Squamish’s Remi Gauvin racing EWS 2018 in Ainsa, Spain. Image: Enduro World Series
Canadians looking to punch their ticket to race the Enduro World Series in 2020 will have a few chances closer home this year.
The EWS has released the first part of its EWS Qualifier calendar for 2019. These are the events where riders can earn points towards pre-qualifying for the following years full main series events.
So far, two Canadian dates have been announced. Blue Mountain, Ont. will host the first event on 7 July at the Norco Canadian National Enduro Series. Later that month, Canadian National Enduro Championships will double as a second EWS Qualifier event, on top of being a UCI sanctioned national championships. CNEC takes places 27 July at Panorama Mountain Resort in B.C.
More Canadian qualifier events are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, as venues are still being confirmed. Racers looking for more opportunities to earn global ranking points can also look south of the border. America has a long list of EWS Qualifier’s on the calendar. Idaho, Montana, and Pennsylvania and Vermont all have events not too far south. While the Vermont race may be convenient, it unfortunately falls on the same weekend as the Blue Mountain, Ont. event.
A full list of Canadian and American qualifier races can be found below, as well as the two North American EWS stops. Whistler and Northstar, Cali will host EWS rounds in 2019, including the new EWS100 and EWS80 spots. The Whistler EWS100 is already full with a wait list. As of time of writing, there were still EWS80 spots open.
Qualifier races are especially important because entry to main series events will only be open to pre-qualified riders from 2019 onward. In previous years, a small number of entries at each round were given out on a lottery basis. That lottery system disappears for 2019. In it’s place are the new EWS100 and EWS80 events.
