The snow and ice that had welcomed the 240 competitors sopra Canazei, ski resort in the Dolomites, had largely melted before the start of the first special stage, improving grip on the trails but leaving roots and rocks frozen and slippery, making the race day in Val di Fassa, Trentino, particularly challenging.
Source: press release
Enduro riders (EDR) had to face NO THOUSANDS has always been 2.800 meter descent, with both races decided in the difficult and technical final in Ciasates.
Alex Rudeau (France) won all the special stages except the last one, but never managed to inflict a decisive blow, but rather to constantly gain ground on Louis Jeandel (France) e Richie Rude (USA) kilometer after kilometer. This methodical work left him with a 25-second advantage for the fifth special, allowing him to slow down, while compatriot Jeandel gave it his all, winning the final descent and taking second place by a margin of 1,4 seconds, which relegated Rude to bronze.
MEN'S ELITE RANKING
1pcs. Alex Rudeau: 21:54.131
2nd. Louis Jeandel: 22:16.991 / +22.860
3rd. Richie Rude: 22:18.392 / +24.261
4th Dan Booker: 22:26.038 / +31.907
5th Greg Callaghan: 22:27.490 / +33.359
COMPLETE RANKING
In the meantime, Isabeau Courdurier (France) started the fifth special stage last after the new starting order for women, defending a lead of less than eight seconds, after Melanie Pugin (France) had closed the gap on her compatriot in the Infinity SE. However, the French national champion remained in control, celebrating the end of her full-time Enduro career in the best possible way. Her teammate Morgan Charre faced three big crashes in her final descent, managing to hold onto third place by just a few seconds ahead of the British Harriet Harnden.
FEMALE ELITE RANKING
1pcs. Isabeau Courdurier: 26:24.168
2nd. Melanie Pugin: 26:35.171 / +11.003
3rd. Morgane Charre: 27:26.022 / + 1: 01.854
4th Hattie Harnden: 27:28.500 / + 1: 04.332
5th Ella Conolly: 27:35.381 / + 1: 11.213
COMPLETE RANKING
In the women's E-enduro race (E-EDR), Estelle Charles took a clear lead in the first loop, before Florence Spieñeira Herreros (Chile) came back in the shorter second loop of 20,7 km. The Chilean recovered 11 seconds in the third quarter, but Charles stopped the comeback in style in the final power stage, being able to safely descend the last special and taking the victory.
Kevin Miquel (France) won the men's E-enduro title in markedly different circumstances. Fifth after the first round Titans, has slowly but surely recovered ground, first with an exceptional victory over Infinity SE, then taking the lead of the race in the penultimate special.
The compatriot Adrien Dailly He seemed unstoppable up to that point, but he stalled on the short uphill power stage Beakers, and ultimately failed to finish the race, allowing Andrea Garibbo (Italy) to win the silver medal on home trails, while the French Kevin Mary he finished third.
DIFFERENT STYLES BUT SAME RESULT FOR RUDEAU AND COURDURIER
The last to win the rainbow jersey in Val di Fassa was the Frenchman Alex Rudeau, the most dominant rider of the day in terms of special positions, although he was not certain of victory until he crossed the finish line of Ciasates.
The men's runs on Titans they did not create the same gap between competitors as in the women's race, with the top 22 competitors separated by just 22 seconds. Rudeau he managed to get ahead of the American Richie Rude and to the Australian Corey Watson, who remained just one second behind Rude in the second special, but lost a lot of ground on Tuttifrutti, ending his quest for a medal.
Gregory Callaghan e Jack Menzies remained in the race for Ireland and Canada respectively, while Rudeau continued to extend his lead. Meanwhile, Menzies' teammate, Jesse Melamed, had another accident, discovering again how challenging the trails in this area were, known to be included in the Gravity Card.
Only 3,2 seconds separated silver from fifth place before the penultimate test, but Rude e Jeandel managed to open up a gap on the longest special, while Rudeau consolidated his lead, taking gold and leading a French one-two.
Rudeau said: “It's just incredible, I've been dreaming about this moment for so long, my first individual UCI world champion jersey. I'm super proud of the team, of all the work we've done, of my coach, of everything. And it was the right time to wear it, because tomorrow I don't know who I'll ride for, I don't have any plans yet."
Courdurier was the woman to beat from the start. Despite a very loose seatpost lever, she managed to build a 13-second lead over Pugin with 2 consecutive victories in the first two specials. This was the largest gap she would manage all day, partly accentuated by the numerous crashes in the first special, particularly difficult.
