Martin Maes is 37th of the 63 starters on the 1,438-kilometre route in the Vosges and sets a clear best time. Looking back, it can be said that he probably had slightly better, because "smoother" conditions than the favorites in the persistent rain after the rain had stopped. But the Belgian, who won the Enduro World Series competition in Whistler, Canada, last week, also manages a flawless run.

Rider after rider misses his best time, but in the end overall World Cup winner Amaury Pierron still has the chance to beat Maes. But Pierron allows himself to slip on the finish slope and goes down briefly. And so, in front of his home crowd of all people, the French winning streak came to an end. "It's unbelievable, but that's the spirit of enduro. It's great to beat the downhill specialists on their own terrain," says the 21-year-old winner. That's a bit of a side-swipe, because in the downhill camp, the enduro discipline is sometimes not taken quite as seriously and is not considered as challenging.

Jerome Caroli finishes 44th and is disappointed with his result in the final after his strong qualifying result (27th). "I don't know where the time went," he says after his run, shaking his head. However, the ride on the surface, which is very slippery due to the constant rain, is also difficult to control. After his ride, he was 11.934 seconds behind Martin Maes.

Lutz Weber finishes in 61st place (+32.538). He was also unable to maintain his good qualifying result (45th).

Atherton triumphs - Balanche best Swiss

British rider Rachel Atherthon wins the downhill competition in La Bresse, France, securing the overall title. Her compatriot Tahnee Seagrave is only 0.638 seconds behind and comes second overall. In third place is the Frenchwoman Myriam Nicole (+11:662). Best Swiss woman: Camille Balanche in eleventh place.

Great Britain's Rachel Atherton and Tahnee Seagrave are once again in a class of their own and when Seagrave, the fastest in qualifying, is on her way, she scratches Atherton's best mark at each of the four split times. However, she only scratched and was ultimately unable to beat her. She is only 0.638 seconds off Atherton, who is jubilant. She jumps out of the hot seat and dances with joy as she not only wins the final, but also the overall standings. Seagrave is also second overall. A good eleven seconds behind is the third-placed rider, France's Myriam Nicole.

The best Swiss skier - Camille Balanche - is satisfied with her competition. In eleventh place, she needed 25.9 seconds longer than Rachel Atherthon (2:51.421). "I'm happy that I managed to qualify in my third World Cup," explains the former ice hockey player, who only rode enduro last year. "My goal was to get down safely and without crashing. It was also difficult to push in these conditions," says Balanche.

Swiss champion Carina Cappellari brings a safety run down. "I crashed heavily in the timed training on Thursday and didn't want to take any risks for Lenzerheide," says Cappellari, who finished 15th, 33.176 seconds behind. Cappellari fell on her chest and stomach in the crash and did not train on Friday. "I still feel sick," she confesses.

Emilie Siegenthaler, who suffered a muscle injury to her arm in a fall at the Swiss Championships, is confident that she will be able to compete at the World Championships in Lenzerheide. "An injury like that heals after six weeks, so I should be fine. And I can still do something for my fitness," explains Siegenthaler, who has specially consulted the physiotherapist of world champion Loic Bruni for her rehab. The Frenchman suffered the same injury at the start of the season.