Throwback Thursday: 12 Enduro Bikes That Have Won In Finale
Finale Ligure has been a staple of the Enduro World Series every year since the series began. It has also always hosted the final race of the EWS season, and this year is no different. As we wait for riders to hit the track, we decided to take look back at past years of the EWS for the bikes that have tamed the steeps of Finale.
2013 - Trek Remedy 29" Prototype & Cannondale Jekyll
2013 marked the first year of the EWS and with that a whole range of different bike setups from riders. Tracy Moseley won the women's race on a prototype Trek Remedy with a triple chainset. The Trek Remedy was marked as a prototype for this season as they were experimenting with 29" wheels. The choice of a front derailleur and triple rings is a big change from the 1x setups that have become the standard in enduro racing. 2013 was also Tracy's first season riding a 29" bike. Jerome Clementz's winning Cannondale Jekyll looks far more modern than the Remedy, with a 1x setup and a bigger fork. The tire choice is interesting to see as he opted for a High Roller II front tire and a Larsen TT XC tire for the rear.
![Tracy Moseley and her 29 Trek Remedy prototype]()
![Jerome Clementz and his Cannondale Jekyll]()
2014 - Canyon Nerve & Ibis Mojo
Moving into 2014 and more bikes were being designed around the strains of enduro racing as the sport began to grow, and this was seen by the Ibis team running a prototype for the Mojo that featured an increase in travel to 150mm over the team's previous HDRs that could only run 130mm of rear travel. Anne Caroline Chausson piloted this bike to multiple wins in 2014, including the final round in Finale. Fabien Barel was opting to run Canyon's Strive. This was an updated version of the Strive that gave it a similar look and features to the modern EWS race weapon. This included the Shapeshifter system that allows the Strive to be switched between 130 and 160mm of travel. Barel had been helping to develop this bike since the first EWS in Punta Ala 2013.
![Fab Barel bike check]()
![Prototype Ibis 27.5 enduro bike 2015]()
![What a comeback. Considering how many huge injuries he s had in his year you might expect for Fab to come back gently from his broken back in the first round this year but no. He won the first stage this morning setting out his intentions and kept it consistent to sit in second tonight a mere half second from the lead.]()
![Anne-Caroline Chausson set off as she meant to go on - winning both stages this morning.]()
2015 - Yeti SB6c & Trek Remedy
As the 2015 season concluded in Finale once again the Trek Remedy was back on the top step of the podium under Tracy Moseley. This time the bike was in full production with more features that are closer to modern enduro bikes, but Tracy was still running two chainrings for a wider range of gearing. Not only was Finale in 2015 the second win at this venue for the Trek Remedy, but it also marked Tracy and the Remedy securing three EWS overall titles in consecutive years.
To mark Yeti's 30th anniversary the team were running custom painted SB6c's. Jared Graves' retro 152mm bike following a closer silhouette to the bikes that will be raced this weekend than the more trail-oriented Remedy piloted by Tracy, especially with downhill brakes and tire treads.
![What a magical two years for the Yeti crew. Back to back EWS World Championships under Jared Graves and Richie Rude.]()
![Take that Richie Rude. Jared Graves passes the torch to his friend and protege Richie Rude.]()
![That 1 plate isn t going anywhere after another dominant performance from Tracy Moseley.]()
2016 - GT Sanction & Commencal Meta
2016 finished with another dominant force at the top of the podium as Cecile Ravanel kicked off a three-year winning streak in Finale. For the season closer in 2016 Cecile was running a new brushed version of the Meta AM V4.2 that included a coil rear shock with a remote lockout lever. This was probably to help cope with some of the tough transitions between stages in Finale.
Martin Maes would also take his first and only Elite win in Finale on board the aluminum GT Sanction.
![Martin Maes is a man on a mission churning out three stage wins today. Will he keep up the blistering pace tomorrow]()
![Cecile Ravanel was on fine form this weekend looking more aggresisve through the nasty rocks on stage seven than most of the male field.]()
2017 - Devinci Spartan & Commencal Meta
Another year, another end to the season in Finale and another win for Cecile Ravanel onboard the Commencal Meta. This time Cecile would be running a stealth matte black Meta; during practice she was running a rear air shock with remote lockout, but for race day she swapped to her 2016 setup of a coil shock also with remote lockout.
Damien Oton would become another new male rider to win in Finale as so far no man has won the race two years in a row. He would be running a very sparkly purple Devinci Spartan for this weekend. This was the latest addition of the Spartan which was running 165mm of rear travel, 27.5" wheels, and a full carbon frame. The bike was longer than the previous version, and Damien debated between going with a small or a medium frame. He eventually raced on the medium.
![Damien Oton Bike Check]()
![Cecile Ravanel is rolling out in Finale aboard a new stealthy looking meta.]()
![Oton blasting his way to his first win since 2014.]()
![Despite having the series locked up Cecile Ravanel was on a charge all day long to take her seventh win of the season.]()
2018 - Yeti SB5.5 & Commencal Meta
2018 would again see Cecile Ravanel continue her domination of women's enduro racing as she won again in Finale and took the overall title. Her Commencal Meta stays mostly the same as her previous setups, although she was now running the bright red RockShox Lyrik fork and had opted to remove the remote lockout on her rear coil shock.
Richie Rude may not have won the overall title in 2018 but he did close out the year with a win in Finale onboard the SB6.6c. This would be his final race onboard the 27.5" bike as when he returned to racing following his suspension he was riding Yeti's SB150.