Almost no athlete reached the finish line without tears or rips in their clothing, and Rebecca Baraona, who had been sixth in the standings until then, had to withdraw, marking another setback for Great Britain, who suffered a further blow when the favourite Ella Conolly (Great Britain) crashed in the next special. However, the situation improved thanks to the second place of Harden su Tuttifrutti, earning something on Courdurier e cart, while Pugin It was the fastest of all.
After the section climb Infinity SE had caused chaos during the rehearsals, the fourth social it turned out to be surprisingly cleaner. Only Harden among the favourites had to dismount from the bike, losing eight precious seconds on cart, while Pugin continued to close the gap on Courdurier as the finale approached.
Courdurier However, she responded like a true champion, adding another 3,5 seconds to her margin in the general classification and thus conquering the rainbow jersey a week after Harden had beaten her in the UCI Enduro World Cup, taking the title during the season finale at WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series a Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France).
"I have no words, so I think I can only say that it is incredible.", he has declared Courdurier. "I don't really know, it's crazy. I didn't want my career to end with ninth place in Loudenvielle, losing the title at the last minute. I worked hard this week to deliver a performance I can be proud of. It was a real fight against the conditions, the snow, and I just kept focusing, and it worked. How could I end my career on a better podium than an all-French one? I'm so happy."
CHARLES AND MIQUEL SURPRISE WITH AN ELECTRIC DOUBLE
Ryan Gilchrist (Australia) e Florence Spieñeira Herreros (Chile) have amassed a combined winning margin of 998 points in the UCI E-enduro World Cups, but both found themselves in trouble during an unpredictable day.
Thorn She entered the women's race as a heavy favorite, just two weeks after sealing a dominant victory in the UCI World Cup, nearly 3.000 points clear of the seventh-place finisher Charles. However, the Frenchwoman was the best on the field in Italy and forced the very fast Chilean into second place, with a gap of half a minute. Charles he gained 27 seconds in the first special stage alone, while Thorn she failed to find traction on a course that had changed drastically from the previous day's tests.
HIGHLIGHTS
The riders arrived and found the mountains of Trentino in typical Christmas conditions, similar to those seen during the famous Tour de Ski di cross-country. However, the ground stabilized overnight, allowing Charles to make the most of the situation. He gained further distance on his rivals in the first power stage, flying on Bridge 72 like the paragliders that populate the Dolomites taking advantage of their excellent summer thermals, with the German Raphael Richter initially her closest rival.
However, Thorn recovered from its initial difficulties, overtaking the British first Tracy Moseley, then the same Judge, thanks to a victory in the fifth stage, and finally put almost a minute between herself and the German. The battle for the bronze medal was much closer due to problems for Judge in the eighth stage. He lost more than half of his lead in just 200 meters, leaving Mosley just five seconds behind, but she recovered brilliantly to win the final and take bronze.
"I'm really happy to win, I've been nervous all day, now I have to calm down a bit! I just want to enjoy it with the team,” said Charles. “It was very slippery, but fun to ride. We’ve waited so many years to have the UCI World Championships, so for E-enduro it’s really great to finally have a world championship."
In the men's race, Kevin Miquel He proved that good things come to those who wait. A decade after missing out on the rainbow jersey in Lillehammer (Norway), he was perfectly positioned to take advantage of his French teammate's misfortune Adrien Dailly.
Dailly dominated the first loop, maintaining a 10-second lead over Andrea Garibbo (Italy) during the recharging break. But after an uncertain performance in special stages 6 and 7, everything went downhill in the last power stage. As soon as Miquel moved into second place as the fastest man on the Infinity SE, took the lead, while Dailly is out of the game. With a lead of only 0,176 seconds su Garibbo, everything was still to be decided in the last special, but Miquel he kept calm and took his rainbow jersey.
The winner of the UCI E-enduro World Cup, gilchrist, had a mixed afternoon, with four special stages finished on the podium and four more outside the top 10, seeing his mission to win the rainbow jersey slip away. A stunning performance on special stage 8 put him on course to reach Kevin Mary, who had had difficulty with the destructive BeakersThe Australian needed to make up 15 seconds over 1,4km in the final Ciasates to secure a medal.
However, the two riders remained very close and Marry gave France a double on the podium.
Miquel said: "I can't really believe it. It was a very hard day, an emotional day because I had mechanical problems, so I thought my race was over right before the end. Step by step, my mind improved, and to finish first in this first UCI World Championship is a dream come true. I missed the jersey ten years ago in Cross-country Eliminator, so now when I wear it, it will be a dream. And I'm super happy for it too. Estelle, my teammate."
