EWS.5 '18 BATTLE
IN THE CLOUDS

Round 5 of the EWS series took the Yeti-Fox team riders to La Thuile, an area situated below the shadow of Mont Blanc in the northwest corner of Italy. Weather once again wreaked havoc on the EWS tracks with course changes happening on the fly in an attempt to maintain the integrity of racing.

Day 1 saw sunshine, but the stages were flipped in reverse to allow the tracks on higher elevation to dry out from a rainstorm that soaked the peaks the night before. Richie started off well with an 8th and 2nd place in the first two stages, but some janky rock slabs took him out in Stage 3. Richie finished out the day, but his tumble put in back in the field. Teammate Shawn Neer rode consistently taking in the views and adjusting to the track conditions and style of Europe.

Day 2 provided more of the same, with threatening weather storms causing course changes and re-routes. Richie Smash was in true form for the first run on Stage 6 and a catastrophic flat forced him to retire for the day. His first DNF in his EWS career. Bummed out, he vowed to bring his corner-crushing everything to the next round in Whistler. Shawn Neer held it together and battled the variable conditions for a 27th overall. He feels good and ready to head back to his old stomping grounds in the Whistler Valley. Only this time he will not be sleeping in a van in lot five.