Photos: Matteo Cappe

Finale Ligure needs no introduction as an EWS round – it’s been on the circuit since the EWS began a few years ago, and is now bookending the 2014 season, and they’ve just released the course info. Here’s the press release.

(And if you missed the last highlights video, from Whistler, it’s here)

Press release:

Here we are: the most awaited event of the year is almost here. THE event, the race-worth-a-season: it is difficult to find other attributes to describe the weekend which is going to take place at Finale Ligure on the 4th and 5th of October. The location which has written the history of mountain-biking in Italy is getting ready to be at the centre of the enduro world during the three days of the last round of the Enduro World Series 2014. During the event, the staff of the Superenduro Powered By SRAM will take care of the technical aspects of the organization joining forces with the Finale Outdoor Resort team.

After the success of the La Thuile round, Italy is all geared up to host – for the second time this year – the Series able to inspire the top riders of the World Enduro scene. They cannot wait to fly on the twisty trails of the Finale backcountry, in the breathtaking views of the Liguria Sea. During the seven events which have been organized here, at least 25 different trails have been used, all of them perfectly prepared to be enjoyed by mountain-bike legends and by recreational riders. However, the surprises ready for this 2014 edition are going to be beyond expectation.

Six Stages, all of them totally new. New trails never ridden by mountain-bikers. The race course of Finale is going to amaze the riders and it will offer the best of what any mountain-biker can hope for in this kind of terrain. Two days of pure and hard racing, with a 95 km course, split in between 50 km on Saturday and 45 km on Sunday, with a total of 2300 m of descend and without any mechanical uplift. The event will officially kick-off on Thursday the 2nd with the free practice. At 7.30pm all the are women participants are invited at the EWS Women’s Summit that will take place at the Bar Caviglia. Friday October the 3rd, between 10am and 6pm, the registration office will stay open (under the Superenduro marquee) to collect number plates and finalize the registration. At 6.30pm the briefing for the athletes will take place. The registration office will also be open on Saturday October the 4th between 7am and 8am.

THE COURSE

Saturday The first transfer will be toward San Bernardino before dropping down the SP1 Pianarella Trail. A 2,5 km long trail for the Special Stage which will alternate flowing sections with techy passages on rocks and in switchbacks, before the second transfer to Feglino. From the San Rocco church the SP2 will start on the Neanderthal Trail. This SP, which passes throughout areas inhabited by prehistoric man, will present a first pedalled section, followed by a rocky bit and by a toboggan run which means pure fun. After SP2 the riders will be back to the paddock area for the time control. The SP3 of the day, known as Megalithic, will start again from San Bernardino with its sections of trail inherited from prehistory. The SP swaps between pedalled sections and technical parts that are exposed, reaching the village of Calvisio Vecchio. From the village the riders will move toward the Manie highland, passing through the famous Roman Bridges road, to finally reach Bric dei Corvi, where the SP4 DH Men course starts. The SP is one of the most panoramic trails of the entire Finale area, with steep sections that seem to drop into the sea. The long day of Saturday will end at about 6pm, followed by an aperitif and a Dj set in the Piazza Garibaldi square. On Sunday, the start will be given again at 8am, when the riders will head to Feglino to go thorough the time check at the San Rocco church. Then the transfer will be on asphalt up to the Pian dei Corsi, famous for the old abandoned Nato base, which will be the start of the SP5 Cravarezza. An old trail, ridden for the first time something like fifteen years ago, when Freeride was still at its beginning here at Finale. A series of corners and compressions, a real paradise for riders, to conclude the SP and head up to Monte Alto. From there the SP6 Super Groppo course, the longest SP in the history of Finale Enduro will start. Six different types of woods, from cedar trees to beeches, will offer different terrain to the bikers. Endless and fast changes of rhythm will challenge them, they will start to feel the five Special Stages in their legs. After their last effort, the riders will finally reach the finish line in the paddock area where the closing award ceremony will take place at 5pm.

Thursday and Friday will be practice days with mechanical uplifts, but only on asphalt roads. The off-road transfer sections will be kept closed to traffic to protect the environment and for safety reasons. We finally remind all riders and the he general public that in the race book they will find the full details of the event. Enjoy the weekend of Finale Ligure!

And we’ve got a few videos from last year:

And a brilliant time-lapse: