Two podiums for Canadians at Derby World Cup Enduro

The second round of World Cup enduro (EDR) racing wrapped up a two-week stretch in Tasmania with two Canadians on the podium. Jesse Melamed finished third in the elite men’s race behind race winner and rival Richie Rude. On the women’s side, Elly Hoskin continued her string off successes in the under-21 women’s race with a silver medal in that event.

Elite men and women: Melamed finds pace in Derby

After a sketchy start to his season in Maydena last week, Jess Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV) was on form in Derby this weekend. The Canadian raced mostly consistently all day, winning the third of six timed stages on his way to finishing third overall.

The men’s win came down to an intra-team showdown between two Yeti-Fox riders. Team veteran Richie Rude managed to hold off Poland’s Slawomir Lukasik for his first win of the season.

After an impressive debutin Maydena, Rhys Verner (Forbidden Synthesis) finished 13th in Derby. Elliot Jamieson (Norco) was the next Canadian across the line in 20th.

Melamed and Verner now sit fifth and sixth overall in the men’s standings. But Rude has an early advantage of 200 points over the two Cancuks, 782 to 584 for Melamed and 528 for Verner.

On the women’s side, Bex Baroana earned another victory for the Yeti-Fox team. Baroana led a trio of British riders in a podium sweep, with Harriet Harnden (Trek Factory Racing) and Ella Conolly (Cannondale) following in second and third.

Elly Hoskin ascends Under-21 ranks

In the under-21 racing, B.C.’s Elly Hoskin is finding consistent success, and podiums, as the EDR season traverses Tasmania. After starting her season with a third place in Maydena, Hoskin moved up on position to finish second in Derby on Saturday. Erice van Leuven (Commencal Les Orres) also moves up one spot from last week to take the win in Derby. Emmy Lan (Forbidden Synthesis) followed in fifth while Lily Boucher (Rocky Mountain Race Face) placed eighth.

On the men’s side, Port Moody’s Lief Rodgers (Giant Canada) was the top-ranked Canadian, just missing the podium in fourth. That race was won by Australian local Sascha Kim. Johnathan Helly (We Are One) was the next-fastest Canuck in eighth.

There is now a long break in the World Cup calendar. Cross country racers are next to toe the line, starting their season in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic on May 11-14. Enduro doesn’t resume until June 2-4 in the iconic Finale Ligure venue in Italy.

Derby Race Highlights: Enduro World Cup #2

What’s the World Series say about Derby downtime?

Round two of the UCI Mountain Bike Enduro World Cup in Derby was one for the history books.

The Tasmanian crowds turned out in force to see the world’s best throw down on Derby’s iconic rock slabs in some absolutely wild conditions.

Hit the link to watch the full highlights from round two and see who’ll be heading into round three on top of the leaderboards!