Andréane Lanthier Nadeau comes so close to winning her first EWS
Rocky Mountain Race Face rider survives injury scare at La Thuile Enduro World Series
Photo by:
Claire Sanford
Half way through racing in La Thuile, Andréane Lanthier Nadeau looked on track to win her first-ever round of the Enduro World Series. The Canadian won Saturday’s Pro Stage. Then, despite briefly dislocating her ankle during that ride, soldiered on through Saturday to win the third stage.
Going into the fifth and final stage of racing in La Thuile, ALN still held the lead. Then it all came apart. A major crash on that stage, involving a tearing off the front break and breaking her dropper post, saw Lanthier Nadeau slide to 26th. After so many podiums, including one on Thursday in La Thuile, coming so close to the win was an emotional moment for the Rocky Mountain Race Face athlete and a moment shared with the tight-knit EWS women’s field.
While Lanthier Nadeau had a nightmare end to her day, Miranda Miller (Kona Gravity) was having a good weekend. The former downhill world champion turned in 8th place at the second of two EWS rounds in La Thuile this week. Georgia Astle (Devinci) followed up with 15ht, and Rachel Pageau 23rd.
Harriet Harnden (Trek Factory Racing) was able to capitalize on ALN’s misfortune, taking her own first Enduro World Series win. Melanie Pugin lands second, and Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) returned to the EWS podium in third.
Elite Men – Melamed majorly consistent
ALN’s teammate Jesse Melamed continued his impressively consistent 2021 season with another fourth place finish. The Whistler racer’s consistency keeps him in third overall in the series rankings. Melamed has yet to finish worse than fourth in any of the four EWS rounds this year, including one podium in Val di Fassa.
Jack Moir (Canyon Cllctv) added another win to his growing rivalry with Richie Rude (Yeti Fox). With Moir’s 13.5 second victory, he now trails Rude by just 5 points, 2075-2070, in the 2021 series standings. Zakarias Johansen (Ibis Enduro Team) stormed to third.
Kasper Woolley (Yeti OneUp Components) followed up an impressive top-10 at the first La Thuile round with a 13th on Sunday. McKay Vezina (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) finished 46th, three spots ahead of Remi Gauvin (Rocky Mountain Race Face) in 49th. Carter Krasny placed 57th and Daniel Shaw rounded out the Canadian results in 88th.
Under-21 Men
Jackson Goldstone (Miranda Factory Team) and Nathan Stercxk both squeezed into the top-5 in the under-21 men’s race. Goldstone fourth in his second-ever Enduro World Series race. Sterckx putting up another solid result with fifth. B.C.’s Johnathan Helly (We Are One Composites) added a 13th to the Canuck results.
