American riders on top of the EWS podium

Team USA on Top at EWS Trophy of Nations

Riding Maxxis tires, Team USA prevailed at the Bluegrass Trophy of Nations powered by SRAM, the newest event on the Enduro World Series calendar. Richie Rude (Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Racing), Shawn Neer ((Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Racing), and Cody Kelley won the Men’s Pro race after competing against teams from 23 other countries. The race, held September 29 in Finale Ligure, Liguria, Italy, was the first to be UCI-sanctioned in the history of the sport.

Richie Rude charges over a rock, nose down. Nothing could get in the way of Rude. ?@maddogboris

Shawn Neer pedals through a flat but rough section of trail Neer pinned and pedaling through the flats.?@maddogboris

Eyes up and elbows out as Cody Kelley flies into a chute. Kelley kept it elbows out and hung on to the Yeti duo. ?@maddogboris

Rude, Neer, and Kelley dominated the five-stage race from start to finish. They were joined on the podium by fellow Maxxis-sponsored riders Robin Wallner (Ibis Cycles Enduro Race Team) of the second-place Team Sweden and Jesse Melamed (Rocky Mountain/Race Face Enduro Team), Remi Gauvin (Rocky Mountain/Race Face Enduro Team) and Rhys Verner (Kona Factory Racing) of third-place Team Canada.

 Robin Wallner smashes through the loose dirt in a spectator section Wallner helped the Swedish team stay in touch as he ripped through a spectator section. ?@maddogboris

The Rocky Mountain teammates of Remi Gauvin and Jesse Melamed run nose to tail.Gauvin and Melamed chased each other around all day while representing Canada. ?@maddogboris

Rhys Verner was the third man representing Canada and managed to stay on the Rocky Mountain teams heelsVerner stayed in tow behind the Rocky Mountain boys, helping bring Canada onto the third step of the podium.?@maddogboris

In the women’s race, Bex Baraona (Ibis Cycles Enduro Race Team) and Becky Cook (Orbea Enduro Team) of Team Great Britain made the podium in second place. Team Canada’s Miranda Miller (Kona Factory Racing) and Andreane Lanthier Nadeau (Rocky Mountain/Race Face Enduro Team) took third place after a steady performance throughout the race. Anna Newkirk made the Women’s U21 podium when Team USA took second place in the class.

 Bex Barona rolls down the back side of a boulder in her tie-dye Ibis jersey. Baraona on the attack aboard her brand new Ibis Mojo. ?@maddogboris

Miranda Miller leads Andreane Lanthier Nadeau through the woods of Finale Ligure. Miller and Nadeau stayed lockstep down every stage in Finale Ligure. ?@maddogboris

Anna Newkirk rallys through the spectator section. Newkirk came out to try her hand at enduro, and did well helping the American U-21 women to second place.?@maddogboris

Enduro World Series Director Chris Ball said: “What an incredible weekend of sport. It’s been amazing to see the riders embrace the team format and work together, and to see the winning teams on the podium wearing those jerseys and medals. It marks the start of a very exciting new event to the EWS calendar.”

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