Lanthier Nadeau and Goldstone podium at EWS La Thuile
A good day for Canadians racing in Italy
Photo by:
Margus Riga
Canadians were flying today in the first half of the Enduro World Series double-header in La Thuile, Italy. Andréane Lanthier Nadeau and Jackson Goldstone both ended up on the podium. Several other Canadians hit some significant top-10 finishes as well.
Pro Women – ALN back on the podium
In the pro women’s race, Andréane Lanthier Nadeau made her first podium appearance of 2021. The Rocky Mountain Race Face athlete was close in the opening round at Val di Fassa, finishing fourth. In La Thuile, ALN was third and less than three seconds off of Trek Factory Racings Harriet Harnden in second. France’s Melanie Pugin continued her charge through 2021, taking a second straight EWS win.
ALN wasn’t the only speedy Canuck, either. Georgia Astle (Devinci) moved up into 12th. Miranda Miller (Kona) was close behind in 14th. Finally, Rachel Pageau (Commencal) placed 19th, putting four Canadian women inside the top 20 in La Thuile.
Goldstone adapts seamlessly to EWS
In the under-21 men’s race, Squamish’s Jackson Goldstone showed he can go fast no matter what kind of bike he’s riding. Miranda Factory Racing’s newest signing placed third, behind Australia’s Like Meier-Smith and winner of Rounds #1 and #2, Jamie Edmondson.
Goldstone’s third comes just days after his first junior World Cup downhill win at Les Gets. Added to his second place at the first World Cup DH in Leogang, the young Canadian is easily living up to the hype surrounding his first year of World Cup / EWS racing.
Nathan Sterckx added another top-10 finish to his results, finishing eighth in La Thuile. At round two in Val di Fassa, the Quebec rider finished in fifth place.Johnathan Helly (We Are One) rounded out the Canadian results in 15th.
Melamed stays steady in La Thuile
Jesse Melamed continued to ride with impressive consistency in La Thuile. After third and fourth place finishes in Val de Fassa, the Rocky Mountain Race Face rider was again fourth in the first race of this second double header. The consistent riding is paying off in the overall. Melamed sits third, not far off series leaders Richie Rude (Yeti Fox) and Jack Moir (Canyon Collective).
Rude and Moir’s battle resumed in La Thuile exactly where it left off in Val di Fassa. After trading 1st and 2nd in the first two rounds, it was Rude on top in Thursday’s racing by the second-narrowest of margins. The American was just 1.81 seconds ahead of his Australian rival after 23 minutes 40 seconds of racing in Italy. While incredibly close, it’s still a larger winning margin than Rude’s victory over Moir in Round #1. That day, the two were separated by just 0.48 seconds.
Kasper Woolley could have the standout result for Canada’s pro men, though. The Yeti OneUp Pro Team rider had a breakout result, finishing 7th, including a fifth place finish on the final Queen Stage. It’s the Squamish rider’s first EWS top-10 in the Pro category after several solid under-21 podiums.
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Mckay Vezina (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) also had a good day in La Thuile, finishing 22nd. Remi Gauvin (Rocky Mountain Race Face) placed 36th, Carter Krasny 79th and Daniel Shaw (Knolly) 90th.
Enduro World Series keeps right on trucking, with Round #4 starting this Saturday in La Thuile, Italy.
