Enduro Series French Cup 2017, Round One: Levens - Video

You couldn't have asked for a better atmosphere for the opening race of the 2017 Enduro Series French Cup presented by Parts 8.3, and the E-MTB Trophy presented by Alltricks. On the whole, a very high standard was on show, with World Series riders and some really fast e-bikes getting closer and closer to the best times set by the strongest riders out there. The riders in the Junior category were also starting to breathe down the necks of the Seniors, while those at Masters level were as impressive as ever. For sure, the great spring weather made the stages designed by Florian Nicolai himself and the AMSL VTT Levens (Levens MTB club) a lot more enjoyable. In the spirit of fair play, Flo decided not to take part – an honourable choice – and instead acted as course opener over the weekend. All 300 riders were able to give their best on these difficult, rocky, sharp and twisting lines. Such demanding terrain requires a high level of control and flow at all times in order to reach the finish line without any mechanical issues.


And it was local lad, Alexandre Cure who chalked up the best time of the weekend, holding off some fierce competition for first place. Kevin Miquel, Thomas Lapeyrie and Camille Servant fought tooth and nail to the bitter end; just three seconds separated Alex from his nearest rival, Kevin. In the women's race, one and all were swept aside by the Ravanel tsunami. Cécile, the EWS champion, tore through all the stages, even if she admitted to experiencing a few hairy moments at times. The top 10 scratch ranking saw the appearance of Thibault Daprela in eighth place. This junior downhill rider, a disciple of Nico Vouilloz, came to 'practice’ before his DH season begins, and is without a doubt a future great. Another junior rider, Albin Campos, also came in 14th place in the scratch ranking, giving us further reassurance that the future looks bright with such impressive talent coming through the ranks.


The tireless Yannick Sénéchal snaffled first place in the Master 1 category as usual, while in Master 2 it was Gille Doze who took pride of place on the podium. The E-MTB Trophy by Alltricks displayed all the hallmarks of a competition growing bigger by the minute, with more than 30 competitors flocking to race on the same trails as the Enduro Series riders. The electric machines are becoming increasingly powerful and handy on the trails.They make the transitional sections easier and are now so effective downhill that Olivier Giordanengo set some incredible times, even surpassing those set by his man-powered 'opponents'. Giordy clearly found his flow and rode it out to the end, even if an unfortunate puncture on the fifth stage prevented him from finishing as brilliantly as he would have liked. He was nevertheless the star of the weekend and once again showed everybody watching the fantastic capabilities of these machines. Sabrina Jonnier, last year’s title-holder, was in her element in the never-ending screes of Levens. She put in a great performance to take the lead in the main ranking for the women's 2017 Electric Trophy.

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