See this article and others in The World Stage 2021.
Words: Eddie Masters || Photo: Boris Beyer
It sucks getting injured. Everyone’s been there.
No one wants to go there.
There’s a term in the bike industry called JRA – just riding along. Often it’s tagged onto a hopeful warranty claim, and more than often, it’s used to describe a crash, which leads me into my story.
I was just riding along.
Last practice run before racing at the Maribor downhill World Cup, and I’d just messed up the final significant section of the track. For added zest, I’ll include that it was in front of soon-to-be-World-Champ, Greg Minnaar. With nothing left on the trail, my mind was already a few hours ahead and looking to tidy things up, when disaster struck. I broke one of the strictest mountain biking rules: keep level pedals. With one pedal down and my mind elsewhere, my 2021 season came to a sudden and unfortunate halt. If only there had been a fat lady singing.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I found myself a Covid refugee, as it were. Sporting a separated shoulder, I was injured, locked out of my own country (New Zealand), and for want of another word, a little pissed off. The kiwi is a flightless bird, and there I was with clipped wings. But Kiwis of the walking and talking variety are never ones to dwell on things, and quickly I managed to swing my train of thought.
With my golden ticket to the long white cloud (NZ) booked for after the final Enduro World Series event in Scotland, it was quickly apparent that my title of MTB Racer had suddenly morphed into MTB Super Fan. The b-zone was now my race track, and the media squids were my teammates.
They say it’s always easy from the outside looking in. Well, having done so for the latter part of the 2021 EWS season, I can vehemently say that doesn’t apply to mountain biking. Especially enduro.
Watching some of your best friends – who happen to be some of the best riders in the world – butcher a section, their legs flooding with lactic acid, isn’t what I would call easy. However, watching the hard work you’ve seen first-hand behind the scenes carry those same riders to the top of the world is something that gets me stoked.
I don’t have a European base; my home has been at the races for the best part of the last ten years. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Spending a fair whack of time in the b-zone in 2021 only made me realise how much I love this sport. Having an idol like Sam Hill yell out mid-stage is something I never dreamed would happen as a kid. Watching Jack Moir raise the golden derailleur as World Champ was a moment I was so privileged to witness. It might not be easy from the outside looking in, but it is definitely a hell of a show.
At the last round in Scotland, I charged up an e-bike and followed the entire race from start to finish. With a few extra watts between my legs, I made sure my bark was right on the heels of both teammates and friends as they attacked the climbs. I may not have been racing, but I sure as hell was making sure to be part of the race. Riding around that day was one of the highlights of my season. Cracking a few tins with countless local legends, listening to backseat drivers advising on line choice, and just generally enjoying the moment.
Year in, year out, the EWS field gets stronger and stronger, and the level of enduro racing in 2021 was something else. Being on the sidelines and putting our sport under the microscope to see the raw speed and talent of the current crop of racers was eye-opening. Razor-sharp riding with total commitment was on display across every category.
While my year didn’t pan out as initially planned, looking back, I’ll chalk it up as a success. I learned and laughed, and for me, that’s how I keep score. The bike life throws some interesting curveballs from time to time, but no two are ever the same. A new season is just around the corner, and I can’t wait for what’s coming next.
by Eddie Masters, professional mountain biker for Pivot Factory Racing and founder of Ed Bull Mediahouse.
If you enjoy reading this, you should check out The World Stage. It’s got many features like it, plus round-by-round accounts of the UCI Enduro World Cup and pore over hundreds of the best images of the season in The World Stage Book 2023 yearbooks are available now.
