It all started by the sea and Finale is a fitting place to end an amazing series.

After an incredible first season the Enduro World Series has come to and end for 2013. We have seen Enduro grow into a full on race series, attended by hundreds of riders and spread across Europe, the USA and Canada, the end has come in Finale and the results from the final round are in.

Jerome Clementz and Jared Graves drop in for the last day of racing.

STAGE 5

Jerome had the season in the bag after amassing enough points in the first 6 rounds to send him clear of his rivals, that didn’t mean that he was going to relax though and you can see that looking at his times from the stages on day one. Clementz carried his season long speed into Stage five here in Finale and finished 0.6s ahead of the day one dominant Nico Lau. Both Lau and Graves were not far behind maintaining their places in the top five from day one. Once again Martin Maes put in a stunning run to place 4th in the Elite category with the top five being rounded out by round one winner Fabian Barel.

Tracy Moseley took the stage win over Anne Caroline Chausson by 4.5 seconds with Cecile Ravanel another 15 seconds back. Tracy was behind going into the last stage and had time to make up if she was going to take the race win as well as her overall title.

Tracy on her way to the win on Stage 6.

STAGE 6

Nico Lau was determined to break down the one minute penalty he received during day one and proved he was on the pace all weekend taking the final stage win by an impressive 7.6 seconds over series leader Jerome Clementz. Graves was again on the pace but couldn’t put time into Lau and came over the line in 3rd, 9.1s back. Belgian bullet Maes was like clockwork as he fired into 4th on the last stage which set him up for an impressive 3rd overall for the weekend. Spectators said he looked smooth and composed as he carried a huge amount of speed through the technical 6th stage. As with stage 2 on the first day Remy Absalon made his presence felt coming in 5th for the stage of the weekend.

What ever Tracy did on stage 6 she made it count, she took the stage win and with it the win for the race weekend. Tracy was behind going in to stage 6 but somehow managed to find 10 seconds on Anne-Caroline for the last stage. She may have the series in the bag after Val d’Isere but Tracy Moseley is a racer through and through, great work and a fitting win at the end of the series.

Martin Maes blasted his way to 3rd in the overall this weekend.

OVERALL IN FINALE

The final results almost matched the numbers on the rider’s bikes. First place went to the number one plate owner Jerome Clementz, Graves who came second in the overall matched his number and slotted into second. Maes upset the Enduro apple cart taking third place overall ahead of Fabian Barel in fourth with the consistent Remy Absalon rounding out the top five.

Tracy finished on top of the podium and deservedly so, Anne-Caroline took second and Cecile Ravenel finished off the top three.

So that’s it, the first Enduro World Series is over. Many were not sure how this series would pan out but the persistence, planning and execution from a dedicated team has sealed Enduro into global mountain bike racing. Enduro is tough, some think it’s just another XC style format for retired downhill racers. We can firmly say this isn’t the case, fitness, technical ability and speed all combine to form one of the hardest race formats we have seen in mountain biking. Yes anyone can buy a licence and enter an EWS race but for those at the sharp end this is a fine balancing act to master. Luckily for us it will take years for that balance to be struck and Dirt will be there to follow this progression.

DirtTV are in the edit as we type so expect another nugget of Parkin gold in the next few days. We will be back with a full round up of the series this week as well as a gallery from the last day of the 2013 Enduro World Series from Finale Ligure, Italy.