Toughest Day Ever? Wynner, Wynner - EWS Rotorua Race Day

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Intro Text

The threat of rain materialized on the morning of race day, and it turned what was already a tough test into a battle of epic proportions. With mud building up on the tires, riders were struggling to make their liaison times as they tackled 68 kms of riding and over 2000 meters of climbing in the cold, windy and wet conditions. The excess aqua also turned the timed stages into a muddy inferno which left even the world's best riders fighting just to stay on their bikes. Those who set out early in the morning had it a bit easier, and local knowledge turned out to be a valuable commodity as the NZ contingent swept the men's podium to tee up the evening festivities under the best possible circumstances. Australia is next!

Wyn Masters making easy meat of Rocky Horror. A horror for most but not Wyn. -Sven Martin
Wyn started his morning with a Haka and that spirit and motivation carried him through the day. It's a pretty powerful war cry and got his blood pumping. Ka Mate. -Sven Martin
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Cecile Ravanel dominating the entire Pro Women's field. Almost three and half minutes up on 2nd place. Wow. -Sven Martin
A party in the making for the Queenstown boys Matt Walker and Eddie Masters. An encore to their legendary Queenstown party from a few weeks ago. -Sven Martin
Matt Walker, on it. @maddogboris
Ines Thoma woke up with food poisoning, vomiting the night before the race. After almost choosing to skip the race, she gave it her best effort and ended up with her career best result. 2nd place, what a trooper! -Sven Martin
Eddie Masters for 3rd place despite numerous crashes in the sloppy conditions and having to race the DH stage 6 with a jammed-up high seat post. Legend. -Sven Martin
Now ponder this. Adrien Dailly finished 7th, 34 seconds from the win. But here's the kicker...he finished 116th on stage three, almost 90 seconds from the winning stage time. Had things gone his way on stage three he could have smashed the entire field. But that's the way the race unfolded for most - Should have. Could Have. -Sven Martin
Looks like Jared Graves hard a hard time in the mud... @maddogboris
...while Sam Hill had the best time ever in the mud. #smilesformiles By the way, Sam also won the most pedally stage! @maddogboris
Safety glasses and a massive smile? Must be Josh "Ratboy" Bryceland. 8th place for him and no, he's not racing EWS full time. @maddogboris
Martha Gill wins the junior girls class here in Rotorua. -Sven Martin
Josh Bryceland buzzing off the day. He was knackered by the end of it but still full of smiles. -Sven Martin
Craig Evans is a good liaison partner to ride with. Listen to this audio if you dare and translations are welcomed. -Sven Martin
A well-deserved rest and beer after a super hard day and emotional week for Ines Thoma. -Sven Martin
Sad times. Flo Goral touched more than just the Canyon Factory Enduro team with his presence on the circuit. #rideforflo -Sven Martin
It's not often you see top riders catching and passing other top riders. Here Callaghan catches and passes Francois Bailly Maitre. -Sven Martin
Katy Winton gets her best result and her first stage win (from the physical stage seven no less). Woohoo! -Sven Martin
Jack Moir, 6th place for the fit, fast, UCI-rulebook-knowing, Aussie downhiller. A lot of downhillers and ex-downhillers in the Top 10 this round despite how physical a day it was. -Sven Martin
The biggest result from the women's field was 4th place from relative Swiss newcomer, Camille Balanche, with two 2nd place finishes. Good job Camie. -Sven Martin
Greg Callaghan made a late charge with five Top 10's for 5th place overall. He will be one to watch all season. -Sven Martin
While some tri-podded and slipped their way down the track , Cecile Ravanel cut her way and powered through the mud. She wasn't expecting the race to go so well being from dry rocky south of France. -Sven Martin
Caro Gehrig gettgin sliced by razor rain streaks on stage one. The skies opened up for the pro men and women. -Sven Martin
This is reality. No photoshop no shadows fill and exposure pushing. This is what racers had to deal with early up on stage one. -Sven Martin
Mel Blomfield has more stoke than you. She also probably rides her bike better than you when its gets greasy and sloppy and technical. Masters Women's winner by a long shot. -Sven Martin
Eddie. Eddie. Eddie. -Sven Martin
Richie Rude took a stage win which was the only memory he'd likely want to take away form Rotorua. Tough conditions for the last riders on a rapidly deteriorating track. -Sven Martin
You know it's a tough day when despite a second place on stage four, Martin Maes ended up in 13th. -Joe Bowman.
It was hell on earth for the mechanics in the tech and feed zone. Maurissen gets his hands dirty. -Sven Martin
It makes you feel human when you see the pros flailing. And they all did. One of many superman attempts on the day. Iago rides along. -Sven Martin
Cecile Ravanel rode really aggressively but consistently. 3:15 ahead of 2nd place finisher, Ines Thoma, after seven stages. -Sven Martin
Anita Gehrig on her way to the 3rd place. The second EWS podium for the Swiss rider. @maddogboris
Scottish rider, Joe Barnes, loved the home-like weather conditions and was stoked about his 12th place. #rideforflo @maddogboris
Last minute line check for Richie, Jared and Curtis...little did they know what was coming. @maddogboris
A tough day for the defending EWS Champion. @maddogboris
Not time to clean bikes before fixing them - new parts on dirty bikes. @maddogboris
Tough, waterproof Kiwis are not made of sugar. No melting from the rain here. @maddogboris
Jerome Clementz, 11th place. @maddogboris
Anneke Beerten death-grippin'! @maddogboris
The Gehrig Twins knows how to celebrate! @maddogboris
Winner, Wyn Masters, will always wheelie. @maddogboris
Such a rad Kiwi Men Podium. Mixed with some fast french, german and swiss girls. @maddogboris
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Round 1 of the 2017 Enduro World Series delivered, with the downhillers proving their mettle and the NZ boys making their country proud. Bring on round 2, yay racing!

Check out the EWS Race Results here.

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