The Enduro World Series made its annual visit to Whistler, Canada this past weekend for Round 6 of the 2019 race season. As always, it was an action-packed weekend, and for the first time in its history, the race took place over two days. Nearly 700 riders battled it out on the world’s toughest trails in very inclement conditions. Stage 1 alone was a doozy, over 20 minutes in length, with most of the top riders starting in the rain and cold. Alchemy rider Cody Kelley finished the weekend in 43rd position, with a 26th in the Top of the World to bottom Stage 1 being his highest stage finish.

“I am from the dry high desert of Utah, so any time there is rain in the forecast, I know it’s going to be a tough day for me,” said Kelley after the event. “But over the past few years, I have been getting better and better in the rain and roots and I certainly was happy with how I was riding. EWS events are just stacked. Between riders with local knowledge and Europeans with tons of wet conditions experience, it’s really hard to get a result on days like today.”

Cody’s rode a new model Alchemy mountain bike at Whistler called the nine7five. The nine7five is considered a mullet bike, with a 29 inch front wheel and a 27.5 inch rear wheels. It features specially engineered linkage to accommodate the smaller 27.5" rear wheel and has a degree slacker head angle than the standard 29" wheeled model. The Alchemy nine7five was designed to be an all-out race bike, fast at speed but still quick in the corners.

With the Whistler result, Kelley sits in 37th overall, and he’s steadily been working his way up the rankings as the season progresses. Next up is the Northstar, California EWS just outside of Lake Tahoe where hopes for the dry conditions Kelley is accustomed to will net a top result for Alchemy.