The 4th round of the Enduro World Series and 2nd race of the doubleheader in La Thuile kicked off Saturday afternoon in polar opposite conditions to what we saw just a few days prior. Gone were the daily rainstorms, replaced by blazing sun and a brand new single stage to set the stage before the final big day on Sunday.
Richie Rude would lead out Jack Moir by less than a second, and yet another race where those two just can't shake one another. For the women it would be Andreane Lanthier Nadeau who would take a dominant 7-second lead, but not without some drama. She partially dislocated her ankle at the end of her run and would be forced to race the final four stages on Sunday in considerable pain.
For the Elite Women, it looked like Andreane Lanthier Nadeau was going to continue her success from the Pro Stage despite the injured ankle, but after a crash on the fourth stage and a puncture with another crash on her final run it was not to be. Instead, it was Harriet Harnden who laid down consistent results throughout the day and a huge win of nine seconds on the final stage and took her first Elite EWS win in La Thuile. Series leader Melanie Pugin finished up the day in second place keeping her lead in the overall standings.
Richie Rude and Jack Moir had been incredibly close all week and it was tight between the two riders all day, never being more than a second apart over the first 4 stages. However a pair of crashes on the fourth stage put Richie 12 seconds back, an impossible deficit to overcome on the final stage of the day. Jack would cruise to the win with another first-place finish on the final stage, his second of the season. Richie Rude and Jack Moir have now alternated 1st and 2nd place at each of the first four rounds and now head into the break separated by just 5 points.
anyway, the pictures look awesome.