In the penultimate race of the World Series, it is Sam Hill who outshines his rivals on the first stage. The overall leader is almost 18 seconds faster than local rider Jesse Melamed on the longest descent of the day. However, Melamed then turned up the pace, first catching Hill and then distancing him on the two subsequent descents. Before the final stage, the Canadian is 14 seconds ahead of the Australian downhill legend. Not a comfortable lead when you consider what can happen during a stage.

In fact, Melamed crashes on the final descent and, after a second and three fastest stages, only manages the sixth fastest time. The best time was snatched by two-time serial winner Richie Rude, for whom things are not going according to plan this season. Melamed's crash costs him some time, but Hill is even four tenths of a second slower and remains in second place behind the Whistler local. With his victory, Melamed is the first Canadian to win such a race since the founding of the Enduro World Series.

Sam Hill extends his lead in the overall standings to 110 points ahead of Adrien Dailly. This gives Hill some breathing space, but it remains thin. Because if Dailly wins the last race in Finale Ligure, Hill will have to finish at least fourth to win the overall standings. In the event of a points tie, the better result in Finale will decide.
Maxime Chapuis is in 25th place before the last race - in his first full enduro season.

Ravanel unbeatable

With the exception of the second race in Tasmania, Cecile Ravanel seems to have subscribed to first place. She rides from best time to best time in Whistler and thus to another race win. Isabeau Courdurier once again rode to second place, bringing her level with third-placed Katy Winton from Scotland in the overall standings. The nimble Frenchwoman is now also in second place in the intermediate standings.

Another "again" concerns Anita Gehrig, because for the third time this season the Swiss athlete is in fourth place and for the third time she is only just short of the podium. This means that she has had another consistent season, even though the brake failure in the second race cost her a painful loss of points. Gehrig will therefore start the final race in Finale Ligure at the end of September in fifth place overall.

Carolin Gehrig is in sixth place after her eighth place in Whistler. She started the race rather cautiously due to shoulder problems, but was able to improve a little before the halfway point. With the fifth best time on the fourth stage, she shows what she would be capable of under normal circumstances.

Finale in Finale for the fifth time

Almost fittingly, the Enduro World Series ends on the Ligurian coast, in Finale Ligure. Although Finale is one of the most popular mountain bike destinations in Europe, the organizers are always pulling new trails out of their sleeves and, in addition to some classics, always provide surprises.

But the final race will not be easy. Every year, the stages have demanded everything from even the world's best enduro riders, and the same can be expected this year.