Racing got underway today here in Punta Ala. Last time out in Sestri Levante, Marco Millivinti and Louise Paulin shocked the established riders in the series by taking decisive victories. Indeed, many established racers found themselves further back than they're used, so the big question this weekend is will the winners of race one assert themselves as forces to be reckoned with, or was it just a one-off deal?
You know you're at a real enduro race when the only thing you hear for miles around is Enrico Guala's excitement on the microphone. It means its time to go racing.
It's not been a good week for Alex Lupato - he smashed his ankle up pretty well this week and wasn't sure if he was even going to race this weekend. He says his main goal is the EWS in Scotland in a few weeks, so didn't want to take too many risks. He's sitting in a respectable sixth this evening, though he will have wanted to be further up the results sheet.
Before they headed out, Manuel Ducci and Valentina Macheda took the chance to have a last look at their helmetcams in practice to be sure of their lines.
This year the women depart before the men in the Superenduro race, so it was Louise Paulin who was the first rider to roll off the stage and head up towards the Tuscan hills for the racing.
The number one plate seems to suit Marco Millivinti well and this morning he looked unphased by the coming race.
Davide Sottocornola was the complete contrast to Millivintis relaxed demeanour. While he said he was feeling good this morning, he looked troubled as he headed for the start ramp. His race is Sestri was a long way from where he wanted it to be, and we have no doubt he's been heaping the pressure on himself to put things right this weekend.
No photo report of the Bandite Bike Park is complete without a shot of this man - Marco Tiberi. He is the man responsible for building and maintaining the incredible trail network here.
There were a lot of serious faces by the top of the transfers, the gradients are steep here in the Bandite Bike Park, so it was tough going.
This weekend I've managed to get a photo of Louise Paulin on a bike. It is a lot easier to do when she is the first on course in the womens race though... She picked up where she left off in Sestri, taking a ten second lead out of the 4 minute first stage.
Marco Millivinti started today as he meant to go on - by taking a narrow victory on the first stage.
Nicola Casadei was one of the big surprises in Sestri Levante last time out. Today he proved it was no fluke, taking third overall otday, just a few seconds behind second-placed-Manuel Ducci.
Davide Sottocornola 's hope for the weekend were dashed on the second stage. He vanished after the race, so we didn't get a chance to ask him what happened, but he was well out of position by the time he reached the bottom of the stage with his weekend over.
Louise Paulin didn't blink when she reached the second stage, pulling a further 20 seconds ahead of the pack.
It's deja vu for Valentina Macheda as she once more finds herself in second behind Paulin, plagued by a couple of mechanicals and a small crash today. The gap is 30 seconds, but she is hungry to try and cut it down on the more second, more physical day of racing.
Literally this means, "Fans, I recommend getting on the gas." More precisely it means, go nuts and make some noise for the riders.
Amateur or not, Vittorio Gambirasio is holding down a more than respectable fourth in the overnight standings.
With Alex suffering with injury, it was down to Denny to fly the Lupato flag today, finishing a place ahead of his brother in fifth.
More than a few riders had this kind of afternoon. In this case the unfortunate rider is Andrea Bruno who flatted quite high up on stage two and had to limp down the rest of the stage.
After the two stages it was back along the narrow winding lanes, through the lush meadows back to the paddock for service and parc ferme.
With thirty minutes this evening and ten minutes tomorrow to work on your bike, everything needs to be just perfect, including the air pressure in your suspension.
Matteo Raimondi was disappointed after suffering problems on stage two, a crash and a flat effectively ending his chances of a decent result this weekend, so he headed for the water to cool off.
Riding in the sun here, especially after a winter of cold, is hard going, a Redbike's Fabio found out the hard way today.
Race director, Franco Monchiero was personally checking all the bikes into the parc ferme this evening, where they will be locked away until tomorrow morning.
The number one plate is sitting safely on Milivinti's bike this evening, with an 11 second lead over Ducci and Casdei. Tomorrow is a more physical day that should suit Ducci better, but it's a big gap to overhaul.
She may have a comfortable lead this evening, but Louise Paulin was avidly checking the timing sheets to make sure.
The bikes should be built up strong enough to survive the race. In other words; it keeps riders from riding super light components/fragile stuff and rebuilding the bikes after every day.
this probably sounds really dumb but can someone explain to me what enduro actually is? isnt it just cross country and what are the differences. no hate please
Probably to prevent team support from having too much of an influence, or to prevent people from running different equipment/tuning for each day? That's my guess. That way riders have to be pretty self-sufficient, and they'll have to set up their bike for the event as a whole, not tune them for different segments and conditions.
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