Weekend Guide: Enduro World Cup Returns to Finale Ligure, Italy
On May 11th, the Enduro World Cup will return in the Finale Outdoor Region on the Mediterranean Coast of Italy, the many-time host of the Word Enduro rounds.
UCI MTB World Series
Learn how to follow the action in BIKE’s helpful guide below.
Thursday
Confirmation
Though there is no racing action on Thursday, riders must be present to register on Thursday afternoon.
Friday
Practice
Just like your local enduro, learning the course is essential. Enduro is a sport with a unique practice schedule. Riders are allowed only one day of practice. For this reason, racers like Jack Moir have been doing track walks to learn the course before they are allowed to get tires on it.
Practice takes place the day before the race, and is fully human-powered and riders are meant to only get limited training on the course to preserve their energy.
To supplement this, most racers record practice with a GoPro and rewatch it to better learn the course.
On an enduro practice day, riders must balance the goal of dialing in each section with getting time on every stage. See the course map below.
UCI MTB World Series
Saturday
EDR
Traditionally, Enduro World Cups have been two-day events. For 2024, this has changed. The Enduro World Cup will be raced completely on Saturday. Racers will The race will begin at 9:00 AM and go until 6:30 PM.
There are many rules that make enduro distinct from downhill, and special. Racers are in charge of getting to stages on schedule. If riders do not complete the transfer climbs in time, they will be punished with a time penalty.
Additionally, racers must complete the race with one frame, fork, and wheelset. If a racer has a catastrophic mechanical and is forced to change one of those, they are given a three-minute penalty. For this reason, many riders run aluminum wheels and will go to great lengths to keep them together if one fails.
One of the funniest instances of this was when Jack Moir went full caveman on his rim, hitting it with a rock to make it straight enough to seat his tire without the time penalty.
The wild west, self-supported spirit of enduro is what makes the sport unique.
Sunday
Electric EDR
New in 2024, the E-EDR will race alone on Sunday. Electric enduro is a genre that the UCI has been trying to push in recent years. Riders will take on a course on e-bikes.
The move to put E EDR on Sunday to showcase it is an interesting one. Fans historically prefer analog racing, so perhaps the organizers are making an effort to get fans engaged with both races.
It will be interesting to see if any racers consider doing both events, though this would probably be exhausting, as e-bike racing is certainly not effortless.
Stay tuned for results as they happen.
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