racing

EDR.2
Derby Domination

EDR.2 Derby, Tasmania

A stark contrast from the downhill-esque EDR in Maydena, the second World Cup in Derby, Tasmania was chock-full of slabs, sand, and endurance laden stages. This race was designed to favor the incredibly fit with 40.7 total kilometers of riding, including pedal-only transfers and stages that would require a great deal of power.

The team stayed on the gas throughout the race, winning eight of twelve stages between Bex Baraona, Richie Rude, and Sławomir Łukasik.

“I was thinking only about the next stage and what is coming up and that is it. I was focused on the race, not position or time — just to ride fast and make a good race.”
Sławomir Łukasik

As the day progressed, Richie and Sławomir continued to put time into the rest of the field, making their 1-2 finish inevitable barring any mishap. After the final stage, their fate was sealed, with Rude taking the win, and teammate Łukasik right behind in second.

“I just wanted to go out there and have a good performance and capitalize on my time in Derby. I think last week was just getting back into the racing feeling. I didn’t have that straight up speed with the trails being more DH style, but here in Derby I felt more comfortable with a bit more pedal power, and more comfortable hitting the bigger features.”
Richie Rude

Meanwhile, Bex Baraona was battling it out with Harriet Harnden. Bex took the lead early – her 3.9 second lead after Stage Four was shaved down to less than a second (0.95 to be exact). With one very long stage left to determine the win, it was anyone’s game.

“I was riding with a lot of desperation to win. Rather than trying to hold back energy I was giving absolutely everything, everywhere. It was an 8 min track but felt like 3 min because I was so in the zone. The feeling in the final stage is what we train for, it’s the way you give absolutely 100% and you couldn’t do anything better with complete focus and tunnel vision. My legs actually didn’t work at the end, I was just so relieved. I felt like I was on the verge of hyperventilating.”
Bex Baraona

Slavek’s thoughts on his best EDR result to date?

“It was hard to believe because I didn’t expect this, especially here in Tas, because I was here for the first time and didn’t feel really comfortable this far away from home. It was a big surprise for me but also, I was really happy and stoked for second.”
Sławomir Łukasik

Richie and Bex now lead the series and will don the yellow plate and leader vests at EDR.3 in Finale, Italy. Not far behind Rude is Sławomir, in 4th place overall. The Yeti / FOX Factory leads the Team Standings with 2358 points, 736 points ahead of second place. This weekend's results are hands down the best any enduro team could do or has ever done in one single race. Other notable statistics: this is Richie Rude’s 20th EDR win, and the SB160’s first win.

We couldn’t have asked for a better race. This is as good as it gets. We’ll see you between the tape in Finale, Italy in two short months.