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. 

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.

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

We all expected Northstar to be dry, loose, and rough. Well, it delivered on all fronts. The tracks raced were some of the gnarliest we’ve seen this year and the combination of moon dust and boulders meant staying upright was a gamble on every stage. Jesse, Rémi, Andréane, and Peter navigated the jank and put down some incredible runs and impressive results.

Between Rémi’s budding slopestyle career, Jesse’s broken hand grip mods, and ALN’s on-the-fly packing, the team joined Peter Ostroski in America and took on California in style. Now that the dust is settled, check out Episode 5 of The Jank Files.

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

There’s something special about being able to race at home. Fortunately for this crew, they get that opportunity every year at the Enduro World Series in Whistler. Jesse, Rémi, and Andréane all live in the Sea to Sky corridor and are proud to race on their home tracks in front of their friends and family. Crankworx is an festival for mountain biking, as it brings riders together from all over the world. For the Rocky Mountain Race Face Enduro Team, that means their American teammate Peter Ostroski comes up to join the crew and put down some fast times!

From sketchy lunch laps on the North Shore, fancy showrooms, fresh kits, and taking the top spot of the team podium; this is Episode 4 of The Jank Files.

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

Rounds 4 and 5 of the Enduro World Series were scheduled back to back this month. With only a few days in between each race, the schedule presented the perfect opportunity to set out on a European road trip. Crossing Italy and ending in France, the hot temperatures, cold gelato, lengthy playlists, and wild bike races were an incredible recipe for spending a few weeks abroad.

From dirt kart racing and glacial river baths to podium finishes and the hospital visits. This isn’t your average Euro trip; this is Episode 3 of The Jank Files.

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

“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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Long flights, technical tracks, and practicing all week in the sunshine only to end up racing in the rain. The best way to describe enduro other than flat-out demanding is to have a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all and call a spade a spade. It’s janky. It's nearly impossible to find your flow between travel, practice, and race day, but when you do and it all starts to click into place, it becomes one of the most rewarding ways to ride a bike.

This is the second year for the Rocky Mountain Race Face Enduro Team, with Jesse Melamed, Rémi Gauvin, and Andréanne Lanthier Nadeau lining up to race a full EWS season. Gaining momentum from last year, they’ve become experts in navigating the jank and have officially hit their flow with a strong start to the 2019 season.

From deep ruts and jungle vines to backyard skateboard sessions and race pit DJ’ing, this is Episode 1 of The Jank Files.

Presented by Maxxis
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

It’s normal to get home from a trip and feel like you’ve left something on the table. Whether it’s a trail you skipped out on or an area you didn’t have time to see, the things you didn’t do can be as motivating as the things you did. Thomas Vanderham and Remi Gauvin have both been to Norway before, but it’s one of those places that keeps drawing them back.

Much like a lot of Remi’s travel, his first two trips to Norway were for both for racing. Back in 2013 and 2014, Remi was racing downhill and competed at the World Championships in Hafjell. Thomas’ freeride background has put him in Norway twice before, but never in the world famous Nordfjord region, and never on his trail bike. Travelling to compete is a rinse, wash, repeat cycle. The process broken down is: airport to hotel, hotel to event, and a few days later you’re flying home. This trip was a chance to see Norway in a different light, and after landing in Ålesund and boarding what would be the first of many ferries, the small town of Stranda seemed like the perfect place to start.

The people along the way can be one of the most interesting parts of travelling. Located just up the road from our rooms in the Hjelle Hotel is the small town of Folven, home to Norwegian freeskier, Fred Syversen. Fred is a local legend who in 2008 unintentionally set the world record for skiing off a 107m tall cliff, but today he coaches skiing on the glacier, operates an adventure sports campground, and is building out the Hjelledalen valley mountain bike trail infrastructure.

Our Scandinavian photographer, Mattias Fredriksson, likes to joke around but with an underlying sense of sincerity. Early on in our trip he forewarned, “It’s hard to go on a road trip in Norway and still make dinner deadlines. I tend to shoot a lot…cause the shooting is epic”. It was a constant theme of the trip but the fjord views near Sandane had us especially late for dinner. The trails were above treeline which left us exposed to the harsh wind and rain, but the combination of fast riding corners, natural features, and stunning backdrop were just simply too good to cut the ride short.

With another trip under their belt and trails under their tires, Norway remains an incredibly interesting place for Thomas and Rémi. Newly built mountain bike trails with a strong historic culture of moving through mountains leaves plenty of room for endless adventures in the Nordfjord.

For this trip, Remi rode his team build Instinct BC Edition that he’s been racing on all year, and Thomas rode his custom-built Altitude.
Check out the Altitude and Instinct.

FILM
A Film by: Scott Secco
Featuring: Thomas Vanderham and Remi Gauvin
Produced by: Stephen Matthews
Post Production Sound by: Keith White Audio
Typography and Design by: Mike Taylor
Photography by: Mattias Fredriksson
Music: Pioneer by Ryan Taubert

Thanks to: Asgeir Blindheim, Fjord Norway, Visit Nordfjord, Veronica Vikestrand, 7 Blåner, Destination Ålesund, Sunnmøre, and Fred Syversen