Months of hard graft, conditioning, training and paining are about to be put to the test as Enduro World Series kicks off in Punta Ala, Italy!

DirtTV will be there in force, meaning you won’t miss a thing, it’ll be the next best thing to you being out there (but without the sunshine and ice cream).

Stay tuned for full coverage this weekend.

EWS’ Punta Ala Round Opens With Press Conference Stacked with MTB’s HeavyHitters
First Enduro World Series race brings together MTB legends, May 18-19.

The first race of the highly anticipated Enduro World Series kicks off at 18:30 (CEST) tonight, (48 hours before the Prologue opening stage time trial takes place in Punta Ala’s medieval town centre), with a press conference featuring the giants of mountain biking – Greg Minnaar, defending DH World Champion at his Enduro debut, enduro specialist Jerome Clementz, two time Italian Champion Andrea Bruno, gravity living legend Nicolas Vouilloz, USA specialist Curtis Keene and BMX and MTB multichampion, Anne Caroline Chausson.

Presented by Chris Ball, Managing Director of Enduro World Series, Enrico Guala and Franco Monchiero, Superenduro founders, and Thomas Daddi, President of the local organization, I-MTB, the athlete panel signifies the historic nature of the Enduro World Series.

“Having multiple world champion title-holders sitting all together at the table is an incredible thing,” says Guala. “Having them fighting over the following days in a format that is totally new for some of them is even more interesting.”

The field of riders for the inaugural Enduro World Series race is almost twice the number hosted in Punta Ala for previous SuperEnduro races. Most of the new attendees are international riders and include powerful contenders from every discipline of mountain biking, including Tracy Moseley, Cecile Ravanel, Emmeline Ragot, Anka Martin, Anneke Beerten, Pauline Dieffenthaler, and Anne Caroline Chausson in the women’s category, and Fabien Barel, Sam Blenkinsop, Steve Peat, Dan Atherton, Brian Lopes, and Cedric Gracia amongst the legend-packed male field.

Says Guala, “We’re making history. Our aim is to see the highest level of racing combined with great riding and the atmosphere that enduro provides. Ultimately, our success will be measured by the smiles on the riders’ faces at the end of the event. They’re going to be very tired after such a long race but the quality of trails and the surroundings will help to overcome the fatigue.”

The top fifteen riders will start every minute from 8:30am CEST on Sunday, May 19, and the awards will take place 17:30 CEST on Sunday, May 19.

For those unable to attend the first race of series in person, www.enduroworldseries.com has developed a mobile site that enables fans to stay up to speed with all the action, with instagram and twitter live updates, video highlights, a results feed, events schedule and breaking news.

From Punta Ala, the Enduro World Series will move to the French Alps, Whistler, Canada, and Colorado, USA, before returning to Finale Ligure, Italy, October 19-20 for seventh and final leg of the series and the crowning of the inaugural Enduro World Champion.