He has forearms as thick as other people's calves, and the rest of his muscular, bulky body fills out the enduro jersey as if it were a time trial suit. The young American Richie Rude is an impressive figure, which is why he has already been dubbed "the incredible Hulk" among riders. He has already proven that he can handle his power well with two podium finishes in this series. This weekend, however, things got even better for Rude: after the first of the two race days, Rude was still just under six seconds behind in second place. He steadily closed this gap to take his first victory in the world series.

An old acquaintance celebrates his return to the podium in second place. We are talking about Nicolas Vouilloz, who in previous years was known as E.T. - the extraterrestrial - because of his downhill riding style. The 39-year-old impressed on day one with a stage win and a temporary lead. On the following day, Rude was just faster and relegated E.T. to second place.

Fabien Barel came third. The Frenchman would probably be at the top of the podium. However, he lost too much time on the first downhill stage that he was unable to make up the deficit with three best times.
René Wildhaber doesn't really get going. He had several crashes on the first stage and lost a lot of time. Only on the third stage can he show what he is capable of with the fourth best time. In the end, Wildi finished in 16th place. Ludovic May makes a good return to the racing action. The Frenchman contests his first World Series race after his injury break and finishes in a good 19th place. With the tenth-best time on stage three, he shows that more is possible again soon.

Moseley unrivaled
British rider Tracy Moseley has otherwise been hard to beat this year. The only rider who could push ahead of Moseley is Anne Caroline Chausson. However, she is in poor health and so the race in Samoëns remains a trial. Chausson rode the first stage, but then abandoned the race. She is succeeded by her compatriot Cecile Ravanel, who finishes in second place. Although she won two stages, she lost a lot of time on the long sections, which is why victory was a long way off for her. Anneke Beerten from the Netherlands came third.

Things didn't go quite as planned for the Swiss. Lorraine Truong is in seventh place after the first day with two good runs. On the following day, however, she was unable to build on Saturday's performance and lost another place in the end. She still achieved a good result in eighth place, but underperformed.

"Same but different" is how you could describe Anita Gehrig's race. She didn't get up to speed on the first stage and lost a lot of time there - partly because her irritated bronchial tubes slowed her down on the numerous climbs. The following stages went better and, as if she had a subscription to the place, she rode the eighth best time in every descent from stage two onwards. In the end, Gehrig finished ninth - also a good result, but below her value. Carolin Gehrig doesn't get going at all this time and has to settle for 15th place.

The next race of the Enduro World Series will be held on the other side of the pond, from July 31 to August 2 in Crested Butte/Colorado. There, thin air and a three-day race program are on the menu for the participants.

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