![Richie Rude s Yeti SB 5.5C]()
![Commencal]()
![Richie Rude went out with a bang in 2018 proving that he is still very much be a forced to be reckoned with.]()
![An off on stage two put Cecile behind Isabeau by some 16 seconds but she reeled in that time and in the end closed out the perfect season.]()
2013 - Trek Remedy 29" Prototype & Cannondale Jekyll
2013 marked the first year of the EWS and with that a whole range of different bike setups from riders. Tracy Moseley won the women's race on a prototype Trek Remedy with a triple chainset. The Trek Remedy was marked as a prototype for this season as they were experimenting with 29" wheels. The choice of a front derailleur and triple rings is a big change from the 1x setups that have become the standard in enduro racing. 2013 was also Tracy's first season riding a 29" bike. Jerome Clementz's winning Cannondale Jekyll looks far more modern than the Remedy, with a 1x setup and a bigger fork. The tire choice is interesting to see as he opted for a High Roller II front tire and a Larsen TT XC tire for the rear.
Trek Remedy Prototype (From Round 1 - Punta Ala)
Cannondale Jekyll (From Round 1 - Punta Ala)
2014 - Canyon Nerve & Ibis Mojo
Moving into 2014 and more bikes were being designed around the strains of enduro racing as the sport began to grow, and this was seen by the Ibis team running a prototype for the Mojo that featured an increase in travel to 150mm over the team's previous HDRs that could only run 130mm of rear travel. Anne Caroline Chausson piloted this bike to multiple wins in 2014, including the final round in Finale. Fabien Barel was opting to run Canyon's Strive. This was an updated version of the Strive that gave it a similar look and features to the modern EWS race weapon. This included the Shapeshifter system that allows the Strive to be switched between 130 and 160mm of travel. Barel had been helping to develop this bike since the first EWS in Punta Ala 2013.
Fabien Barel race bike for the seat of the 2015 season.
2015 - Yeti SB6c & Trek Remedy
As the 2015 season concluded in Finale once again the Trek Remedy was back on the top step of the podium under Tracy Moseley. This time the bike was in full production with more features that are closer to modern enduro bikes, but Tracy was still running two chainrings for a wider range of gearing. Not only was Finale in 2015 the second win at this venue for the Trek Remedy, but it also marked Tracy and the Remedy securing three EWS overall titles in consecutive years.
To mark Yeti's 30th anniversary the team were running custom painted SB6c's. Jared Graves' retro 152mm bike following a closer silhouette to the bikes that will be raced this weekend than the more trail-oriented Remedy piloted by Tracy, especially with downhill brakes and tire treads.
The evolution of Tracy's Trek Remedy race bikes
2016 - GT Sanction & Commencal Meta
2016 finished with another dominant force at the top of the podium as Cecile Ravanel kicked off a three-year winning streak in Finale. For the season closer in 2016 Cecile was running a new brushed version of the Meta AM V4.2 that included a coil rear shock with a remote lockout lever. This was probably to help cope with some of the tough transitions between stages in Finale.
Martin Maes would also take his first and only Elite win in Finale on board the aluminum GT Sanction.
2017 - Devinci Spartan & Commencal Meta
Another year, another end to the season in Finale and another win for Cecile Ravanel onboard the Commencal Meta. This time Cecile would be running a stealth matte black Meta; during practice she was running a rear air shock with remote lockout, but for race day she swapped to her 2016 setup of a coil shock also with remote lockout.
Damien Oton would become another new male rider to win in Finale as so far no man has won the race two years in a row. He would be running a very sparkly purple Devinci Spartan for this weekend. This was the latest addition of the Spartan which was running 165mm of rear travel, 27.5" wheels, and a full carbon frame. The bike was longer than the previous version, and Damien debated between going with a small or a medium frame. He eventually raced on the medium.
2018 - Yeti SB5.5 & Commencal Meta
2018 would again see Cecile Ravanel continue her domination of women's enduro racing as she won again in Finale and took the overall title. Her Commencal Meta stays mostly the same as her previous setups, although she was now running the bright red RockShox Lyrik fork and had opted to remove the remote lockout on her rear coil shock.
Richie Rude may not have won the overall title in 2018 but he did close out the year with a win in Finale onboard the SB6.6c. This would be his final race onboard the 27.5" bike as when he returned to racing following his suspension he was riding Yeti's SB150.
Rude's SB5.5 after a muddy race in Olargues
The production version of Cecile's race bike
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And even if he was, it definitley, obviously would have been an accident. Y'know, "mistakenly took a drink from the someone elses bottle" and all that.
Yah that’s the best comparison going. And I ask this as a long time and current Norco owner, I just don’t understand where the early price increases are coming from. Bike of the year awards aren’t worth the weekly salary of the reviewer in my opinion. Show me some race results if you want to increase prices.
It was 5800 the year before.
With some small differences like a cheaper crank and cheaper tires this year.
Besides, ews/dh winnings are largely irrelevant. I firmly believe that any pro in their peak would win on more or less any current bike from the top 15 or so manufacturers, provided it was from the right category. When no one could touch Rachel Atherton, if you handed her an aurum, glory, or whatever instead of the amazing session and kept her factory support, you can bet your ass she'd still be sitting on top of that podium. Likewise Rude. Or Mayes.
7-13 thousand dollars, 5k IS a steal
You think 4100$ for a carbon sight frame is a steal?
Because bud was legal in BC before the rest of the country lol.
Winning is about the rider, but the bike counts too. Most bikes these days are really good, almost too good, but
definitely not mediocre.
Modern geometry might be longer, lower and slacker, but that’s not always a good thing, or faster...