Enduro World Series Update: Unauthorized Shuttling? 63

What i heard is that Fabien was shuttling the Stone Bridge road. An Ultra-Rich subdivision in the same area as stage 3. The road winds up the mountain and from the top of the road its an easy pedal/push to the trail. So, was Barel just driving to function to start the transition climb between stage 2 and 3? Or was he shuttling the Stone Bridge road to get as many laps as possible on a trail he knew little about?

If you read the rules right above, it really seems it applies to the race, and not practice. But they did say it at the riders meeting, no shuttles at all... So that was clear. I think they might have punished Barel, cause he s been accused multiple time of cutting and cheating in the past races... I agree with CP tocher tho, I s over, so no need to argue it more.

Minnaar has been slaying Barel on the internet although he pulled his tweets after a bit. Called him "armstrong of MTB". Proper falcon crest shit right here.

It's over with now. Move on people! I don't want to still be reading about this next week!

Let's be fair. It seems to be pretty clear the Fabien is trying to straddle the line of what the rules say as much as possible, and he's been knocked for it before. The excuse that the rules aren't completely clear will or already has run its course.

I don't think this is shuttling. At the very least the penalty should be applied to all the other riders, and the rule should be clarified in writing. Maybe the penalty is just as much letting Fabien know that the jig is up with him trying to push the limits and willful ignorance isn't vindication.

That's the thing about cheating. Some people do it; if you get caught you're a cheater.

I can't see Lopes in the results. Did he race?

It was said below and I agree; if it was stated in the riders' meeting that shuttling, even during practice to the bottom of a stage, is prohibited, that rule supersedes the written rule. You simply cannot give riders an exception to rules defined in the riders' meeting just because they did not attend, even if the new rule(s) is not written down and published. The point of riders' meetings is to verbally relay last minute changes and updates. This is common knowledge, so just attend the meeting.

As for the case of other riders doing the same during practice, that is unfortunate. Maybe they also didn't attend the riders' meeting. Maybe they thought the rule was stupid and chose not to obey it at the risk of getting caught and sent back -- not considering the possibility of a time penalty since one had not been given yet. Maybe they didn't understand the rule. Regardless, if there is proof that those other riders did the same as Fabien, they should also receive the same penalty. The fact they have not suggests there is no proof, they were not caught, or they didn't shuttle despite seeming like they did (i.e. drove to the bottom to make sure they understood the route, turned around, drove home, and then pedaled back).

It sucks that Fabien got docked, he seems like an alright fella and is dang quick on a bike, but the EWS is certain that what he did violated the shuttling rule; they were quick to assign the penalty and have stood by their decision since assigning it. Remember, the EWS is not the UCI. They are a new organization that lacks the UCI politics, was started for the right reasons, and are trying to gain a loyal following, which means pleasing the riders so they return. A negative decision like this puts their reputation at risk and that something they wouldn't do unless they had to.

Fair points, however I disagree that the EWS lack politics. They were vocal about making an example of a high profile rider before Cworx even started, and Fab was just a convenient fall guy. They're trying to make Clements their new poster boy, but he has been seen and even penalized for course cutting in past rounds. Call me a cynic, but I see the EWS largely as a new marketing platform for $10K trail bikes and ex-DHers to extend their careers.

You need to either stop smoking whatever it is or share it with the rest of us. EWS is totally legit dude. I bet Vouilloz, Barel, Graves, Peaty, Minnaar and all those other MULTI WORLD CHAMPIONS really need to be grinding out climbs from hell or breaking bones crashing at DH speeds on trailbikes on trails they don't really know just so they can "extend their careers".

Hehe, I guess you're calling me a cynic then! Sadly, even the top guys in our sport don't make very much dough.

EWS has already jumped the shark.

Whole situation is bs. He did it during a training ses, not race. Pathetic they made something out of it.

If you park your car on a loop then ride the loop back to your car you end up riding the whole thing... Am I missing something? 5 min seemed harsh...

so he drove his car from his apartment to the start of the stage? is that what the "creek side" is?

As i understand he drove to the bottom of the stage. He had to ride/push the bike to the top of the stage! Interview with Fabien here: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Fabien-Barel-In-The-Penalty-Box-Five-Minutes-For-Shuttling.html
They should really make the definition of shuttling clear. In my head getting a lift 1.5km on a highway to the bottom of the stage is not shuttling!

Creek Side is a 'sub division' in the actual village of Whistler. It's about 4,5km from the actual village. So what he said is that he drove from Creekside to Function (another sub-division located at the entrance of the Whistler area) and that he made his way up the stage through the usual trails. Hardly a penalty IMHO, as it's impossible to shuttle those trails anyway.

Teething problems with EWS, but it's all gonna be forgotten in a couple of weeks

Lope's such a whiner.

Lopes is ultimate Cheaty, whinner. BAck in Trophee des Nations in France, Mass start, He cuts off Remy Absalon 4x style and forces him off course, Remy calmly gets back on course, goes about his business of catching Lopes and beats him. Lopes then complains to organizers saying he went off course and came back illegally. All riders then tell of Lopes's over aggressive moves. Lopes gets DQ'd and isn't invited back as he doesn't have 'spirit of enduro'. Did Lopes race or did he just stalk and Whine from Twitter?

Meh... I'm not a fan of his online bitching but if I got cut off from someone being overly aggressive, I wouldn't mind. I understand that racing is racing and some people prefer to take it more seriously than others. Getting cut off happens, especially at mass starts so I'm guessing there's more to it than that (and more than him complaining) for him to be banned from the event... unless he is THAT big of a dick to everyone, haha.

Would you be upset if that same rider then tried to get you DQ'd? Probably.

So, I take it Lopes and A.C. aren't too tight?

Thanks Vital for updating and bringing more clarity.

Sounds like it was a communication issue.

Don't miss those boring mandatory meetings! Yikes!

P

Please, no drama is permitted in the MTB universe and will result in disqualification. Now if you will excuse me, I need to take my performance enhancing supplements.

That's twitter for you. It's a bit like leaving comments on websites I suppose!?

This a matter between Barel and the race officials (directors). Lopes on the other hand as mentioned in this post is turning into a proper whiney, he should refrain from posting such "little boy" kind of comments. His job is to race, nobody asked him to comment on what others are doing or not.

Lopes is turning into a proper whiney little b*tch. He needs to get his head down and learn to be fast at Enduro rather than playing schoolboy "he said she said" games on Twitter like a 12 year old girl.