Interview: Max McCulloch on his EWS Whistler podium

Every year when the globetrotting Enduro World Series returns to Whistler, there’s a lineup of Canadian enduro racers looking to make the most of their chance to race on home soil. Victoria, B.C.’s Max McCulloch was able to convert that chance into a standout result.

At the end of five stages of racing, McCulloch finished second in U21 Men’s race at the notoriously difficult Canadian EWS stop. It’s an impressive result for the privateer racer, with only Commencal Vallnord’s Theotim Trabac riding Whistler’s trails quicker. McCulloch was joined on the podium by Lucy Shick and Julia Long, who were second and third in U21 Women, and a solid list of Canadian top-10 results from the home EWS round.

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McCulloch started out racing cross country but, for the 2018 season, has been focusing on racing enduro with Slightly Rad Racing. McCulloch formed the team together with Merin Pearce – who finished 18th in Whistler – and Cody Canning to try get to as many enduro races as possible. Along with the local Island Cup series, the trio targeted the new MEC Canadian National Enduro Series (CNES) and, the season’s main goal, the Whistler EWS stop.

I caught up with McCulloch at Felt’s Crankworx booth after his race to talk about EWS, racing the CNES, and what comes next for the young Canadian shredder:

Canadian Cycling Magazine: Enduro World Series events are scattered all over the world. What was it like getting to race an EWS so close to home?

Max McCulloch: It was awesome having the Whistler race close to home. It’s a chance to see where you stack up without the risk factor of committing to flying across the world for a single race without knowing whether or not you’ll be competitive. Whistler’s still six or so hours away from where I live, but it was a bit of an advantage being able to come over ahead of time and check out what the terrain would be like.

It was also super nice to have the support of friends and my family at the race, since it was a “local” one. Having my parents around to help cook meals and support me before the race made it easier. The nervousness factor was still really high though. It was the biggest race of the season for me, and my only shot at racing an EWS this year.

CCM: Of the five race stages, did any one stand out as your favorite, or the best suited to your riding?

MM: I like Stage 2 because of the technical factor. It wasn’t crazy fast. Where I live on the Island is rocky, rooty, and slow, with steep bits. So that suited me well.

I also really enjoyed stage 4. You had to be precise with how you pumped through the terrain and carry speed through the turns, which I think suit my strengths. I was also pretty happy with that stage after the race because I was able to grab the stage win on it. Oh, and Top of the World, Stage 5 – I just liked it because it was long, and you had to have fitness.

CCM: Yeah, Top of the World. That was a twenty minute long stage, and one that ended several riders days. What was your strategy for racing that stage?

MM: I knew coming into that I was top 3, so – my whole strategy for the race was just to stay smooth and carry speed without doing anything too crazy. On Top of the World, every single pedaling section it was just pedal as hard as I could, leave nothing in the tank. Then I just did my best to ride smooth because I knew people were getting tonnes of mechanicals. So I think that’s kind of what helped me: riding smooth, pumping through the terrain, and just pedaling as hard as I could.

CCM: Second at an Enduro World Series round is a pretty big result. Do you have plans to race any more EWS events?

MM: This is my first year going I guess what you could call “full enduro.” I did some of the Canadian National Enduro Series stops and I’d planned to do this EWS. This year I just wanted to see how it would go. It turns out I really like enduro and it suits my style. Next year the dream would definitely be to race the whole series, but at this point I am not sure, it’s up in the air.

CCM: MEC Canadian National Enduro Series is a new series for this year. Does getting to race those events help prepare you for racing at the EWS level?

MM: Most of the enduros I’ve done before have been Island Cups, which is a series on my home island of Vancouver Island. They’re a lot more pedaly and more flat than the CNES races, so getting to race those kind of opened me up to what that EWS would be like. A lot more faster, DH-style sections, longer stages, longer days, and just seeing how fast kids my age could go. And seeing some of the Canadian pro’s like Remi Gauvin and ALN. It was good to see what the level of competition was like going into the EWS and what the terrain was like too.

CCM: How was it getting to race the same course as those Pro riders, and getting to compare yourself to them directly?

MM: Yeah, I’m so lucky to have the Whistler EWS close to home because, like you said, you can compare yourself to the top pros in the world. I went through after the race and I looked at all my stage times and on the stages that I liked, and that were more like the Island, I think I was top 30 on those, and the rest was around top 40. I was really excited about that, especially because next year I’ll be moving up into the Pro class for EWS so… yeah, it was good to compare my times.