Zermatt starts the Enduro World Series with snow and rain

The enduro riders had to wait a long time for the start of the Enduro World Series, and then it almost fell through - only almost. In the shortened race, Isabeau Courdurier and Jesse Melamed turned out to be the fastest helmsmen in the mud of Zermatt. The Swiss put in a good performance with Anita Gehrig in fourth place and Gusti Wildhaber in 18th place.

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The weather forecasts in the run-up to the race promised more wet than dry trails at the foot of the Matterhorn. On race day, the landmark cannot be seen behind the thick clouds. On the other hand, there was a thin layer of snow in the upper elevations, which did not please all riders - but it was the dense fog that forced the organizers to change their plans: As ground rescue is not possible on certain sections and the rescue helicopters cannot fly in fog, the race is shortened from four to two downhill stages.

However, these two stages have it all: Canadian Jesse Melamed lays the foundation for his victory in the challenging descent along the Findelbach. On the second and final descent, the third-fastest time was enough for him to beat Belgium's Martin Maes and France's Theo Galy.Gusti Wildhaber doesn't like these cold and wet conditions at all. He is also still suffering from a training crash. Nevertheless, he gets off to a decent start on the first stage and improves on the second section. He finishes the short race in 18th place - a success, as he reveals:
"The crash on Wednesday took its toll on my confidence and then there were conditions I didn't like at all. But I've learned to get through it and that's why I'm very happy with my race."

At the top of the podium last weekend, Patrick Lüthi is also off to a good start in Zermatt. 21st place after the first stage is a good starting position. However, the second downhill did not go according to plan and Lüthi had to make do with 44th place.

The old acquaintance

An old acquaintance sets an exclamation mark in the women's race: Frenchwoman Isabeau Courdurier dominated the 2019 season and looks unstoppable in 2020. She is around ten seconds faster on the first stage than her compatriot Morgane Charre. She underpinned her dominance on the second stage and won the race ahead of Charre. The surprise of the day was the young British rider Ella Conolly, who took third place despite a crash.

Anita Gehrig finished in fourth place immediately behind her, also without crashing. "I'm delighted with fourth place, but I'm even happier that the Traillove crew and their helpers were able to hold the race despite all the challenges!"

Carolin Gehrig echoes the words of her twin sister and adds: "Given my clammy hands, I'm happy with my twelfth place and that I made it to the finish in one piece."