After his serious back injury in the spring, Fabien Barel not only made his return to the enduro racing circuit, but also caused a minor sensation with his victory in Finale Ligure. The Frenchman crashed heavily during the first day of racing at the Enduro World Series in Chile, breaking his eighth vertebra. After almost four months, Barel was able to take his first short ride on a racing bike - with the still secret goal of being back on the start line at the final race of the Enduro World Series in Finale Ligure (ITA).

On the spot, the former downhill world champion explained that he was ready to ride again, but that his only concern was to be back and finish the year well. How good, he probably wouldn't have dreamed of that himself. Fabien Barel is in second place after the first day of racing, behind his compatriot Yoann Barelli. On the second day of racing, Barelli loses too much and slips to fifth place. Barel, on the other hand, turned up the heat again and took what was probably the most impressive victory in the history of the Enduro World Series. "Just being able to take part in the grand finale felt like a victory. But to win this race is simply incredible," says an overjoyed Barel.

Eight seconds behind the great returnee, Australian Jared Graves finished second, taking the overall victory in the 2014 Enduro World Series. French newcomer Damien Oton, who finished second overall, was a further four seconds behind. Third place in the final standings goes to New Zealander Justin Leov.
René Wildhaber - Leov's teammate - finishes the last race in 15th place. He crashed on stage four and missed a turn shortly before on the same section. In the final standings, Wildhaber finishes in sixth place. This puts Wildhaber in the same position as last year, but on the podium in two World Series races.

After Wildhaber, however, the Swiss enduro faction does not look very promising. The next three big riders, Ludovic May, Gusti Wildhaber and Lukas Anrig, have the potential to break into the top 10, but will not be at the last race due to injury. This means that there are only two other Swiss riders in the top 100, Florian Golay and Jonas Bähler.

Title number two for Moseley

The starting position in the women's event is very exciting. Great Britain's Tracy Moseley leads the overall standings ahead of the final race in Finale, but not with a big cushion. France's Anne Caroline Chausson is hot on her heels - so close that Moseley can't afford to do much. In fact, if Chausson were to win the last race, she could finish second at worst.

In fact, the former record-breaking downhill world champion is in a class of her own. She won each of the six downhill stages and won by over a minute. Moseley rides in a calculated manner so as not to jeopardize her title by risking a defect or crash. Her tactics worked and she clinched her second Enduro World Series title with second place. Third place went to Cecile Ravanel from France, who was unable to intervene in the decision on this race weekend.

Successful end to the season for Anita Gehrig. With consistent performances throughout the season, the Swiss enduro racer has ridden her way up to sixth position. On the first day of the final race, however, things did not go 100 percent smoothly for her and she was only in twelfth place after the four stages on Saturday. On the last two stages on Sunday, she was able to wake up her body, which was still tired from the Trans-Provence. With two fast stages, she catapulted herself into eighth place. Gehrig can thus secure her sixth place in the overall standings.

Her twin sister Carolin had a similar experience. The exertions of the Trans-Provence enduro stage race have also left their mark on her. The fatigue during the first day of the race is still very much in her bones. On the second day of the race, however, Carolin got her body back up to speed and rode the tenth-best time on each of the two stages. In the end, she finished 14th, which puts her in a good 11th place overall. However, this was with one race less.

End of the season on the beach
The long racing season leaves its mark on the athletes. Finale Ligure, the venue for the last World Series race, proves to be the ideal end to this long enduro season. First-class single trails, friendly locals, good weather and the ever-popular Italian cuisine are the main reasons. Even before the race, the world's best enduro riders are already besieging the cafés and gelaterias, treating themselves to a bit of relaxation on the beach after training or a dip in the refreshing Mediterranean Sea.

On the Sunday after the race, the participants of the last Enduro World Series race of the season are completely absorbed by the vacation atmosphere. Over gelati and cappuccino on the Piazza Grande, or pizza and beer on the beach, the riders forget the exertions of the race and secretly look forward to the coming season.

In 2015, the Enduro World Series will start earlier and now comprise eight instead of seven competitions. The season will kick off in Rotorua, New Zealand. The race series continues two months later in Ireland and a week later in Scotland. There are four more stops in France, the USA, Canada and now also Spain before the big final race in the bike mecca of Finale-Ligure (ITA).

