Interview: Tippie vs Barel

What people maybe don't realize is that Fabien has always been involved with enduro. His roots in the sport go right back to the early French races, as they were run by his long-time friend, Fred Glo. After his retirement from the World Cup scene he left racing completely, he's that kind of guy; 100%, all or nothing. He wasn't going to show up to a race and just make up the numbers.

As the sport Barel had seen grew from a small race in a little French ski resort into a race on the global stage, he felt the need to get back in the mix. He signed with the Canyon Factory Team and announced his intention to compete in the Enduro World Series. The focus that made him such a formidible competitor at World Cup downhill has been brought to bear, and this past weekend at Lake Garda was the first real test of that, as he took to the hill to race against the likes of Jerome Clementz, Dan Atherton and Ben Cruz, arguably some of enduro's top dogs. When the dust settled, he was standing on top of the box, and any questions of whether he was going to be one of the riders to watch this year are now dead and buried.