"Our team are already working on putting a system in place to produce a more reliable results platform for next season. In the meantime, we would like to make the correction that your overall men's series champion for the 2018/19 season is Mr Cole Lucas.
"Our sincere apologies to all the riders affected and in particular to Cole who missed his opportunity to stand on top of the podium in front of his peers and fellow competitors."
EVENT RESULTS UPDATE:
The final 2W event of the series on Saturday was hampered by significant timing issues and a...
Posted by Giant 2W Gravity Enduro on Monday, 11 February 2019
Lucas was disappointed about the oversight, but pleased with how he performed. Moving up to the elite division this year, it showed him he could at least compete with established EWS riders such as Rotorua's Keegan Wright, Sam Shaw and Daniel Self.
"I asked to see the mistake because I think they just didn't add all the times up and they couldn't show me anything. It was pretty unprofessional really, I paid to enter all the events and put in the effort, they could at least add all the times up. I had to add up the times myself and tell them they had made a mistake.
"The series itself was really good. [In round three] I got a new bike before the race and got second, so that is hopefully a good sign of things to come, with more time on the bike."
The first race of this year's Enduro World Series is being held in the Whakarewarewa Forest on March 24 during Crankworx Rotorua.
"It's awesome having the first race of the year at home, it's a big advantage knowing the terrain and feeling comfortable."
After Rotorua, EWS events are held all over the world, including Australia, Portugal, Italy, France, Canada, America and Switzerland. Yet to secure sponsorship or funding to complete the whole series, Lucas was aiming to compete at six of the eight rounds.
"Obviously, this year I'm moving into elite, so I'll have to step it up a notch. I'll be racing against some of the people I look up to - you've got to make that step up at some point and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where I sit with everyone else.
"Last year was pretty much my first season doing a full enduro season and I learned a lot. Mainly about keeping consistent and not crashing because one crash can kind of ruin your whole weekend. It's about finding the right limit but not being too conservative."
He said racing all over the world was an amazing experience.
"We got to go to Chile and Columbia at the start of the year, I'd never been there before. This year I'm hoping to push towards the top 20 consistently. Comparing my times from last year I'd be in about the 30s, so it'd be nice to try and push that top 20.
"I think I've gained a bit more knowing how to race better and understanding of how the whole EWS works."