www.enduroworldseries.com

7th round Enduro World Series, Finale Ligure/ITA
Men
1.	Fabien Barel (FRA)	Canyon Enduro Factory Team	38.08,38
2.	Jared Graves (AUS)	Yeti - Fox Shox Racing Team	+00.08,37
3.	Damien Oton (FRA)	Devinci/ Alltricks.com	+00.12,41
4.	Jérôme Clementz (FRA)	Cannondale Overmountain Team	+00.13,17
5.	Yoann Barelli (FRA)	Giant Factory Racing Team	+00.14,47
6.	Florian Nicolai (FRA)	Rocky Mountain - Urge BP	+00.17,01
7.	Justin Leov (NZL)	Trek Factory Racing Team Enduro	+00.20.08
8.	Joe Barnes (GBR)	Canyon Enduro Factory Team	+00.20,42
9.	Nico Lau (FRA)	Cube Action Team	+00.26,40
10.	Francois Bailly-Maitre (FRA)	BMC Enduro Racing Team	+00.31,04
15.	René Wildhaber (SUI)	Trek Factory Racing Team Enduro	+00.56,30
42.	Florian Golay (SUI)	BMC Enduro Racing Team	+02.04,30
97.	Jonas Bähler (SUI)	One80 Sportshop	+04.22,32
103.	Silvio Bundi (SUI)	Bundi Cycling	+04.42,11
107.	Alois von Wurstemberger (SUI)	One80 Sportshop	+05.03,07
109.	Balz Weber (SUI)	Ride - Mountainbike Magazine Switzerland	+05.08,25
112.	Urs Stadelmann (SUI)	Velothek	+05.17,29
124.	Christian Greub (SUI)		+05.57,32
130.	Julien Rosse (SUI)		+06.05,40
147.	Urs Pargmann (SUI)		+07.05,42
153.	Julien Knuchel (SUI)		+07.40,57
Women
1.	Anne Caroline Chausson (FRA)	Ibis	42.51,21
2.	Tracy Moseley (GBR)	Trek Factory Racing Team Enduro	+01.01,06
3.	Cecile Ravanel (FRA)	GT Pulse	+01.22,58
4.	Anneke Beerten (NED)	Specialized Racing	+02.16,05
5.	Ines Thoma (GER)	Canyon Enduro Factory Team	+02.56,15
6.	Rosara Joseph (NZL)	Yeti - Fox Shox Racing Team	+03.16,51
7.	Isabeau Courdurier (FRA)	Rocky Mountain - Urge BP	+03.53,47
8.	Anita Gehrig (SUI)	Twins MTB Racing	+05.12,59
9.	Pauline Dieffenthaler (FRA)	Cannondale Overmountain Team	+05.13,47
10.	Kelli Emmett (USA)	Giant Factory Racing Team	+05.33,52
14.	Carolin Gehrig (SUI)	Twins MTB Racing	+06.00.13
26.	Cait Elliott (SUI)	Velo Elsener	+11.37,12
Overall ranking men
1.	Jared Graves (AUS)	Yeti - Fox Shox Racing Team Enduro	3140 points
2.	Damien Oton (FRA)	Devinci/ Alltricks.com	2820 points
3.	Justin Leov (NZL)	Trek Factory Racing Team Enduro	2680 points
4.	Nico Lau (FRA)	Cube Action Team	2600 points
5.	Florian Nicolai (FRA)	Rocky Mountain - Urge BP	2540 points
6.	René Wildhaber (SUI)	Trek Factory Racing Team Enduro	2530 points
7th	Joe Barnes (GBR)	Canyon Enduro Factory Team	2450 points
8th	Francois Bailly-Maitre (FRA)	BMC Enduro Racing Team	2370 points
9.	Yoann Barelli (FRA)	Giant Factory Racing Team	2310 points
10.	Martin Maes (BEL)	GT Factory Racing	2160 points
20.	Ludovic May (SUI)	Canyon Enduro Factory Team	1172 points
29.	Lukas Anrig (SUI)	Norco World Enduro Team	865 points
115.	Emmanuel Allaz (SUI)	Irwego Commencal	69 points
130.	Jonas Bähler (SUI)	One80 Sportshop	44 points
163.	Ismael Muller (SUI)		17 points
183.	Vito Tschenett (SUI)	Dapilten.com / The Bike Patcher	2 points
Overall ranking women
1.	Tracy Moseley (GBR)	Trek Factory Racing Team Enduro	2600 points
2.	Anne Caroline Chausson (FRA)	Ibis	2570 points
3.	Cecile Ravanel (FRA)	GT Pulse	2270 points
4.	Anneke Beerten (NED)	Specialized Racing	2140 points
5.	Ines Thoma (GER)	Canyon Enduro Factory Team	1880 points
6th	Anita Gehrig (SUI)	Twins MTB Racing	1710 points
7.	Rosara Joseph (NZL)	Yeti - Fox Shox Racing Team	1690 points
8th	Kelli Emmett (USA)	Giant Factory Racing Team	1660 points
9th	Isabeau Courdurier (FRA)	Rocky Mountain - Urge BP	1640 points
10.	Katy Winton (GBR)	Pivot Morvelo - Sweet Protection	1280 points
11.	Carolin Gehrig (SUI)	Twins MTB Racing	1230 points
16.	Lorraine Truong (SUI)	Leysin - Norco - Fox - Sun Ringlé	800 points
27.	Cait Elliott (SUI)	Velo Elsener	410 points