Wait a second. There are fast, professional gravity racers from Belgium? Despite its crepe-flat reputation, the highest peak in the Dutch-, French-, and German-speaking nation is Signal de Bontrage at 694 meters (2,277 ft), and that’s ample training elevation for top EWS rider Martin Maes.
With 27 top-five EWS race results since 2013, and seven of those being first place victories, the Belgian gravity master clearly knows how to handle the pressure. Like a lot of elite EWS athletes, Maes entered the enduro scene after securing top results on the World Cup Downhill circuit; three first place World Cup results since 2013 to be precise.
The GT Factory rider might have a little added motivation coming into the 2020 season, after being suspended from racing for ninety days in 2019 and having his results disqualified from the first two rounds. During the opening EWS event in Rotorua, New Zealand, Maes suffered a nasty gash in his leg and received medical attention in the field. Unfortunately, the medication that the emergency doc administered was included on the UCI banned substances list.
We’re excited to see Maes floating through the forest this summer, but first we wanted to get to know him a little better.
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