<b>Justin Leov playing the long game, keeping it smooth and winning two stages along the way. He has really found his stride, but will still have to ride hard to keep the others at bay tomorrow. </b> -Sven Martin
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<b>It was Total Stage Domination today for Tracey Moseley and she carries a 1-minute lead into day 2.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>True to his old school enduro roots, Rene Wildhaber was right at home on the old school tracks of Day 1. 2nd overall #notbad</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Anneke Beertten's day didn't start off so well with a flat just after this corner during Stage 1 practice. Undeterred, she charged on to 2nd overall.</b> -Lee Trumpore
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<b>Jared Graves had to nurse home a burped tire on Stage 3 but is still very much in the hunt.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>(Graves continues) High up top of Stage 1, ready to drop 1100m.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>(Graves continues) Francois Bailly-Maitre was taking no prisoners on the mid-Stage 1 sprint. 1st on Stage 1 and 2nd on Stage 2, he was in the lead until a mechanical on Stage 3 cost him almost a minute-and-a-half. 9th overall with another day ahead.</b> -Lee Trumpore
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<b>After gnarly 8 hours in the sun, my camera got a case of the spins. Fortunately the only thing spinning fast for Anne Caroline were her wheels, as she ended up in 3rd place after clawing back 10-seconds on Anneke Beerten on Stage 3.</b> -Lee Trumpore
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<b>Stage 2 which (was raced twice) was long, rocky, rough and relentless with a bit of awkwardness thrown in. Unluckily for Martin Maes, he flatted on the 2nd run while lying in third in the overall.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Martin Maes had to take a five minute penalty tonight, as he will be needing a new wheel tomorrow after racing the final stage on a flat. Double blow for Maes.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>In 6th place, Ben Cruz is feeling right at home amongst the green. Just like Napa Valley, right?</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Nico Lau going full Scandi, flat-out on the top of Stage 1. He also suffered a flat which will surely put a dent in his number one EWS series rankings. </b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Richie Rude. Wow. Silencing the internet critics with two solid runs on the long, tough, physical stage with a 3rd and 5th. He flatted on run one, otherwise he would be up in the Top 5 or 10. Total stage domination tomorrow.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Curtis Keene got his one bad stage out of the way early today and was on a tear on the last two stages to move into the top 10.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Anne Caroline, top of Stage 1 this morning. She is currently sitting in 3rd, only 6-seconds behind Anneke.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Yoann Barelli keeping it pinned into a Top 10 today.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Matt Delorme marking his territory. The Matthofistan border marked by a flag. Work visas needed to cross.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>The other half of MattHOFistan. Sebastien "the Hof" Schieck. Bombarding with big artillery if work visa transgressions occurred. </b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Cedric Gracia checking his reflection in a snow melt puddle on Stage 3.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Damien Oton attacking in the shadow of the Black Peak. 4th overall today with fast, consistent riding all season from the Devinci Alltricks rider. </b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Cecile Ravenel pushing harder than most of the guys in the tech sections today. If it wasn't for her flat, she would be a threat for the top two positions.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Nicolas Vouilloz had a tough time, starting mid-field with his low seed due to early season injury. He lost precious seconds each stage trying to make passes. Two crashes on the final stage put him even further back today.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Dave Trumpore thought shooting photos here was too easy with the epic backdrops, so he crashed, knocked himself out and ran the rest of the day "a bit concussed."</b> -Matt Delorme
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<b>Yeti's Rosara Joseph has been steadily climbing the EWS ranks this year. She sits in 6th heading into Sunday.</b> -Lee Trumpore
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<b>There are probably plenty of old wagon wheels on this farm, but none would be as fast as the ones on Florian Golay's BMC.</b> -Lee Trumpore
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<b>When you have won 11 World Championship titles you always get a few extra shots in the slideshow.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>With over 5500 meters of decending and almost an hour of timed racing, riders arrived at the finish of the final stage in near collapse.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Thomas Lapeyrie is a new addition to the Scott team this season and is sitting 8th after Day 1, within a minute of the podium.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Two downhill legends - Nico Vouilloz and Bernat Guardia on the top of Stage 1.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>The stages in Valloire could not be further from the trails of Scotland, where we saw Joe Barnes have a breakout performance. He is still holding his own in the high alpine, running 12th overall.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Justin took a bit of a gamble by running heavy duty tires, and in the end it paid off. Many of the other front runners weren't so lucky.</b> -Dave Trumpore
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<b>Feeling small in this big world. Stay tuned for more action as racing continues on Sunday.</b> -Sven Martin
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Description
The brutal descents of the French Alps did not go easy on the competitors of the Enduro World Series in Valloire. With nearly an hour of timed descending, staying upright and keeping equipment together was just as important as raw speed. By day's end, Justin Leov and Tracy Moseley were ahead of the rest of the field, opting for heavy-duty tires. Mechanicals plagued the top racers, resulting in disappointing total times for the day. Sven Martin, Dave Trumpore and Lee Trumpore report from the front lines of MTB battle.
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View Results from Day 1 of the EWS Valloire
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