Łukasik and Conolly secure overall enduro victories, Swiss rider Forlin surprises

Slawomir Lukasik auf der Night Stage.

Photo: Innes Graham / Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series

Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox) and Ella Conolly secured their overall victories early at the penultimate round of the UCI Enduro World Cup in La Thuile - Valle d'Aosta. In a spectacular finale under floodlights, a slight lead on the short night stage was enough to decide the outcome for both of them. In the juniors, a Swiss rider caused a surprise: Noë Forlin secured the first Swiss junior victory in the Enduro World Cup.

Łukasik wins the day's classification - and the overall World Cup

The Pole Łukasik secured the day's victory with a lead of just five hundredths of a second over Charles Murray (NZL/Specialized Gravity). After four technically demanding stages over 46 km and 2700 Elevation loss, fourth place on the 600 m long Nightfall final was enough for him to catch Murray. Jesse Melamed (CAN/Canyon CLLCTV) finished third overall.

Daniel Booker (AUS), who has been plagued by bad luck of late, impressed with consistent times and won the night stage. Elliot Jamieson (CAN) and Matthew Walker (NZL/Pivot) provided variety at the front on the middle stages, but the latter fell out of the top ranks after a crash in the final.

"I can hardly believe it - the overall victory feels fantastic," said Łukasik. "It was a tough but incredibly beautiful day."

Results

Conolly second - and rewarded with the overall World Cup

Simona Kuchyňková (SVK/Cube Action Team) took her first World Cup victory in the women's race - despite crashing on the final day. After trailing by five seconds after Stage 1, she turned the race around with the fastest time on Col Croce. On the long Chaz Dura Express she only lost three tenths to Ella Conolly (GBR), who in turn held enough of a lead to secure the overall World Cup early with second place in La Thuile. Mélanie Pugin (FRA) won the opening days, Raphaela Richter (GER) showed a solid comeback with third place in the Nightfall final.

"I thought it was over after the crash," said an overwhelmed Kuchyňková at the finish. "It's unbelievable that it was enough."

Results

Juniors: Forlin dominates - Libnik doubles up

Noé Forlin (SUI) won his first junior race of the season with best times on all four stages. Gabriel Sainthuile (BEL) finished second, Rhys Blair (CAN) took third place ahead of Cooper Millwood (NZL) with a strong nightfall run. Melvin Almueis (FRA), the overall leader, fell far behind after a brake failure.

Results

In the juniors, Nežka Libnik from Slovenia (2nd win of the season) triumphed ahead of Lucile Metge (FRA) and series leader Lacey Adams (USA), who lost too much time on the first two stages. Libnik was the fastest on all stages.

Results