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What’s the deal with Enduro World Series and UCI’s new partnership?

EWS director Chris Ball answers questions about what enduro will look like in 2019

EWS Enduro World Series Ainsa Sobrarbe

When the Enduro World Series (EWS) announced at the end of 2018 season it would be entering a partnership with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), it ruffled some feathers.

Not everyone in the gravity crowd is a fan of cycling’s governing body, which the EWS had existed outside of since its inception. For some, the EWS’s separation from the UCI was part of the series’ allure.

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Enduro World Series director Chris Ball has taken time to answer some of the more common questions riders, and the EWS’ fans have about the new partnership. Ball covers commissars, rule books, venues, courses and the involvement of national federations in enduro. All in just two minutes.

The takeaway is that this new partnership won’t bring change to the EWS overnight. It is also not the EWS handing over control of the series to the UCI. It looks as though it will be a gradual project of developing how the two organizations can work together.

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Since it was announced, the partnership between the UCI and EWS has already lead to changes here in Canada. The first Canadian National Enduro Championships (CNEC) was held in 2018 at Panorama Mountain Resort. Remi Gauvin (Rocky Mountain / Race Face) and Emily Slaco (Juliana Bicycles) were the

For 2019, Cycling Canada has announced that event will be a Canadian championship race, in partnership with the Canadian National Enduro Series. The event will return to Panorama Mountain Resort along with Canadian downhill championships, making for one big weekend of gravity racing.

RELATED: Watch: Panorama Bike Park hosts Canadian national enduro championships

Just how involved Cycling Canada will get in Enduro beyond sanctioning a championship event, and what that involvement will look like remains to be seen.