Slabs, Slams, Slop, Sun, Stoke and a Bush Doof | The Derby EDR through the lens of Justin Castles

Enduro racing has returned to Derby. Even though it’s not called the EWS anymore, the tiny town in Northeast Tassie turned it on for the third time, welcoming the world’s best to its trails. Granite was the story of this year’s race, with geology put front and centre on the slabby new stage built specifically for the event, named Cuddles.

Early in the week as riders and teams arrived, things looked pretty grim, and the weather was extraordinarily Tasmanian. The trails were soggy, riders were saturated, and the giant boulders were unpredictable. However for race day, the sun came out and began to dry things out, leaving the granite still a little iffy, and the dirt running quite slow.

One thing was consistent, however, and that was the crowds. The hecklers came out in force, and the spectators were thick and rowdy on every stage.

Once again, Justin Castles was on the ground to capture all the chaos and the characters out in the bush, and to bring you the vibe of the second stop of the Enduro World Cup at Blue Derby. So sit back, and enjoy.

Don’t miss the action from Maydena, where Justin and Kristina Vackova scaled Abbotts Peak to capture the vibe of the first Enduro World Cup. 

Spirits were high during roll out with hecklers already getting fired up.
Practice day was wet!
There was no staying dry on practice day. In spite of the weather Noga Korem is all smiles here, but succumbed to an injury and was forced to pull out of the race.
Little rider, big rock.
The iconic Trouty trail challenging the Open category on Friday.
The lush green forest surrounding Derby, sometimes you may think you are on another planet.
From the vibrant forest to unforgiving granite, the course at Derby put riders through the gauntlet.
Morphman put down some pretty impressive times, but unfortunately DNFed on account of not having all the required gear.
Squeezing through the crack on Detonate, long sleeves were a good choice…
The heckle zones were absolutely packed, and the noise was deafening.
The Heckle Zone on the final stage was wild!
DJ Stoke Wizard kept the vibe going all the way to the final rider
A lot more pedalling was required than Maydena, Ella Conolly was pushing hard during Stage 2 on Roxanne.
There were some interesting costumes — or lack thereof — out on course.
Gapping the steps at the bottom of Stage 3 claimed a few riders.
Even the lizard people came out to support the race.
Basking in the sunlight after a few wet and soggy days of practice.
The brand new Cuddles trail had a huge rock slab that dropped riders into a roaring amphitheatre of Heckers!
Dropping into the tunnel of noise.
Greg Callaghan trying to carry speed through a tricky section of granite.
A triple shoey! The Women’s elite podium getting after it with some encouragement from the groms.
The perfect receptacle for some post-race rehydration.

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