We’re proud to continue racing in the Enduro World Series with our partner, Race Face Performance Products, and our three dedicated athletes, Jesse Melamed, Rémi Gauvin, and Andréane Lanthier Nadeau. We’ve built a dedicated program over the years with our long-term partners and athletes, by staying committed to the enduro discipline.

The riders’ ability to perform on and off the racetrack and engage with mountain bikers around the world has made for an unforgettable chapter in racing. 2020 was a challenging year, however we landed on the top step of the podium for two out of three races - and we’re excited to keep up that momentum in 2021.

Jesse Melamed

"The Rocky Mountain enduro program has been one of the most consistently high-performing teams throughout the first 8 years of the EWS. Thanks to the best supporting sponsors and structure you could ask for, the team has achieved podium results in every year of its existence. Rocky Mountain has stuck with me through the lows to get me back to the highs and onto the top step of the podium. I am proud to have been a part of this legacy since the beginning and stoked for the coming season!"

Rémi Gauvin

“I am really happy to sign with the Rocky Mountain Race Face Enduro Team for another year. 2021 marks my 7th year with Rocky Mountain and 4th year as a member of our current team structure. Working with Rocky Mountain and Race Face, two brands from my own backyard, has been an amazing experience over the past few years. We have one of the strongest team on the circuit, fast bikes, and work with some of the best partners in the industry. I’m excited to get to Europe to show the world what myself and our team is capable of in 2021!"

Andréane Lanthier Nadeau

“Staying at the sharp end of the field requires a strong program and we’ve built that the past few years with our sponsors, staff, and my teammates. We’ve not only learned how to be with each other, but also how to work together. That’s what makes our team solid and allows us to perform our best. I’m preparing to be ready to rise up to the challenge of staying on top.”

2021 Enduro World Series events

Rounds 1 and 2 – Val Di Fassa ITA | 23-26 June
Rounds 3 and 4 – La Thuile ITA | 8 -11 July
Rounds 5 and 6 – Loudenvielle FRA | 2-5 September
Round 7 – Crans-Montana SUI | 11-12 September
Round 8 – Pietra Ligure ITA | 25-26 September
Round 9 – Tweed Valley GBR | 2-3 October

Team partners

Race Face – Handlebar, stem, wheels, apparel, protection
FOX – Suspension, seatpost
Shimano – Drivetrain, brakes, shoes
Maxxis – Tires
Smith – Helmets, eyewear
K Capital – Capital Market Advisory
CushCore – Tire inserts
Reform Technologies – Saddles
RideWrap – Frame protection
EVOC – Travel bags
OneUp Components – Chain guides, tools
FSA - Headsets

Photos by Margus Riga
Video by Peter Wojnar

Ridden by the Rocky Mountain Race Face Enduro Team, the Altitude will be their key platform for enduro racing and aggressive trail riding. See the models here: ALTITUDE

The Slayer was designed to be ridden fast, sent off huge hits, and take the abuse of a bike park lap after lap. The Godfather of Freeride, Wade Simmons, has been sending it aboard Rocky Mountain for nearly 30 years. Wade put freeriding on the map, and he’s still out there sending it aboard custom-built bikes.

Frame: Slayer, size Large, RIDE-4 Position 4 (Steepest) 

Fork: Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Coil 180mm 

Shock: Marzocchi Bomber CR 230x65mm, with Rocky Mountain shock bearing eyelets 

Stem: Race Face 32mm reach, 35mm clamp 

Handlebar: Race Face SixC 800mm width, 35mm clamp, 25mm rise 

Grips: Race Face Half Nelson 

Brakes: Shimano XTR 4 Piston | Finned Metal Pads | RT86 203mm Fr | RT86 203mm Rr 

Shifter: Shimano XTR 12-speed 

Derailleur: Shimano XT 12-speed 

Crankset: Race Face SixC 

Cassette: Shimano XTR 

Chain: Shimano XTR 

Chainguide: OneUp Components Chain Guide Top Kit V2 

Pedals: Race Face Atlas pedals 

Wheels: Race Face Turbine R 27.5 wheels 

Tires: Maxxis Minion DHF DD MaxxGrip 27.5x2.50WT Fr / Maxxis Assegai DD MaxxGrip 27.5x2.50WT Rr 

Seatpost: Race Face Turbine R 175mm drop, 30.9 

Saddle: WTB Volt 

Click here to visit the 2021 Slayer builds.

We’re excited to return to the Enduro World Series this year with our existing Canadian partner, Race Face Performance Products. Over the past two years, the Rocky Mountain Race Face Enduro team has made its mark on enduro racing and we’re thrilled to keep up that momentum. 

