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Jesse Melamed battles back onto podium at EWS Madeira

Whistler rider rallies hard, winning two stages on second day of racing

EWS Enduro World Series Finale Ligure

Whistler’s Jesse Melamed rallied hard on the second of two race days in Madeira, Portugal to earn his first podium finish of the 2019 Enduro World Series.

The result was a moment of redemption for Melamed. When the EWS was last in Madeira two years ago, the Whistler rider was leading the men’s standings after the first day of racing. A massive mechanical on the second day saw Melamed drop off the podium then.

This time, his trajectory was reversed. After a steady first day, Melamed won two stages on the second day of racing, finishing third on two more, to earn a third overall in Madeira. After a fourth in New Zealand and an eighth in Tasmania, Melamed now sits third overall in the series as well.

One spot behind, Melamed’s Rocky Mountain / Race Face teammate Remi Gauvin has turned in consistent results at each of the first three EWS rounds to sit fourth in the overall. Gauvin was 12th in Madeira, adding to a seventh in Rotorua and fourth in Derby.

Kona Gravity Racing’s Rhys Verner is the next best placed Canadian. The young Squamish, B.C. racer was 39th in Madeira, putting him 37th overall after three rounds of EWS racing.

Nadeau nudges into the top 5

Rocky Mountain / Race Face’s Andreane Lanthier Nadeau finished ninth in Madeira, including a second place on the seventh of eight stages. Added to her fifth and sixth place finishes in the opening rounds, ALN now sits fifth overall in the series.

Miranda Miller (Kona Gravity Racing) continued her consistent results, finishing 12th in Madeira. The former downhill racer netted two second place stage finishes along the way. She now sits 12th overall in the series.

Rachel Pageau was the third placed Canadian in the race, earning 23rd for her Pivot Cycles team.

Maes and Courdurier continue to dominate

At the sharp end of the race in Madeira, it was two familiar faces. Isabeau Courdurier (Intense Mavic Collective) won all but one stage in Madeira, extending her unbeaten streak to three straight EWS rounds in 2019. The French rider won all but one of the eight stages in Portugal. Only Noga Korem (GT Factory Racing) could steal a stage from Courdurier, winning the fourth stage on her way to second place overall. Ella Connolly was third.

Martin Maes (GT Factory Racing)won a third straight EWS round as well, winning six of eight stages on his way to the top step of the podium. The multi-talented Belgian had a solid 32 second lead over local racer Jose Borges (Miranda Racing Team), the Portuguese racer delighted the home crowd with his best ever EWS finish in second place.

Jesse Melamed was the only rider able to steal a stage win from Maes, winning the fifth and sixth stage during Sunday’s racing.

The Enduro World Series now takes a break until 29 June.  The Italian town of Canazei will make its series debut as EWS racing returns to the Dolomites.