IMPORTANT CHANGES ON THE HORIZON: SUPERENDURO BRINGS IN CYCLING FEDERATION’S CATEGORIES AND A DEDICATED RACE FOR E-BIKES

Campioni Italiani Amatori e Agonisti Enduro 2011

In 2011 the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) took a major step in the direction of the discipline: enduro was finally recognized and the race of Limone Piemonte, the first National Champs ever, took place. Today, Superenduro starts a new journey that aims at supporting the development of the discipline under the guidance of the Federation.

Starting with the 2018 season, National Series Superenduro will align its categories with those of the Italian Cycling Federation. In addition, the Series will embrace the Federation’s rule whereby mountain bikes and e-bikes will no longer be able to compete together.
For both changes, no need to worry: there will still be a lot of fun for all competitors! Let’s take a closer look.
The introduction of the Federation’s categories within Superenduro makes for a great change, with lots of new challenges that surely will unfold thanks to the division of the competitors between two large groups: Agonisti [Competitive] and Amatori [Amateur] racers. Previously all competitors belonged to the same big group and categories were determined by the age of those competing. From now on, they will compete for position and podium in two different rankings.

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2011 Italian Enduro Champions, Competitive and Amateur Racers

“There has been a great deal of discussion about this change, both within our crew and with athletes and other professionals ” – Enrico Guala of Superenduro declares “SE categories were born when the discipline was in its infancy. Now that sport and athletes are established, creating a distinction between those who train and compete at a competitive level and those who train less and participate in a non-professional capacity has become a logical and fair course of action . Thanks to this change, Superenduro aligns itself with all other off-road disciplines.”
This rearrangement will lead to some changes and perhaps to different racing strategies, but at the end of the season we’ll get several new Champions at Superenduro: Competitive and Amateur racers, in men and women, in addition to young competitors. The last group will be actually split amongst the categories Esordienti [Juvenile], Allievi [Youth] and Giovanile Femminile [Women Youth + Women Juvenile] and they will always race on a shortened racecourse, no more than 90-minute long, as per FCI regulations.
With respect to Teams, they will still be able to enter a TEAM category, according to the rules of the previous seasons. The Team Manager – with racing licences at the signing-on – will need to confirm the names of the team members, with a minimum of two to a maximum of four riders.
Find below the new categories and their grouping for the coming Superenduro season:

AGONISTI – COMPETITIVE RACERS AMATORI – AMATEUR RACERS
Esordienti (13-14) Elite Sport (19-29)
Allievi (15-16) Master 1-2 (30-39)
Junior (17-18) Master 3-4 (40-49)
Giovanile Femminile (13-16) Master 5-6-7 (50+)
Elite (23+)

Under 23

Master Donne (30+)

Elite Sport Donne (19-29)

Elite Donne (19+)

Junior Donne (17-18)

TEAM
ASSOLUTA Uomini ASSOLUTA Uomini
ASSOLUTA Donne ASSOLUTA Donne
ASSOLUTA Giovani (Esordienti – Allievi)

Let’s have a look at what is going to happen to e-bikes.
The announcement of the Italian Cycling Federation not long ago, that followed a UCI statement about the incompatibility of e-bike and mtb races starting with the 2018 season, created great concern amongst the growing number of enthusiasts who want to compete in the Superenduro series using their e-mtbs.

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As per the Series, Superenduro has always aimed at being inclusive, understanding that people’s fun and enthusiasm when attending Superenduro rounds are not only related to the competitive side of the events but also to the opportunity they get of sharing such unique experiences with their mates, in top venues and over the best trails in Italy, regardless of the type of machine they ride.
Superenduro was determined to avoid precluding anyone from being part of such experience and this led the organizers to back an additional change: in 2018 e-bikes will not only compete in a special category, but they will enjoy their own separate race, with a different race ID too.
Thanks to e-bikes, many new enthusiasts are engaging in off-road riding. The FCI, as it happened in 2011 with Enduro and the first National Champs, has looked at the future with wisdom and our OFFROAD SECTOR has managed to enact new rules for E-Bike Enduro racing, even before UCI declared their interest in those that are not pushbikes. Therefore, keeping mtb and e-bike racing separate is just fair. It is great to hear that SUPERENDURO is embracing our philosophy, still securing all the fun thanks to parallel competitionsPaolo Garniga, FCI officer, tells us.
The racecourse for e-bikes and mountain-bikes will be the same, but obviously rolling off the start line will take place in such a way that, as required by the new rules, there will be no overlap and mix between disciplines. For competitors there will be no difference at all, except while entering the event on Endu portal, when they will need to choose right event and K-factor as per the Federation’s website.
The Italian Cycling Federation’s regulation will apply, available at this link. The only important change for e-bikes, with respect to 2017, will concern open practice on Saturday: no competitors will be able to scope out the course with the aid of anything but their own bikes.
Registration will open soon, so get ready: the tenth edition of Superenduro is good to go!