Sam Hill holds EWS lead
Despite finishing sixth overall in France on the weekend, defending world Enduro World Series champ Sam Hill maintains his points lead after three rounds of the 2018 series.
In a mixed weekend where weather dictated a lot of results, the West Aussie decided consolidation was a smart strategy after a small fall on day one, with the gnarly, rock-infested trails around Orlagues claiming a number of riders over the course of the two-day, eight-stage epic.
US rider Richie Rude (below) and local Adrien Dailly battled it out all day on Sunday, with Rude eventually prevailing for the overall win. Martin Maes and Florian Nicolai were also locked in a battle for third place, with Martin winning out after a blistering run on stage eight.
Jared Graves got to finish his first EWS race for 2018, though changing conditions during the second day saw the former champ lose time during a tough second day to end up 30th.
A good day on Saturday turned to custard for Josh Carlson (below), who was helped back to the final day service by other racers after suffering a mechanical, while former short course XC Eliminator world champ Paul van der Ploeg popped up on the timing sheets, albeit with a DNF after day one.
Cecile Ravanel put on a typically dominant performance in pro women, winning seven of the eight stages to claim her third win for the year in front of a hometown crowd. Isabeau Courdurier shook off a bad crash during practice to take second place, and Ines Thoma took third.
Find all the results here.
