Gehrig ends enduro season on the podium twice

The twins Anita and Carolin Gehrig ride to third and fourth place in the final of the Enduro World Series in Finale Ligure, Italy. Anita also takes her third place overall. In the men's race, Belgian Martin Maes takes the long-awaited victory and René Wildhaber finishes 27th.

For the fourth time already, the Italian coastal town of Finale Ligure is the venue for the final race of the Enduro World Series - and also the perfect place to end the season for the fourth time. But before that happens, it's time to give everything once again on the varied trails around Finale. Martin Maes had the most to give. The 19-year-old rode the fastest time on all three stages of the first race day, and the Belgian also shone on the first stage of the second race day. After that, the GT driver fell behind somewhat - but without losing too much of his lead over series leader Richie Rude. Maes thus wins his first race in the Enduro World Series, having already shaken up the elite with fourth place at the World Series premiere in Punta Ala (ITA) as a 16-year-old.

Behind Maes, Richie Rude (Yeti / Fox) confirmed his strong season with second place, with Frenchman Nico Lau (Cube) in third. René Wildhaber was the first Swiss enduro rider to finish in 27th place - another strong result given the high level of competition, but probably not what the Trek rider had in mind. Nevertheless, with the eleventh fastest time on the sixth stage, Wildhaber shows that he is still a force to be reckoned with. Gusti Wildhaber (Cube) once again put in an impressive performance in the finale and finished the race in 36th place. Ludo May (Canyon) was slightly behind in 41st place, followed by Maxime Chapuis (Santa Cruz), who finished a good 42nd in his first race of the Enduro World Series.

Gehrig with the double podium

In the women's race, Cecile Ravanel (Commençal) was already the overall winner before the last race in Finale. Nevertheless, she left nothing to chance this time and took the seventh of eight race wins. As so often this season, the nimble Frenchwoman Isabeau Courdurier (Sunn) is in second place, but takes a stage win. Anita and Carolin Gehrig (Ibis) start the race in third and fifth place overall and with the disappointment of Valberg and are in sixth and seventh place after the first day, close behind the podium. With this in focus, the two twin sisters were able to make up a lot of ground on the second day of the race and crossed the finish line in third and fourth place after seven downhill stages. Nathalie Schneitter also put in another strong race. Although the cross-country specialist did not start well and was only in 18th place after the first day, Schneitter was able to make up ground on the second day of the race, which earned her twelfth place at the end.

Overall standings remain unchanged

In both the men's and women's races, the tension for the overall standings is rising once again. However, large differences would be necessary in the final race to shake up the podium places once again. Thanks to the solid performance of Rude (2nd), Oton (4th) and Clementz (12th), the men's podium remains unchanged. The unfortunate fourth is Martin Maes, who is missing one race and thus the basis for the podium.
René Wildhaber ends the enduro season in 30th place with two races less on the counter. Ludovic May was the second Swiss rider to finish in 37th place, Gusti Wildhaber in 62nd

As already mentioned, Cecile Ravanel takes the title early. Places two to five are more exciting, although here too only large differences in results would lead to a change in the ranking. Isabeau Courdurier remains in second place and Anita Gehrig consolidates her third place in the overall standings with her second World Series podium finish - incidentally the first ever Swiss podium finish in the Enduro World Series overall standings. Carolin Gehrig is close to making the leap to fourth place. However, Ines Thoma pulls herself together after her botched first day of racing and rides up to ninth place. This leaves Carolin in an equally excellent fifth place overall, which is a huge leap for the Ibis rider compared to last year.

2017 start in Downunder

As in previous years, next year's Enduro World Series will start in the fall - in Rotorua, New Zealand, and on the Australian island of Tasmania. The first two races of the World Series will take place there on March 25 / 26 and April 8 / 9. The third and fourth rounds will take place on islands again: Madeira on 13/14 May and Ireland on 28 May are on the program. And there will also be another race in the enduro nation of France - on July 1 / 2 in Millau. After that, the sixth and seventh rounds will take place in Aspen and Whistler. The conclusion of the 2017 Enduro World Series will then traditionally take place in Finale Ligure.