Pinkbike Primer - Everything You Need to Know Ahead of EWS Val di Fassa
Round Four, The Great Unknown
Enduro's elites head to northeastern Italy for round four
The fourth Enduro World Series of the year heads to the heart of the Dolomites. At 1,465 metres above sea level, Canazei is one of the thirty highest towns in Italy and the highest of the villages in the Val di Fassa. This jewel of a mountain town with breathtaking views no matter which way you look is making it Enduro World Series debut this year. Riders will be struck by the sheer variety of the stages on offer - from loose and open to tight, steep and technical.
This venue hosts one day of intense Enduro World Series racing with five stages across 41km and an incredible 3000 metres of descending. This weekend’s race is sure to see the action ramp up as the series reaches the midway point of the season, and riders shift their focus towards their overall series ranking. Let's refresh your memory on what happened at the last round, take a look at the course and the upcoming weather conditions and get primed and ready for the weekend.
Image Credit: Enduro World Series
The Course
VOLTRON: 3.82km
This stage is a bike park line that used to connect different tracks of the bike park. From the initial flow on the upper part to roots and rocks and freshly built new sections–this first stage will set the tone of the race.
CIASATES: 1.21km
Using a trail at mid height, this stage is entirely in the woods. Mastering both steep sections and pedaling will be vital.
TITANS: 1.87km
This third stage is a brand new line and untouched by mountain bikes yet. Staring with a rocky section, this trail will become really fast before the riders will have to tackle steep terrain and tight turns. Titans stage will end by an off-camber section, crossing a ski slope.
GLUEWHEIN: 2.35km
It’s the definition of a classic Enduro stage. The frequent pedaling sections cohabit with a brand new midsection, steep and fast.
TUTTI FRUTTI: 6.55km (Queen Stage)
The final stage of the day - Tutti Frutti - is the most iconic in the region and has therefore been designated as the Queen Stage for round four. Set high on the Rodella Ridge, Tutti Frutti is the longest stage in the race at over six and a half kilometres and incorporates nears 1000m of descending. As the Queen Stage, whichever riders put down the fastest times in their respective category will be handsomely rewarded with extra series points.
What Happened at the Last Round
Race settings don't come much more dramatic than EWS Madeira - and the action between the tapes at round three of the EWS more than lived up to the venue. Two huge days of racing saw riders take on eight stages and over 60km of pedalling, culminating in triumph for some, heartache for others and some fresh new faces on the podium.
Privateer Ella Conolly had a breakout event with her first Elite stage win and first Elite overall podium. In the Elite Men, a great performance by Jose Borges who put in some incredible times across the weekend would finish second when he crossed the line on stage eight. Reigning champion Sam Hill was closer to the top this weekend with a fifth-place finish.
Elite Men
1st. Martin Maes: 32:59.450
2nd. Jose Borges: +32
3rd. Jesse Melamed: +38.58
4th. Adrien Dailly: +45.08
5th. Sam Hill: +50.12
Elite Women
1st. Isabeau Courdurier: 38:35.220
2nd. Noga Korem: +53.25
3rd. Ella Conolly: +1:05.52
4th. Morgane Charre: +1:06.82
5th. Anita Gehrig+1:22.56
See the full results here.
A breakout race for Ella Conolly in Madeira.
The Standings
*With Martin Maes testing positive for a masking agent at EWS Rotorua and EWS Tasmania, his results there are now void and he will move out of the top spot in the leaderboard. We will update the standings once the EWS reattributes the points.
MEN
1st // Martin MAES // BEL // 1620*
2nd // Florian Nicolai // FRA // 1240
3rd // Jesse Melamed // CAN // 1180
4th // Remi Gauvin // CAN // 1090
5th // Kevin Miquel // FRA // 1080
6th // Sam Hill // AUS // 1050
7th // Edward Masters // NZL // 1040
8th // Jose Borges // POR // 1030
9th // Dimitri Tordo // FRA // 980
10th // Keegan Wright // NZL // 965
1st // Martin MAES // BEL // 1620*
2nd // Florian Nicolai // FRA // 1240
3rd // Jesse Melamed // CAN // 1180
4th // Remi Gauvin // CAN // 1090
5th // Kevin Miquel // FRA // 1080
6th // Sam Hill // AUS // 1050
7th // Edward Masters // NZL // 1040
8th // Jose Borges // POR // 1030
9th // Dimitri Tordo // FRA // 980
10th // Keegan Wright // NZL // 965
WOMEN
1st // Isabeau Courdurier // FRA // 1620
2nd // Noga Korem // ISR // 1200
3rd // Morgane Charre // FRA // 1075
4th // Bex Baraona // GBR // 1020
5th // Andreane Lanthier Nadeau // CAN // 800
6th // Becky Cook // GBR // 675
7th // Anita Gehrig // SUI // 665
8th // Ella Conolly // GBR // 645
9th // Rowena Fry // AUS // 480
10th // Rae Morrison // NZL // 475
1st // Isabeau Courdurier // FRA // 1620
2nd // Noga Korem // ISR // 1200
3rd // Morgane Charre // FRA // 1075
4th // Bex Baraona // GBR // 1020
5th // Andreane Lanthier Nadeau // CAN // 800
6th // Becky Cook // GBR // 675
7th // Anita Gehrig // SUI // 665
8th // Ella Conolly // GBR // 645
9th // Rowena Fry // AUS // 480
10th // Rae Morrison // NZL // 475
Weather Forecast
It's a hot one in Italy for this weekend's race.
