The Social Enduro - EWS Wicklow, Ireland, Riding Action

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<b>The morning rush! Beating some of the fittest bike riders in the world isn't easy, especially with a hefty camera bag! Enter the truck.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>After all Duncan's nano naps yesterday, he was up bright and early, ahead of the first racers this morning. That's the Atlantic in the background. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>Riders welcomed the not-so-early start this morning compared to the pre-dawn Rotorua start. As hot as it comes in Ireland apparently. It did still rain for a few minutes though. Enduro Pope Enrique in audio.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>This guy is a legend. Setting standards in so many different ways on how to be a pro mountain biker. Custom Guiness-flavored-clover-Irish Alpinestars kit? Yes, @endurojc</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Let's go to work! Affy climbing at the start of the day.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>The trickiest start to an EWS stage in a long while. Awkward tech at its finest, not a section you want to ride under close scrutiny of the rest of the field. Anka Martin handles the pressure. #getouttheshot with Cunny in the audio. #socialenduro</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Wildhaber's calf definition rivals that of the rocky outcrops.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>The flat-out straights of Stage 1 are lined by trees. You can catch an occasional glimpse of a rider while standing trackside on Stage 2.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Adam Craig knows how to shave corners like the best of them. Shorter is quicker as Sam Hill always says. Avoiding the developing bog rut in the main line allows him to exit faster. The set up, however, is pretty tricky and semi-blind at speed. #adamdidnotcutthecoursein2015. Stage 2. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>Florian Nicolai pressing it low to avoid hitting the trees. He will definitely be one to watch this weekend. A race win is within his grasp.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>The Emerald Island in its green splendor. The legendary Fred Glo in audio.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>The EWS has brought Anneke Beerten to Ireland for the first time, where fitness is going to play a key part in the racing on Sunday.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Rory O' Kelly is from Glenealy, which makes him as local as you can get. This may explain him knowing every undulating bump that others just pumped. Stage 4 beauty. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>The run in to this section involves squeezing between two large boulders. Here Josh Lewis pops off one to the other, saving any mech, rotor, chainring and crank damage that could be sustained on these rocks!</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Colin Bailey's ever-evolving pro tool box. Acadian eat your heart out!</b> -Sven Martin
<b>The dudes are stoked on the tight, akward tech sections of trail here!</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Greg Callaghan weaving through the yellow flowering gorse. He already has a Top 10 far from home and we expect a Top 5 or even better here close to home. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>A foreboding sky brought the odd rain shower which would make the rocks incredibly slippy!</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>This is a blind slab with an awkward, stepped roll up that points you in the wrong direction. 99.9% of the field is usually stood upright on the bars looking over the blind ledge steering. Not Martin Maes. Fully pinned fully committed. Confidence, youth, experience, inexperience or just plain skill?</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Josh Carlson leaning into the first descent on Stage 1. The race village, just out of sight on the field some 400 meters below. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>Sean Bell from Lake Forest is here racing in the Junior division for Santa Cruz. He still takes the "senior" lines despite his carbon-soled dancing slippers. He's not afraid of the rocks.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Nico Vouilloz is hard on himself. He was struggling a bit to find the natural flow today, but over time he would push back up and hit the section faster than anyone else. Can he put it altogether into fluid runs by the weekend?</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Juliana's Kelli Emmett clearly loving the picturesque trails of Stage 4. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>The Silverback stylishly slips in a pseudo-scrub.</b> -The Hoff
<b>If you scrub in the woods and nobody is there to capture it did it save you time? Duncan the chimp documents. #fishfromabove </b> -Sven Martin
<b>Sven vs Keene - Scrub from above. Who wins?</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Totally turnbar avec Sven.</b> -Bob Seager's long-lost grandson
<b>The mobile tech support that is Mark Maurissen engaging hero mode to show the tentative riders how it's done.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>If your day's ever in need of some style you can count on Iago Garay to spice things up.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>While this section of trail may look uphill, the constant natural undulations and pump bumps give the riders race-popping speed without being on the pedals.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>The steep rock slabs that lead you into this booter left Jesse Melamed unphased and in fully-playful mood!</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>The big man, Francois Billy-Maitre, one of the guys that makes a 29er look like one of those fast-handling 26-inch machines of the prehistoric age.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>A first-ever EWS for Joe Smith. One of the strongest through this tech section, he'll have to push hard to keep it up in the flatter, flowy parts.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Guess the Flanagan? Turn bars and tweaks seem to take priority over race results. It's all about the Trippin'.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>The stealthiest rider on track. Without Jared for company, Richie Rude is out finding the lines all by himself and it doesn't seem to be slowing him down.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Bluebells and green woods made for a very photogenic Stage 4. Carlson's been brushing up on his tweaking skills in the bike park.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>A lot of the tracks here involve fresh-cut sections and debris is flying everywhere! With the current lead of the series, Jerome Clementz is setting the pace and we're looking forward to race day. Stay tuned!</b> -Duncan Philpott
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Description
Forget the Spirit of Enduro, the Enduro World Series in Wicklow, Ireland, is the Social Enduro. The trails, the format and the local vibe have made this a race to remember. Racers took to the trails for the first time today to learn lines and figure out where the race can be won or lost on 7 different stages this weekend. Sven Martin and Duncan Philpott were there to capture comradery and competition.
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