Three Canadians podium EWS season opener in Tweed Valley
Melamed starts 2022 Enduro World Series in second in Scotland
Photo by:
Margus Riga
Canadians had a huge start to the 2022 Enduro World Series over the weekend, scoring three podiums across the elite and u21 categories. Jesse Melamed, Emmy Lan and Seth Sherlock all stood on the box in Tweed Valley, finishing no worse than second after Sunday’s racing.
Melamed starts with silver: Elite Men
Jesse Melamed (Rocky Mountain Race Face) had a very solid start to his season, finishing second in Saturday’s Pro Stage then backing that up on Sunday with silver again. The Whistler local won two of the weekend’s six race stages on his way to the podium.
Only a hard-charging Richie Rude (Yeti-Fox), intent on redemption after being disqualified in Tweed Valley last year, could keep the Canadian from the win. Local privateer Innes Graham delivered an impressive win for the hometown fans on Saturday, and held on for third Sunday.
Rhys Verner (Forbidden Synthesis) was the next Canadian across the line. The Squamish racer starts with an impressive 11th in the pro men’s race. McKay Vezina (Giant Factory) squeezes into the top-20 in 19th. Jack Menzies (WeAreOne) followed close behind in 21st and Remi Gauvin (Rocky Mountain Race Face) 30th.
Kasper Woolley (Yeti Fox) was sitting sixth after Saturday’s Pro Stage, but crashed hard in the first stage of Sunday’s racing and withdrew from the race.
Emmy Lan perfect in U21 women’s race
Vancouver Island’s Emmy Lan (Norco Factory Racing) sailed to a perfect weekend in Scotland. The reigning Canadian junior women’s DH and u21 women’s enduro national champion won all six race stages in the Tweed Valley. That gave Lan a massive 43-second winning margin over second-place finisher Sophie Riva of Italy. France’s Justine Henry finished third.
Sherlock second in u21 men
Seth Sherlock (Intense Factory Racing) took advantage of a break in the World Cup downhill calendar to try his first EWS event. The side-trip paid off in spades, as the Squamish racer finished second behind Luke Meir-Smith (Propain Factory Racing).
Emmett Hancock followed close behind in eighth, with We Are One teammate Johnathan Helley in 14th.
ALN finds fifth in Tweet Valley
On the elite women’s side, Rocky Mountain Race Face’s Andréane Lanthier-Nadeau started her season strong with a fifth-place finish in Scotland. The Canadian rode consistently both days to start the season on the right foot after a rough 2021. That race was won by Cannondale’s local Ella Conolly, who used the home-turf advantage to take her first EWS win.
Miranda Miller (Kona Gravity) just made it back from an injury on time to finish 17th in Scotland. Rachel Pageau (Commencal) followed in 26th, just ahead of Lucy Schick (Norco Factory Team) in 27th. Julia Long in 31st and Angeline McKirdy in 31st round out the Canadian results.