Ben Winder photo
Thursday, June 27 - Practice Stage 1, 2, 3, 4
Mainly sunny // 29°C // 20% precipitation // wind 12km/h
Friday, June 28 - Practice Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Sunny // 26°C // 0% precipitation // wind 9km/h
Saturday, June 29 - Race Day
Sunny // 25°C // 0% precipitation // wind 5km/h
Weather forecast from the Weather Network as of June 26.
Mainly sunny // 29°C // 20% precipitation // wind 12km/h
Friday, June 28 - Practice Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Sunny // 26°C // 0% precipitation // wind 9km/h
Saturday, June 29 - Race Day
Sunny // 25°C // 0% precipitation // wind 5km/h
Weather forecast from the Weather Network as of June 26.
The Schedule
Ben Winder photo from Canazei Superenduro 2017
Thursday, June 27
• 9-13:00 Stage 1 & 4 Training
• 13:00-17:30 Stage 2 & 3 Training
• 19:00 Anti-Doping Education Session
Friday, June 28
• 13:30-15:30 Stage 5 Training
• 18:30 Rider Briefing
Saturday, June 29
• 8:30-17:00 Race (Stages 1-5)
• 18:00 Awards
Note: All times are local and subject to change by the event organizer.
Follow Along
Ben Winder photo from Canazei Superenduro 2017
Pinkbike will be providing you with the best daily coverage from our team in Canazei, Italy this week. Tune in to Pinkbike to catch photo epics, videos and results from practice and race day, as well as tech bits and news.
Following the Enduro World Series live can be a struggle with remote stages and hundreds of riders tackling trails at the same time. We're lucky to have Polygon rider Dan Wolfe bringing you behind the scenes action from each round LIVE through the Pinkbike Instagram stories this year. Find what's going down on course during training and race day through our Instagram. Be sure to follow @pinkbike to keep up with the action.
Pinkbike Predictions
 | With Martin Maes suspended from competing until after EWS Whistler, the top spot in the overall is far from locked up. Richie Rude is back from his suspension and while he won't be able to contend for the overall, he will be looking for the win. Will he be race ready after such a long time off the race course? That being said, Adrien Dailly spent an even longer time off the bike due to injury and was able to come back into the top five in Madeira, so I think it's more than possible for Rude to get a podium in Canazei. Florian Nicolai and Jesse Melamed look to be strong contenders for the overall at this point in the season and with Maes out of the running, but could there still be time in the second half of the season for Sam Hill to gain enough points to take the overall for the third year in a row? On the women's side, Isabeau Courdurier has got to be thinking about holding on to the overall, but also whether or not she can make it a perfect season of wins. Ella Connoly will try to follow up her podium in Madeira with another, but Bex Baraona, Morgane Charre, and Noga Korem will also have the confidence that comes with having podiumed earlier in the season coming into this round and will be looking to earn valuable points to keep their standings in the overall. Andreane Lanthier Nadeau is one of the top women who has the speed to win, but hasn't had it come together yet this year. I'm expecting to see her turn it around in the second half of the season. |
ELITE MEN
1 // Jesse MELAMED
2 // Sam HILL
3 // Richie RUDE
1 // Jesse MELAMED
2 // Sam HILL
3 // Richie RUDE
ELITE WOMEN
1 // Isabeau COURDURIER
2 // Morgane CHARRE
3 // Andreane LANTHIER NADEAU
1 // Isabeau COURDURIER
2 // Morgane CHARRE
3 // Andreane LANTHIER NADEAU
Fantasy League
Don't forget to complete your EWS Fantasy team before the race starts on Saturday. If you don't know who to pick, check the Start List . There are prizes for each round, so if you haven't already, make sure to build your team today! If you've already got a team in the mix you're in the running to win the Grand Prize, so visit the Fantasy homepage to make sure you have the fastest team possible for Round 3.
The Fantasy Enduro League is Presented by Shimano.
MENTIONS: @shimano
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
I think the EWS drug policy needs an overhaul.
I think he's going to come back even more determined, which should scary for the competition.
Yet the Italian mountain war remains today one of the least-known battlefields of the Great War.
Enduro will be mellowed out in a few years and boring and safe.
www.mtbr.com/product/mtb-apparel-and-protection/armor-and-pads/sixsixone/4x4-knee-shin-guards.html
...none of it would happen.
Was it worth it to try to look cool in knee-only protection?
Anyway, i guess your daughter should wear bamboo sticks tied to here forearms next time. And eat some Fruchtzwerge, strong bones are everything!
Is Jill Kintner racing this EWS?