Superenduro PRO 1: Sestri Levante, Friday Practice
Where did the off-season go to? It seems only yesterday we were celebrating a great season of enduro racing in Finale Ligure, and he we are again... The all-too short winter months have flown past and, as the major races of the European enduro series finished in Italy, it is there they begin again too. For a second year running the Superenduro PRO circuit opens in Sestri Levante, just a short drive along the coast from where the season ended in Finale Ligure. Yet those few kilometres are important ones, at least in terms of geology and botany - the two factors that define the feel of a trail. The trails here have a very different feel to Finale. Sandstone and sand make up the main body of the trails here, with complex rock formations to negotiate and loose, sandy corners to smash, running through mediterranean scrub and decidous woodland. While Sestri may not be as well-known as its Ligurian neighbour, the trail network is here is no less impressive - it is a riders' favourite with steep, challenging, but fun, trails to test how sharp the riders are after a winter off.
www.superenduromtb.com
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 We always talk about communities welcoming races - leaving the autostrada and having this as the first thing you see rather personifies that. Nine years in, Superenduro is a big deal for these towns, with competition to hold one of these races, so when they do have one, they like to make sure everyone knows about it, which is a great boost for the sport. |
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| Arriving early at a race means there is time to forget about work for a little bit and join the riders practice the stages for the race (although I always try and have a camera on me, just in case...). |
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| On Thursday evening the seafront was quiet, with children playing on the beach. Come tomorrow there will be pits, paddocks and 300 riders here instead. |
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| Starting the season is hard going for me, I struggle to shake off the cobwebs and get into the flow of things, but arriving at a place like this makes it so much easier. |
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| Have no doubt about it, enduro here in Europe is a proper sport, with technical tracks and real consequences when you make a mistake. Full-face helmets aren't compulsory to make a fashion statement, but because on these tracks at high speed, you need them. One small mistake on stage three and this was the price. I'm just thankful I was wearing a proper helmet this weekend, and not an open face "enduro-specific" marketing gimmick. |
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| This is the first outing for SRAMs new enduro support truck, ably piloted by suspension legend Tim Flooks. Through the weekend he will not only be helping racers keep their bikes running, but giving short demonstrations to the public to help them understand their equipment a bit better. |
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| On the left is Maurizo the driving force behind the local consortium who have bought the race back to Sestri, on the right is Enrico Guala, the human dynamo and face of Superenduro, partner in the EWS and, at this moment in time, exhibition space planner for the weekend. |
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| With so much to organise at these races, Enrico Guala has to get his riding in where he can. |
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| The morning sky made clear what was coming later - that little smudge of grey turned into a few spot of rain, then a shower and finally constant rain through the afternoon. |
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| The climb into stage one isn't too long, but it has some steeper sections that wake you up nicely. |
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| This is where it all begins. |
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| Valentina Macheda was so close to the ladies' title last year she could practically taste it and has been putting in the work to try and make that step this year. |
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| Defending series champion, Manuel Ducci, is looking lean, confident and ready for the season - and was chasing speedboats in practice... |
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| When we say Manuel Ducci is feeling confident, we mean semi slicks front and rear kinda confident. In theory it's a super-quick combintation and the side on Schwalbes Rock Razor tyres means he'll feel like he's on a DH tyre through the turns, but still... It leaves zero margin for error under the brakes. |
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| Stage one follows the crest of a peninsula with the Ligurian sea on either side. |
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| The views from the stages here in Sestri aren't too bad... |
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| As the rain came in the rocks became ultra-slippery, no problem for Manuel Ducci though. It will be interesting to see how the conditions are, because until the rain came today it had be so dusty that there will be a coating of that dust on the rocks, mixed with rain it will be like unless, unless it either dries out or rains hard enough to wash that layer away. |
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| "Attention control your speed." I'm not sure racers will pay much attention to this sign come race day! But for practice it's a reminder that with these kind of long singletrack stages, you can't simply close them off indefinitely and riders need to be willing to share them with other users. Come race day they will be fully closed and it'll be full throttle all the way. |
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| This fenced off area might be one of the places the race is won and lost this weekend. Last year Superenduro experimented with a parc ferme at the race in Sauze D'Oulx and felt it was worth introducing to the whole series this year. The idea is simple - your bike should be reliable enough to survive the whole weekend of racing. It's a great idea, as it pushes racers away from risking ultra light (and usually ultra-expensive kit) looking for small advantages, and towards strong, durable products. It makes for racing a world away from the World Cups, where forks and wheels are re-built almost every run and, in theory, makes for a more level playing field for amateur racers. |
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| As the rain began to pelt down after lunch, most of the top riders decided to call time on practice and chill out, let the legs and arms relax a little before the racing starts tomorrow. |
www.superenduromtb.com
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Refreshing to see some honesty about the market as it sits at the moment.