Over the past few seasons, we’ve watched Jesse Melamed, Andréane Lanthier Nadeau, and Rémi Gauvin come together as a team and add their own flavour to enduro racing. We’re proud to have all three of them on board this year and excited to bring the world along for the ride with a second season of “The Jank Files”.  

With the recent news of race cancellations in South America, we'll be ready as a team for when the race schedule is back to normal.

Peter Ostroski has been riding for Rocky Mountain in one way or another for 18 years! He’s been on every enduro race team we’ve ever had and these days his race schedule includes a mix of EWS races, the Trans Madeira, and the BC Bike Race. 2020 marks a particularly exciting season for Peter, with the announcement of his home tracks being raced at the EWS #6 in Burke, Vermont. 

We hope this story inspires you and allows you to daydream about your past riding adventures. As riders, we know that spending time on the trails helps us during these times of uncertainty, but we ask that you minimize the risks to yourself and others, and join us in following all local health guidelines as you venture outside.

Story by Julia Hofmann
Photos by Mattias Fredriksson

When I was young and exploring in the garden and woods around my house, I always found the most joy in sharing my discoveries with others; a new hiding spot or some exciting forest treasure. As I’ve gotten older, it’s still a favourite pastime, only now my world extends further, and my discoveries are much bigger.   

I’ve spent several years riding my mountain bike through remote, little-known places around the world. Usually, I’m barely back at home before the next wave of wanderlust comes over me and I feel the pull to set off again. 

I am fascinated by the people I’ve met, different cultures and landscapes I’ve experienced, and the incredible singletrack I’ve ridden. Each country has had unique trails; in Chile they are deep and dusty, in Canada they are steep and technical tracks through the forest, and in Norway the trails run between the fjords and over stone slabs and tree roots. Kosovo, Albania, France, Spain – each has had a different flavour. In sharing details about my travels, I am able to inspire others to also explore the world with their bikes – and it feels as joyful as sharing my garden hiding spots back in the day.  

It was this passion for travel and inclusion that led to my guiding career. I wanted to help other mountain bikers enjoy what I was experiencing; nature, the trails, and the local culture in these special places. So when I was asked if I wanted to do some skills training and guiding in the Dolomites, I couldn’t refuse. 

The Dolomites are one of the most unique and impressive rock formations in the world. And although they are just three and a half hours drive from where I live, I had never been to the area. I only knew of the Dolomites through winter sports and road bike racing – every road biker dreams of doing the famous Sellaronda route one day – but I had no idea that a world-class mountain biking paradise was also tucked away there.

When I finally stood in the mountains there I was overwhelmed by impressiveness of the landscape. Whichever way I looked – north, south, east or west – each and every vista was picture-postcard worthy. The sight of these huge, sheer rockfaces rising up out of the pale green undulating meadows is so powerful that it literally takes your breath away. The infrastructure is perfect for mountain bikers too; all the gondolas take bikes and there are plenty of lifts to access the riding zones. I knew instantly that this was one of those big discoveries and I couldn’t wait for the joy of sharing it with others. 

For the first few years, I found the layout of the mountains confusing. There are so many different interconnecting valleys in the Dolomites that I would suddenly find myself in the wrong one. Often it would be getting late and I had no idea how to get back to where I was meant to be. (Having an e-bike came in handy in these situations.) I was grateful that my friend, Arno Feichter runs the local bike shop in Sexten and is also a guide. He gave me the lay of the land and also introduced me to all the secret little gems that can only be found with local knowledge. 

The natural trails here are steep and technical at the top, often taking you over rugged, rocky slab formations – with no room for error. Further down the valley and below the treeline, the ground gets softer and the trails become more flowy and playful, with a slippery tree root here and a natural berm there. Back down at the bottom, it’s either time for a pizza or another lift to head back up the mountain.

Over the past few years, more and more flow trails have been developed in the Dolomites, allowing even the greenest of mountain bikers to enjoy the high-mountain scenery and creating the perfect environment for my beginners’ skills courses. Combining a guided experience with some skills training – correct position for braking, pushing, and jumping – allows riders to feel more confident and therefore get more enjoyment out of the trails and stunning environment.

Whenever I’m in the area, Arno shows me yet another, even more stunning trail in the Tre Cime region. Last autumn we spent five days together; on E-bike reccies, carrying our regular mountain bikes up technical sections via ferratas, and doing laps on the Helm; the local mountain near the village of Sexten. And even with that, I’ve hardly even covered a quarter of the trails, so there really is plenty experience – and share. 

