For the second race, the Enduro World Series moves from Chile to Central America, to Manizales in Colombia. The riders were already able to ride in front of a huge crowd in Chile. It was to be expected that the Colombians would be no less enthusiastic, but the crowds at the city prologue were beyond the imagination of the participants. The alleyways are filled with people, and only a narrow strip of road and steps remains closed off as a race route. The atmosphere is described as unique - all the more so when local hero and city downhill specialist Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas plunges down the alleyways and sets the fastest time.

After the prologue, however, the rain sets in and Sunday's downhill stages turn into veritable mud baths. But the spectators were not deterred and neither was Gutierrez. With second place on the first stage, the Colombian shows what he is also capable of in the enduro. Chile winner Sam Hill, who was only in 19th place after the prologue, is now turning up the heat.

The Australian confirms his status as an excellent mud rider and sets one fastest time after another. Hill is so fast that he can afford to make a few mistakes at the end. Despite the short stages, and probably the shortest overall time in the history of the race series, Hill wins by almost 50 seconds. Marcelo Gutierrez takes second place in his enduro debut, also with a comfortable lead over Frenchman Damien Oton.

Gusti Wildhaber, who surprised everyone with fourth place in Chile, again starts the race with good riding times. He is back in the top 10 after two stages. However, technical problems then creep in for the Walenstadter and prevent such a result. Nevertheless, Wildhaber finishes in a good 28th place, which makes him satisfied and confident about the rest of the season.

Gehrig back in the race

It was surprising that Anita Gehrig only suffered minor injuries in her horror crash in Chile. A start in Colombia was therefore not certain. However, she recovered surprisingly well and first tried her hand at the prologue, which she then completed pain-free. With the self-confidence from this "test ride", Gehrig started the mud battle on Sunday and fought her way to the finish in a respectable eleventh place.

Carolin Gehrig is in full possession of her strength at the start. With a sixth place in both the prologue and the first stage, she leaves the door open for a good result. In the second third of the race, however, things no longer went according to plan. She has "run out of talent", she says. With two more fast rides on stages five and seven, she was able to show what was possible. However, these were no longer enough to make up the time lost. In the end, Carolin Gehrig finished in eighth place.

As in Chile, victory in Manizales goes to Cecile Ravanel from France. She won three of the seven downhill stages, where she built up a lead of around one minute. Her compatriot Isabeau Courdurier came in second place, again beating Scotland's Katy Winton.

Results EWS #2 Manizales/Colombia

Raba, the mountain biking Netflix star

The number 379 will be at the start, but anyone who normally takes part with a race number like this will not be in the spotlight. Not so in Manizales, because the 379 is on Juan Pablo Raba's handlebars. If that doesn't mean anything to you, the keyword "Narcos" may help - the Netflix series that portrays the life of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Raba plays Gustavo Gaviria, Escobar's right-hand man, in "Narcos". In real life, the Colombian actor is a passionate and good mountain biker who has nothing to do with crime. At most, he rides his mountain bike as fast as if he had done something wrong.

Raba is therefore the secret star of the World Series race in Manizales. And even though he is ranked far outside the top 10 in the Masters category, he has mastered all the difficult routes without any damage and is an extremely popular selfie partner even among the world's best enduro riders.

The European season starts

After the race in Manizales, the athletes have a good month for regeneration, training and other projects. The enduro season will then continue on May 12 and 13, 2018 in Olargues, which is located in the south of France, west of Montpellier. This will be the first time Olargues has ridden an Enduro World Series race. However, the town is already known for the Epic Enduro, the 100-kilometre enduro race that is held there every year.

www.enduroworldseries.com