World cup wrap up: Val di Fassa

Forget the Giro d’Italia, it was mountain biking’s turn to take over the Dolomites as the Enduro World Cup headed to Val di Fassa this weekend. Big tarmac climbs were swapped for rocky, rough descents as the enduro and e-enduro riders took on five and eight stages respectively of really challenging racing. With the technical terrain and some sweltering weather, it was a hard day of racing in Italy, with some races coming down to seconds whilst others lost minutes in the mountains.

There were lead-extending wins from riders who have been dominating all season, as well as debut victories for names who have been slower off the mark so far this year. If you missed any of the action in the stunning Val di Fassa, here’s how the weekend’s racing panned out.

Don’t forget, you can watch highlights of this weekend’s racing on GCN+.

Courdurier extends lead whilst Walker maiden victory

For the enduro riders, there were five stages to complete in Val di Fassa, all relatively long: no super fast tracks here, the shortest took four minutes, whilst the longest was a testing 12 minute run. From the offset, series leader and winner in Leogang Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) asserted her dominance, winning the first stage by six seconds. She went on to win both the third and fifth stage, coming together for an overall time that bettered second-placed Morgane by just over seven seconds. Charre had clawed back eight seconds on the longest track, stage 4, but Courdurier reclaimed the lead with a super fast  run in the final stage, the only rider to complete it in under four minutes. Mélanie Pugin (Weride Fulgur Factory Team) put in a consistent race to finish third, her best result of the season, whilst Hattie Harnden (Trek Factory Racing) went fastest on the second stage as she builds back towards her best form.

UCI Mountain Bike World Series

Isabeau Courdurier’s overall title defence has been off to a perfect start so far in 2023.

In the men’s race, it was Alex Rudeau (Commencal Enduro Project) who had the best start, comprehensively beating series favourites Richie Rude (Yeti Fox Factory Race Team) and Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV) on the first stage. Rudeau also won the third stage, and looked on course to win the day, but a storming ride from Matt Walker (Pivot Factory Racing) unseated the Frenchman. On stage 4, the longest of the day, Kiwi Matt Walker put in a super fast run to take more than ten seconds out of the likes of Rudeau, Rude and Melamed. Buoyed by his performance, he went on to go fastest on the final stage two, winning overall by a margin of nearly 16 seconds, the size of which shows just how tough the Val di Fassa course is. It was a first time win for Walker, and a popular one for the series regular who came close several times last season.

E-enduro standings shaken up by bad luck

In the e-enduro race, the riders had eight stages to contend with with the addition of three power stages, specifically designed to challenge the e-bike competitors. The women’s series is becoming something of a two horse race between Florencia Espiñeira Herreros (Orbea Fox Enduro) and Laura Charles (Miranda Factory Team), and the two were very finely matched all day in Val di Fassa. It was Espiñeira Herreros who had the best day, winning three of the eight stages, but Charles was more consistent, putting together an overall time five seconds faster than the Chilean rider to win her second EDR-E World Cup of the season.

UCI Mountain Bike World Series

Kevin Marry was the most consistent across the difficult Val di Fassa course.

In the men’s race, all eyes were on former downhill legend Fabien Barel, who won the opening two rounds in Finale Ligure and Leogang. The Frenchman started well, winning the first stage comfortably, but on stage six disaster struck as he suffered a puncture, losing over six minutes in the process. The incident proved extremely costly, and Barel finished dead last at the end of play. With Barel out of contention, it opened the way for Kevin Marry (Lapierre Zipp Collective) to ride to victory, winning two stages and setting very consistent times to take his first win of the season, shooting up for seventh in Leogang. Fifteen seconds behind Marry was Alex Marin (Gasgas SRAM Racing), whilst Hugo Pigeon (Scott SR Suntour) finished third.

Next up

The UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues this weekend (June 29-July 2) in Val di Sole, Italy, as cross-country and downhill racing return to the circuit.

The next Enduro World Cup will be in Loudenvielle, France from September 1 to 3.

Don’t forget, you can watch highlights of this weekend’s racing on GCN+.