junior Downhill World Champion Matt Walker and Gusti Wildhaber in a particularly formidable line up.
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Santa Cruz runs the same team of Josh Lewis, Iago Garay and Mark Scott – and after a strong season last year saw Mark Scott take third place in Whistler, there’s a strong possibility we’ll see more podiums from this young Brit.
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Specialized once again have one of the most experienced teams in the competition as they retain Jared Graves, Curtis Keene and current Downhill World Champion Miranda Miller for the season ahead.
Greg Callaghan, EWS County Wicklow 2017
This year’s gold level teams are: Canyon Factory Enduro Team, Ibis Cycles Enduro Race Team, Orbea Enduro Team and Unior Devinci Factory Racing.
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Notable moves in the Gold Teams include Frenchman Florian Nicolai heading to Canyon to join Joe Barnes, Ines Thoma, Fabien Barel and Dimitri Tordo. British riders Lewis Buchanan and Bex Baraona have signed to Ibis along with Robin Wallner, Dillon Santos and Julie Duvert.
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New team Unior Devinci Factory Racing has snapped up Damien Oton, Keegan Wright and Rachel Pageau, whilst fellow newcomer Orbea Enduro Team has Thomas Lapeyrie, Becky Cook, Javier San Roman and Gabriel Torralba on their books.
Wyn Masters, EWS Rotorua 2017
At Official Team level the roster is comprised of: Alchemy Factory Racing, Cannondale, Commencal Vallnord Enduro Racing Team, Giant Factory Off-Road Team, GT Factory Racing, Intense Mavic Collective, BH Miranda Racing Team, Norco Twins Racing, Rocky Mountain Race Face Enduro Team, SUNN, Lapierre, Trek Factory Racing and Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Racing.
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Israeli rider and EWS Breakthrough of the Year winner Noga Korem gets her first factory ride as she heads to GT alongside Martin Maes and Wyn Masters. Isabeau Courdurier joins Intense Mavic Collective along with Kilian Bron and Theo Galy and Kevin Miquel head to SUNN.
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Giant Factory Off-Road Team run the same team of Rae Morrison, Josh Carlson and Mckay Vezina, and there’s another solid French line up at Commencal Vallnord Enduro Race Team of Yoann Barelli alongside Cecile and Cedric Ravanel.
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Lapierre add Chloe Gallean to their team alongside Adrien Dailly and it’s an all American line up at Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Race Team as Duncan Nason, Shawn Neer and Jubal Davis join former champ Richie Rude.
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There’ll be some new faces on the start line as well, as Ruaridh Cunningham joins Trek Factory Racing for his first full EWS season, and enduro newcomer Matt Simmonds will race alongside Marco Osborne for Cannondale. American Peter Ostroski will make his debut for Rocky Mountain Race Face Enduro Team, alongside Canadians Jesse Melamed, Remi Gauvin and Andreane Lanthier-Nadeau. Melanie Pugin joins Miranda along with Master World Champion Karim Amour, Alexandre Cure and Jose Borges.
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Other new teams making their debut this year include Alchemy Factory Racing who’ve signed Anneke Beerten and Cody Kelley. And Anita and Caro Gehrig head up the aptly named and newly formed Norco Twins Racing as they look to shake up the women’s competition.
Anita Gehrig, EWS Whistler 2016
Joining the the series at Development Team level are: Accous VTT-Trek Enduro Team, Chamrousse URGE bp Enduro Team, CMC Cycling Experience, DSB Comes Fristads Airoh Ion, Hope Factory Racing, Norco Enduro Racing Team, Polygon UR, Scott SR Suntour Enduro Team and Team Dorrong Enduro.
Chris Ball, Managing Director of the Enduro World Series, said:
It’s always exciting to start the season with some new teams and new signings. The depth of the talent in the series blows my mind and I cant wait to see who’s on the top step of the podium in Chile in just a few weeks.
To see the full list of teams and riders competing in the 2018 EWS season click here.
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Official website: enduroworldseries.com