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Mckay Vezina: Crashing and community in the EWS

After two rounds of EWS racing, the Giant Factory Off Road racer already has plenty of stories to tell

EWS Lo Barnachea : Enduro World Series
EWS Lo Barnachea : Enduro World Series
McKay Vezina holds it wide open over the slick rocks on the marathon 11km second stage in Lo Barnechea, Chile Image: Enduro World Seriessecond stage

After the opening Enduro World Series rounds in South America saw Mckay Vezina running to make cut-off times between timed stages in Chile and forced out due to injury in Colombia, the Vancouver-born racer will surely be hoping for a less eventful weekend when racing returns in Olargues, France this weekend.

When things weren’t going sideways in South America for Vezina, they were going really well. On the third stage of racing, the Giant Factory Off-Road Team rider placed seventh in a stacked field of worlds best enduro racers. What was looking like a great start to the season on Saturday was turned on it’s head when racing resumed on Sunday. Vezina crashed on the day’s first stage of racing (Stage 4), and destroyed his drivetrain.

EWS rules set strict limits on where and when racers can receive outside mechanical help, leaving Vezina to not only finish Stage 4 with no chain, but also the next two transfers. Without a functioning drivetrain the only option was to quit the race, or run the 11km distance between the remaining downhill stages to make his cut-off times. How Vezina’s run through the Chilean Andes played out, though, shows part of what makes enduro different, and why so many riders are getting involved with the discipline.

Before he headed off to France, I connected with Vezina to catch up on what exactly happened in Chile, why he had to drop out in Colombia, and what makes the enduro racing community so special.

 

Canadian Cycling Magazine: Let’s start with Chile. That Lo Barnechea course looked pretty wild. How was the course? How was your racing going before the crash?

Mckay Vezina: Chile was amazing! The course was extremely challenging with incredibly fast and rough stages as well as the longest stage we have ever raced in EWS history. The race was going pretty good before my crash. I was sitting just inside the top 20 overall with a top 10 stage finish on the last stage of Day 1.

CCM: You had a great result, 7th on stage 3. Did that play into the decision to make this big effort to try finish the race?

MV: I was super happy with my result on stage 3. It felt great to know that my speed and fitness are there and I can hang with the best of them! My result on stage 3 didn’t have much to do with it. I absolutely hate quitting so I had to give it my best shot! My coach Evan Guthrie says the only time its okay to quit a race is if you or your bike is in two separate pieces and that didn’t seem to be the case so I carried on.

CCM: So, you crashed on Stage 4 leaving you to run the final 2 transfers. What happened in the crash? what was broken?

MV: I crashed a few minutes into stage 4 on a high speed off camber section. When I came off the bike it tumbled through a really rocky area next to the track. I got to the bike as quick as I could and noticed right away that my chain and derailleur
were extremely bent and broken. I sort of scooter pushed my way down the rest of the track and after crossing the finish line I took the broken stuff and started the run!

CCM: Looking at the course map, that’s about 12 km of running total, with a 1000m elevation gain. Does that sound about right?

MV: I think it was a little bit less then that but that sounds close! It was definitely the longest run I have ever done. Haha.

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CCM: On Instagram, you thank Yoann Barelli, your teammate Josh Carlson, Richie Rude, Martin Maes, and Robin Wallner for helping you on the last transfer. Were you on your own for the Stage 4-5 liaison? Anyone else you want to add to that list for the 5-6 liaison?

MV: Those were the main guys that stayed by me for the whole transfer from the bottom of stage 5 back to the pits. I wasn’t alone at the end of stage 4 because most of the guys were passing me and cheering me on!

CCM: How did that get started? You’re running along with your bike, and …

MV: When I finished stage 5, Yoann, Josh and I tried our best to single speed my bike but my chain was so bent that it wasn’t going to happen so the running began. I started off running and pushing my bike but my team mate Josh realized pretty quick how much I was struggling so he started pushing my bike and so I could just run. Slowly the other guys started to show up and lend a helping hand. About half way up the climb Yoann and Jose Borges took my bike and rode a bit faster so they could drop it off with my mechanic before I got there. With out that I would have been in a mega tight time check and probably wouldn’t have made to the next stage in time!

CCM: That’s a pretty amazing display of sportsmanship, that all these guys were willing to put their own interests aside to help another rider. Especially since 3 of those guys were in the top 10, and Rude was winning stages all weekend. Is there something about enduro, or the EWS, that you think leads to this type of thing happening?

MV: The sportsmanship in the EWS is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. I think it has something to do with races being long and super hard on the equipment. At some point in the season everyone has some sort of mechanical so its always good to give a helping hand if you can!

CCM: How was racing chainless after running 4km, then another 8km?

MV: It was funny because even though I didn’t have a chain for stage 5 I still finished in the top 50 on the stage. When you don’t have a chain you focus so much harder on being smooth and not making any mistakes and that definitely happened on stage 5! I had the smoothest run of the weekend with out a chain! Haha.

CCM: Next up was Manizales, Colombia, which was a totally different looking course than Chile. You crashed practicing stage 5. What happened there?

MV: In Colombia I had a really dumb crash on stage 5 during practice. I pushed my front wheel in a rutted out straight away and high-sided going pretty fast. At first I didn’t think it was that bad so I jumped up as quick as I could and started riding down the track. I had a bit of pain coming from my knee so I pulled over to check it out and that’s when I noticed that I had a big gash just above my knee cap. I panicked a little bit because it was so deep but then realized it was just a flesh wound so I cruised down to the bottom of the stage.

CCM: What were your injuries from that?

MV: A 3 inch cut just above my knee.

CCM: You were able to race the urban prologue stage, which looked a bit different than the usual EWS enduro stage. What was it like racing through the town center of Manizales?

MV: I decided to try and race the urban stage just to give myself the chance of racing the main race on Sunday. Racing through the streets of Manizales was one of the coolest things I have ever done. The track was lined top to bottom with screaming fans that were so passionate about the race. I would love to go back to South America one day and do one of the famous urban races!

Mckay Vezina, Enduro World Series Manizales Colombia
Practice day crash in Manizales, Colombia Image: Enduro World Series

Did you start the next day and have to stop? Or was there a decision with your injuries to not try start?

I made the decision to not race on Sunday right after the urban stage. I couldn’t really pedal during the minute long stage with out my stitches wanting to pull out so I figured that racing 6 hours through the jungle mud probably wasn’t the best idea. I was super disappointed to pull out of the race. Sitting on the sidelines at a race is probably the hardest thing for any racer to go through!

Is there anything else you want to add?

I would like to say thanks to my Giant Factory Off Road Team and my family for all the support at the first few races. I couldn’t do it with out them!

Mckay Vezina finished 36th at EWS Round #1 in Lo Barnechea after crashing, running and racing most of Sunday chainless. After racing the urban prologue through the streets of Manizales, he was forced out of Round #2 in Columbia due to a crash in practice. As mentioned above, fresh wounds and endless stretches of deep jungle mud let loose by a torrential overnight rain were not an advisable risk to take. Look for Vezina on course this weekend when EWS racing returns for Round #3 at Olargues, France.