racing

EWS.8
THE LAST OF EIGHT

EWS.8 Loudenvielle

The Yeti / FOX Factory Team took on Loudenvielle, France, for the final Enduro World Series round of the season – the race that would determine where Richie Rude and Bex Baraona would fall in the season overall. Although it was a stretch, Richie pushed for the overall win, which would require front runner, Jesse Melamed to fall upon a run of bad luck and for Richie to win the day. That didn’t happen, and in a race that was mental as it was physical, both had the added pressure of retaining their 2nd and 3rd place spots, respectively.

“It was a bit of a slow start to the weekend with the Pro Stage. I wasn’t riding to full potential after not being on the bike for a couple weeks after Sugarloaf. I was pretty hesitant and holding back a bit, it was pretty steep and it wasn’t as much in my wheelhouse when it’s that slick. It rained overnight for day two, the tracks held up and rutted up nicely. I did quite well on S2 and got the confidence back up. I just tried to ride the bike, get a good feeling for it and carry on throughout the day.”
Richie Rude

“I was slightly stressed because I wanted to keep 3rd in the overall. I was really feeling it heading into the Pro Stage, listening to Eminem got me going nicely. I was probably feeling it a bit too much and did not anticipate some of the track conditions and went off a drop and straight into a tree. It wasn’t too bad, a lot of the riders did the same thing, but it pretty much wrote off my front brake which counted me out of the Pro Stage. A minute forty-five off was not the start of the race I was looking for but it kind of set the tone for the whole weekend.”
Bex Baraona

After six hard fought stages, Rude finished 7th, which was enough for him to stave off Maes and retain his spot behind Melamed in the series rankings, earning him 2nd overall in the 2022 Enduro World Series.

“Pretty happy with 2nd place again, it is a pretty amazing spot to be in with how the last half of the season went. Consistently fighting for the win with someone else in back-to-back was pretty special and shows how quick of a rider I can be, and how successful our team is with Shaun, Damion, and the crew. I can’t get too down on second considering how the season unfolded. I am excited for more next year.”
Richie Rude

Teammate, Baraona had a couple big crashes this week and could not quite find her standard race pace. She ended the day in18th, and fell one spot from 3rd to 4th in the overall —her best result to date.

“No sparkles for me at the end of the season, but super pleased to end up in 4th. Although I would’ve loved to finish in the top three, it was still my best season to date. Really happy to be wearing the ‘4’ plate next year.”
Bex Baraona

Richie and Bex join Yeti / FOX National Rider, Kate Lawrence as each of them join their respective Trophy of Nation’s teammates next weekend.

“I had such a good time here last time with Shawn (Neer) and Cody (Kelley). The pressure for the overall is out of the way, and we’re just going for a good result and having fun with our three-man team. We are back in Finale, and there are always good vibes here, the weather is usually alright. Looking forward to having a good time going fast and getting ready for some time off.”
Richie Rude

“It’ll be a good battle between France and the UK – Team GB will be going as hard as we can. I just wanna have fun, Finale is the perfect place to finish out the season”
Bex Baraona

The Yeti / FOX Teams would like to give a massive shoutout to the brands that supported the team for the 2022 race season.

Fox Racing Shox, OneUp Components, Maxxis, Shimano, DT Swiss, Ergon, Giro Sport Design, Cush Core, 7idp Protection, Toyota USA, Motorex, Occam Designs, Chris King, Thule, Skratch Labs,and Smith Optics