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After a massive snow season, there’s no shortage of wet in the Alps this year. The race kicked off with warm sun for the first third.
It’s rare that a high mountain race can take place without a drop from the sky, and round three of the 2021 Enduro World Series received more than a few sprinkles. Two of the stage starts were moved to lower elevations in order to rush the race towards its finish before an afternoon storm, which almost worked. On the final stage, the elite men and women got to slip-n-slide under a torrential downpour that lasted the remainder of the afternoon. With multiple wall-steep segments on track, getting to the bottom with a whole bike was an impressive feat. Here’s the day’s gravity adventure from behind the lens.
Italian racers, Denny and Alex Lupato pedaling up to stage one. Not everyone gets to race at the top level with their sibling by their side.
Round three top results
Elite Women
Elite Men
U21 Women
U21 Men
Melanie Pugin
Richie Rude
Simonka Kuchynkova
Luke Meier-Smith
Harriet Harnden
Jack Moir
Sophie Riva
Jamie Edmondson
Andreane Lanthier Nadeau
Adrien Dailly
Helen Weber
Jackson Goldstone
Morgane Charre
Jesse Melamed
Justine Henry
Alexis Icardo
Noga Korem
Vid Persak
Tarmo Ryynanen
Isabeau Courdurier
Dimitri Tordo
Simone Pelissero
Katy Winton
Kasper Wooley
Francescu Camoin
Estelle Charles
Alex Rudeau
Nathan Sterckx
Rae Morrison
Martin Maes
Manu Warnet
Rebecca Barona
Antoine Vidal
Martino Lani
Isabeau Courdurier is looking super strong, as always. She took first place on two stages and struggled on stage four to earn sixth position overall.
Estelle Charles is flying on her prototype Rossignol bike.Many of the mechanics were sorting out brake-pad guards for the coming mud. This bit of beer-can keeps the soil from from clogging the caliper to the point that the pistons can’t move freely. Full sprint from the start hut on stage one.A busted alloy seat stay cut the day short for this cat. He had attempted a repair the day prior, but the force of the caliper and compressions combined were too much.When you think about getting low on the bike, think about Rae Morrison.So many riders are pushing new frames to the limit this season, and Pivot’s Morgane Charre is no exception. She played with the edges of risk to earn third on two stages and fourth on another pair of descents for a fourth position overall. While the pandemic had a massive impact on this little ski village, there is a good amount of construction and maintenance going on. It’s still mostly spring at higher elevations. Yes, there were a few climbs too.
Who splashed it best? Sam Hill?
Or Jesse Melamed?
Ella Conolly rode consistently all day to finish in eleventh position on her new Cannondale Jekyll.
Watch for Camile Rast to move up the results sheet this season, as she’s racing very consistently.The shortened stages were mostly in the trees, apart from this stunning chunk.Wyn “full-attack” Masters with his eyes pinned ahead. Remi Gauvin was one of several riders in the elite fields to hit the final descent under heavy rainfall.Germany’s Veronika Bruchle looked comfortable on the wet roots of stage four. Vid Persak had one of his best results yet, finishing in fifth position overall, just over seven seconds behind Jesse Melamed.
Miranda Miller is another great example of proper attack posture.
It’s always impressive when athletes can wrestle the pressure of expectations and take the win as Melanie Pugin and Richie Rude managed to do.Sending it over the roots toward the La Tuile Pro Stage and Sunday’s round four.