Julia Hofmann has been a part of the Rocky Mountain family for several years. While she spends her time on a myriad of different bikes from us, the ones featured in this article include her Altitude Powerplay, Altitude, and Slayer. 

Starting with Carson Storch in Utah, following up with Rémi Gauvin on Vancouver Island, the Slayer Raw Cut series wraps up with freeride legend Thomas Vanderham riding Kamloops, British Columbia. Over the years, Thomas has filmed numerous riding segments in BC’s interior. His riding style seems to work so well on the trails around Kamloops, being that the trails give him plenty of opportunity to ride fast and send it big. Known for throwing massive whips, Thomas always looks incredibly composed on his bike.

 

www.bikes.com/slayer

Cinematography: Harrison Mendel, Liam Mullany

Colourist: Sam Gilling

Post-production Sound: Keith White Audio

Still photography: Margus Riga

Thanks: Ron Penney, Landmark Trail Works, Carlos Zumino

The first Slayer Raw Cut featured Carson Storch riding big hits in the Utah desert, a stark contrast from Episode 2 in the dark and dank forests of Vancouver Island. Rémi Gauvin grew up in those woods, and the technical, wet trails of the coastal rainforest have played a major role in shaping him as a rider.

Rémi first signed with Rocky Mountain in 2015 and the next year began racing enduro. Fast forward to current day, and Rémi finished his 2019 with his best results yet, placing 6th overall in the Enduro World Series and winning the Canadian National Enduro Championship. Off the track, it’s full throttle, riding just as hard as when the clock’s ticking. Wet roots, blind corners, and slippery chutes are all part of what makes the riding on Vancouver Island some of the best in the world.

When we introduced the new Slayer back in August, we released “Oscillation” featuring Thomas Vanderham, Rémi Gauvin, and Carson Storch. That video showed the three riders tackling the dry and dusty trails in of BC’s interior, the wet and rooty trails on Vancouver Island, and the big moves and lines of Virgin, Utah. From that shoot, we shot enough footage to cut together three raw videos in a mix of the best clips and never before seen footage. One for each rider in the locations they helped choose.

For Carson’s section we went to Virgin, Utah, known for its massive features and big mountain lines. This project was shot in the spring, which gave Carson a chance to put his tires in the dirt a few months before this year’s Red Bull Rampage. 2019 marked Carson’s 6th year competing at Rampage, and in that time, he’s stomped some massive spins, drops, and unique features. For this project he wanted to push it outside of a contest environment and land switch spins, flip combo’s, and fresh lines on a brand-new bike.

It’s been a long season for everyone and what better way to end it than at a new venue in some of the most impressive mountains in the world. With 360-degree panoramic views of the Monte Rosa, the famous Matterhorn, and glaciated valleys, Zermatt is impressive in every sense of the word. Traditionally a hiking and mountaineering town, the riding here is tight, technical, and for the lack of a better word – jank.

New for this year was the Trophy of Nations, described by the EWS as an event to “Work with your team, strategize, pace each other, and share the experience.” All that is true, but when we asked the Canadian Men’s team, comprised of Rémi Gauvin, Jesse Melamed, and Kona’s Rhys Verner, their opinion, they put it simply as “a party train going 100%.”

The Trophy of Nations event also featured the Industry Trophy, a race on the same course as the pro's where brands could put together a team of staff, athletes, or anyone they wished. We looped in our team rider, Peter Ostroski, Brand Manager, Stephen Matthews, and Product Manager, Ken Perras to form “Team Slayer”. The team started strong flexing custom Race Face jerseys, tapered in the middle with a leg hematoma, and finished strong with good memories and beers on the beach.

Filmed by Caldwell Visuals
Photos by Dave Trumpore

A big thank you to all our sponsors!
Race Face, Maxxis, Fox, Shimano, Smith Optics, WTB, OneUp Components, Stages Cycling, Peaty’s Products, EVOC, RideWrap

Back and forth, forward and back. Mastery on the bike comes from constant repetition. Whether it’s your hundredth time down a trail or you’re about to drop into a new one for the first time, steady, well-rehearsed motions are what will get you through. So, ride fast and send it deep because the Slayer is built for those who charge.

Thomas Vanderham

Rémi Gauvin

Carson Storch

“In a small mountain town, a new terror haunts in the woods.” Watch the Official Trailer for THE SLAYER – coming August, 2019.

In one small town, trick-or-treating turns to terror. Scott Secco’s THE SLAYER brings a rider’s worst nightmare to life, as they fight to survive against an unstoppable killing machine. The film, from the writer-director, features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the iconic horror films of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Watch it, if you dare.

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