Pinkbike Primer - Everything You Need to Know Ahead of the Trophy of Nations in Finale Ligure

Trophy of Nations, Triple Rainbows

A flurry of jerseys to be handed out on the beaches of Finale

Finale Ligure closes the season once again for enduro but this time it won't be as the last round of the EWS but as a new competition - the Trophy of Nations. Now that the EWS is affiliated with the UCI, they are able to hand out rainbow jerseys and crown an official World Champion. However, unlike the downhill or XC World Championships, where riders race for National Federations but compete individually, the Trophy of Nations is a team competition with the top 3 ranked riders for each nation competing and all earning a jersey if they win.

Alongside the main event will be a non-national team competition, an individual competition and even an industry competition. All the winners will be crowned in the usual fashion, on the beaches of the Mediterranean on Sunday evening.

Let's get into all the details for the weekend ahead:

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The Format

The race will follow a similar format to most enduro races with five stages spread across one day, the big difference here is the team element. Teams are made up of three members selected based on their world ranking as of August 12.

Each team has 1 minute to drop into the stage together, with a 1 minute gap to the next team. The order of the three riders and the gaps they decide on within that minute is up to them to decide. The individual times of each rider in the team on all stages are combined per stage to determine the overall result.

We'll be changing up our Fantasy League scoring accordingly too. Every rider on a team will get points equal to their team's finishing place. All three riders on the winning team will get the maximum points (500 each), all three riders on the second team get second-most points (450 each), and so on. So if you have Isabeau Courdurier, Melanie Pugin and Morganne Charre on your team and they win for team France, you would get 1500 points. But you could also have one rider from Team France, one from Team GB, one from Team Australia to try and spread your chances. If you want to make some changes to your team, you can do so here.

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The Course

TOTAL RACE | 59km | 2300m descent

STAGE 1 | Roller Coaster | 6,39km | 648m descent

Roller Coaster is, without doubt, one of the most important and famous trails of the area. With its turns, compressions and natural bumps, it’s a complete stage. Before the start, the riders will be able to discover an installation made inside the woods by artists like Alessandro Tambresoni, Mario Nebbiolo, Nico Accame, Serfio Olivotti, and Simone Lammardo.

STAGE 2 | Kill Bill 2 to Cacciatore | 3,26km | 458m descent

These two trails linked together start at the Church of Madonna della Guardia. Kill Bill 2 is technical in its first part into the chestnuts trees but the riders can still find some flow between the steep and tight sections. The last half of the stage is completely different, with more rocks, a steep section and at least two big rock steps to clear.

STAGE 3 | Ivoland | 2,32km | 222m descent

Ivoland's name is a tribute to one of the most active trail builders in this area, Ivo Camilli. Two important pedaling sections connect two completely different trail sections as riders pass under the Cromagnon cliffs, one of the most photographed spots in the world.

STAGE 4 | Ruggeta | 2,24km | 208m descent

For the fourth stage of the day, the riders will feel a change of scenery out onto the mountainside. It’s not a technical stage but it will sap the energy. Passing by special places like caves, old walls and constructions, it’s the testimony of the prehistoric occupations of the area.

STAGE 5 | DH Men | 2,36km | 281m descent

Is it even necessary to present it? An iconic trail with stunning scenery, packed with spectators, will end the Trophy of Nations race.

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What Happened at the Last Round

It was a race for the history books as Sam Hill and Florian Nicolai went mano-a-mano under the Matterhorn. It came down to the Queen Stage where Sam triumphed and ended up taking the title by 40 points. the race itself went to a returning Martin Maes with Richie Rude rounding out the podium.

Isabeau Courdurier completed a perfect season on a prototype Intense bike leading out Andreane Lanthier Nadeau and Raphaela Richter.


See the full results here.

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The Teams

Note: Italics=reserve rider

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Weather Forecast

Warm and dry conditions are expected in Finale this weekend.

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The Schedule

Friday, September 27
• 08:00-13:00 Training - Stages 1-3
• 13:00-18:00 Training - Stages 4-5

Saturday, September 28
• 08:00-17:00 Race - Individual and Non-National Team Day

Saturday, September 29
• 08:00-17:00 Race - Industry and Nations Trophy

Note: All times are local and subject to change by the event organizer.

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Follow Along

Pinkbike will be providing you with the best daily coverage from our team in 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.

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Pinkbike Predictions

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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 the final round.

See the details on how we'll be scoring points for this round in the "Format" section above.

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MENTIONS: @shimano

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Posted In:
Racing and Events Enduro Racing Pinkbike Primer Enduro World Series