The house favorite Nadine Ellecosta (Abetone Ancillotti Vittoria Factory Racing) and Slawomir Lukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) maintain their lead in the UCI Enduro World Cup after a grueling day in Val di Fassa – Trentino (Italy).
Ellecosta leads three-way battle in UCI Enduro Elite Women's World Cup : only one second separates the Italian from Simona Kuchynkova (Cube Action Team) and Ella Conolly.
Łukasik has also come under pressure in the men's UCI Enduro Elite World Cup and the overall leader has a five-second advantage heading into a challenging second day.
Meanwhile, the challenger of the series Daniel Booker saw his hopes of glory in Val di Fassa – Trentino dashed when a rock punctured his tire and damaged the rim during the third stage.
Lacey Adams (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) has a good lead in the UCI Women's Junior World Cup after a dominant day that saw the Australian win every stage .
Meanwhile, the leader of the overall standings of the UCI Junior Men's World Cup, Melvin Almueis, has a slight edge over the competition. Val di Fassa – Trentino has become the home of enduro events and last year hosted the first UCI Mountain Bike Enduro and E-Enduro World Championships .
The splendid setting of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will host seven stages spread over two days, for a route of 60,1 kilometers with 3.057 meters of altitude difference downhill and 3.316 meters of altitude difference uphill.
The opening day’s route was 23,4 kilometers long and included three challenging special stages. The Pecedac and Fassa and Furious dominated the scene, measuring 1 kilometer and 1,4 kilometers respectively. The day ended with a 9,90 meter stage (3,5 km with 37 meters of elevation gain and 621 meters of descent).
ELLECOSTA DELIGHTS HOME FANS AND TAKES LEAD ON DAY TWO
The Dolomites were the scene of an exciting day of racing in the UCI Enduro Elite Women's World Cup.
The German rider Raphael Richter started his weekend off strongly, winning the opening stage in the women's category. Richter placed fourth in the opening race in Pietra Ligure, Finale Ligure Outdoor Region (Italy), before skipping the next races.
However, Richter returned to the series with a bang: her time of 2:30.3 was a full 1,9 seconds faster than home rider Ellecosta.
La The second stage contained a short but technical forest section that prevented riders from finding their rhythm, with a section that required pedalling in the lower part .
General classification leader Conolly had won the previous two stages and was aiming to further extend her lead in the overall standings. The British rider showed her power on the second stage, winning the sector by 2,9 seconds over Ellecosta and Kuchyňková (third a short distance away).
La longest stage of the day saw an intense battle for the leadership of the night race, with Kuchyňková winning the sector , finishing just 0,47 seconds faster than Ellecosta and Conolly in third.
Italian favourite Ellecosta leads the standings overnight, but has a lead of just 0,8 over Kuchyňková, while Conolly is just a second behind the leader.
LUKASIK REMAINS CONSTANT IN THE FIRST RANKING OF THE NIGHT
After four rounds of the UCI Enduro World Cup, the Elite men's riders descended on Val di Fassa, Trentino, to demonstrate their strength on the Dolomite terrain.
The Australian Jack Moir (YT Mob) finished fifth in the overall standings after a regular start to the season, but missed the round due to injury.
After having put himself to the test in the downhill in recent weeks, Richard Rude Jr (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) he returned to Enduro The American was pushing at the top of a tight leaderboard during an intense opening stage, but had to settle for second as Australian Booker was three seconds faster.
Meanwhile, the leader of the UCI Enduro Elite Men's World Cup, Łukasik, was fourth on the opening stage. However, the Polish rider closed the gap by winning the second stage by 0,7 seconds over Rude Jr, while Booker placed third.
Łukasik then imposed his authority on the longest stage of the day, winning the sector with a 2,7 second advantage over Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity) and Rude Jr, third (5,02 seconds behind).
A flat tire and a broken wheel after Booker hit a rock on stage three ended his chances of victory heading into day two.
Thanks to his consistent riding throughout the day, Łukasik has an overall lead of 5,2 seconds over Rude Jr, while Murray is 9,9 seconds behind.
ADAMS AND ALMUEIS BRING LEADERSHIP INTO DAY TWO
Adams dominated the Junior women's category in both Loudenvielle – Peyragudes (France) that Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburg (Austria)
The Australian, once again determined, took an early lead on the opening stage. However, she was pushed all the way through the one-kilometre stage by the Frenchwoman Lucile Metge , just 0,4 seconds behind, and the American too Chloe Bear (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) was in strong competition.
Adams then outclassed her rivals on the second stage, continuing her winning run and extending her lead over Metge to 2,5 seconds, while Bear consolidated her third place. The Australian also triumphed on the most challenging stage of the day, with her time over the 3,5 kilometres of the stage 12 seconds faster than Metge.
Heading into tomorrow's stages, Adams has a 14-second lead over Metge, while Bear is 33 seconds back.
Meanwhile, Almueis still has a lot to do in the UCI Junior Men's World Cup to extend the lead he gained on Sunday night.
The Swiss runner Noah Forlin surprisingly took the lead after clocking an impressive 2:14 on the short opening stage. However, overall leader Almueis was chasing him and was only 0,4 seconds behind.
Forlin then dominated his opponents in the second stage, with a time five seconds faster. Almueis finished fourth after a tight battle for the top three positions.
However, Forlin's mistakes on the final stage meant he finished the sector in 14th place and dropped down the overall standings. Almueis took advantage of this by winning the 3,5-kilometer stage by just 0,7 seconds over Max Struna , while the Canadian Rhys Blair he finished third (6,9 seconds).
The competition is tight heading into day two, with Almueis leading the overall standings by 3,6 seconds over Serbian rider Struna and the pair of Blair and Aaron Babo well placed 10 seconds apart.
The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues on Sunday, when the UCI Enduro World Cup competitors return to compete in the hills surrounding Val di Fassa, in Trentino With four stages and a 36,7 kilometre course, everything could change and everything is still up for grabs.
