PRO 2 – PUNTA ALA (GR) – EWS #1 FABIEN BAREL WINS!
Punta Ala, May 18 2013
Today the Enduro World Series kicked off at the second PRO race of the Superenduro powered by SRAM season. Everyone was waiting for this weekend, it was one of the most anticipated mountain bike races ever.
Before the race it was almost impossible to guess who would be victorious. With the level of the field, there were more than 30 riders all in with a real chance of winning.
Over the course of the four special stages French mountain bike legend, Fabien Barel (Canyon Factory Team), emerged as the winner. It was on the trail named Rock-Oh, the longest and most technical stage of the race, where he stamped his dominance, winning the Red Bull Time Rush in the process.
Winner of stage one, Jerome Clementz (Cannondale), pushed hard to catch him, but finished thirteen seconds behind his countryman. Third overall went to the former 4X specialist, Jared Graves (Yeti-Fox Factory Team). Narrowly missing out on a podium was sixteen year-old Martin Maes (GT Factory Racing) from Belgium, who will definitely be a talent to watch for the future.
With Barel, Clementz and Graves on the podium, there was a DH World Champion, a 4X World Champion and one of the world’s top enduro specialists. “I’m not surprised that there are riders on the podium from different disciplines because the enduro is about all of the mountain and that’s what we do every day!” said race winner, Fabien Barel.
“My legs hurt, my ass hurts, I’ve never eaten so much. Now beer and the beach! “The words of Cedric Gracia are the perfect place to end this weekend in Punta Ala.
EMBA advisor and former DH World Champion, Tracy Moseley (Trek Factory Racing), won ahead Emmeline Ragot (Lapierre International). Cecile Ravanel (GT Skoda) took the third spot. For the Supererenduro Powered By SRAM, Punta Ala was the weekend affirming everything we have workd towards.
The road taken six years ago turned out to be the right one. Enduro has become the discipline around which the world of mountain biking is rotating. Among the riders were different wheel sizes, prototypes and top secret electronic suspension we will see in the future.
Now we have a two-week break, before the circuit heads to Gemona for the third PRO race.
Complete Superenduro photo gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superenduromtb/sets/72157633516740994/
RESULTS
Men overall:
Women overall:
And here are some videos from the race courtesy of ROCKINTHEMIDDLE.COM
Prologue Stage with the winner Alex Cure
Punta Ala Prologue | Onboard with 360 GT rider Vittorio Gambirasio
Punta Ala Prologue | Onboard with Kona rider Alex Stock
Superenduro PRO2 – Punta Ala – EWS #1 | Training with Team Cube
Superenduro PRO2 – Punta Ala – EWS #1 | Training with Team Canyon
Superenduro 2012 – PRO2 race – Punta Ala
Superenduro 2013 | ITW Jerome Clementz
ABOUT SUPERENDURO
Superenduro is a new format for mountain biking competitions, based on the discipline commonly referred to as enduro or all-mountain riding. The main goal of the Superenduro philosophy is to create a universal racing format, accessible by every mountain biker without the need to purchase any special equipment other than the bike he/she uses every weekend, which at the same time is challenging enough even for professionals, which awards the most well-rounded riders who posses the skills to ride fast in the Special Stages and to cover the Transfer Stages efficiently and within the imposed time limits.
Superenduro racers ride along the course in a sorted group of friends, thus being able to replicate the friendly environment of an everyday ride while sharing the competitive spirit of the event. The sensations of a Superenduro race are not the stress and tension usually associated with competitions but more similar to the good feeling everyone enjoys after a day of riding on beautiful trails, in an amazing landscape, with his friends..
