27 // Sydney – Blue Mountains // Pro Men

Dave Ludenia will be making good on plans to race an EWS round after injury prevented him racing in South America last year. Packing up the Enduro this week to hit the trails of Derby, Dave will be getting stuck into the fun, challenge and adding plenty of banter to the event.

How long have you been riding mountain bikes?
12 years or so.

How long have you been racing Enduro?
Probably about two years now since I ventured from the short travel scene, so about that.

Favourite trail in Sydney?
Enjoying some rough and rocky old DH tracks in the upper Blue Mountains at the moment. It’s hard to beat the local with views to match!

Who are your sponsors?
Specialized, BikeMinded, ProMountBillet and Pantene Pro-V.

What’s been your best result in Enduro racing so far?
Not really on the board much, hey. I won a state round I guess and a few top tens at Nationals. Best and fairest party performer (BFPP) at the National Series has probably been the proudest moment though.

Have you attended any previous EWS races?
Yeah, I headed over to South America on a last minute jaunt to catch a few EWS rounds but escapula fractura (fractured shoulder blade) put an end to that the day before the first race. I went to La Thuile in Italy a few months later but the bung wing was in no state to ‘race’ so I just enjoyed the serenity of Monte Bianco.

What goals have you set for yourself for this race?
Staying upright would be nice… too many breaks, snaps, and slices the last two years. Just last week I broke my nose! I’d be stoked to sneak into the top 60 or so a few times I guess?

What’s been your training plan in the lead up to the race?
It would be a stretch to say I’ve done anything different hey. I have spent a fair bit of time rehabbing my shoulder and started to lift a few heavy things lately but I mainly just ride and banter with mates, enjoying it way too much at times.

What do you think the biggest challenge will be?
For me, mechanicals. I also get pretty excited catching up with two-wheeled enthusiasts I don’t see too often, so limiting the pre-race party in Derby’s notorious rave scene will be a challenge no doubt.

Any plans to tackle more EWS stages after Derby?
Not this year. I’d love to get to a multi-stage Enduro somewhere exotic but I’ve just scored a rad job so I’m making a go of that at the moment and getting out where I can.

How do you think you’ll feel when you’re in the start gate come race day?
Talking too much and missing the start beep is likely but mostly revving pretty hard to have some fun on some of Muffin’s Derby creations.