Noga Korem and Nicola Casadei winners in Val di Fassa Dolomites

It is a sold-out round for this 2018 edition of Superenduro, with almost 500 participants – from 16 different countries – attending Val di Fassa Drop Down.

The race course

“The most exciting thing of MTB Enduro racing is being able to enjoy the beauty of the places where we ride”, Tracy Moseley explains at the end of her pre-race inspection; she is now EWS European Coordinator. These words are especially true for Val di Fassa, and they perfectly describe the majesty of nature and the Dolomites landscape that all participants have been able to enjoy during the race.
The mid-point round of this Superenduro season – now in its tenth edition – laid down a proper alpine race, where the variety of tracks and terrain made any prediction about the results almost impossible. A 20km-long race course, 5 Special Stages, and about 30 minutes of timed racing meant that a combination of riding skills, racing strategy, fitness and mental approach were going to make all the difference. The round was made especially tough – demanding total concentration – by the addition of two freshly cut tracks ((PS1 Ciasates and PS3 Gluhwein) with constantly changing terrain conditions and fast lines not yet fully defined. On top of that, add two (PS2 Tutti i frutti and PS4 Voltron) very long stages (both almost 10 minute long), sort of wild at times, with open, windswept sections and off-camber rooty sections in the woods. And, to finish, the down-town sprint (PS5 City Show) to get the adrenaline flowing and a finish line surrounded by a big crowd.
Fassa Bike crew, led by William Basilico, has done an impeccable job and has put together a top-notch race, that lived up to expectations for what was going to be the EWS European Series debut and an important round of the tenth edition of Superenduro.

The race

At this round, the third and penultimate of the series, with just a handful of points to separate the top spots, the riders in contention had to be on form and on the gas, especially considering that almost 500 other racers were raring to go at the start line of a very international race, with riders from 16 countries.
In the PRO Men category, the race has been a fully Italian affair, with no rider from abroad troubling our top riders. Nicola Casadei (CMC Cycling Experience) continues the positive trend set in Calestano and thanks to 3 wins over a total of 5 Special Stages, dominates the race and the series, with a whopping 220-point margin ahead of Alex Lupato (Team Cingolani), new Italian Champion but only fourth today. Matteo Berta (Dsb Comes Fristads Airoh Ion Team) is second by 26 seconds: he made it happen during the last two Special Stages and he is now third in the series standings, 160 point behind Lupato. Matteo Raimondi (Gb Rifar Mondraker Asd) finishes in third; back in the game after a few physical troubles last winter, he climbs up the series ranks to fourth, only 60 point behind Berta.

If in the men’s category the best-positioned rider from abroad is only 12th, in the women (PRO Women) the battle has been fully international. Israeli rider Noga Korem (GT Factory team) takes the top spot and dominates the race winning 4 stages out of 5 and laying down a massive 40-second margin to her most direct chaser, New Zealand’s Raewyn Morrison (Giant Factory Off-Road team). Anita Gehrig (Norco Twins Racing) finishes third on the day; she was back from her accident in Chile, but she fiercely fought against Italian Champion Jessica Bormolini (Gb Rifar Mondraker Asd), who gets herself a fourth place and some solid points over Laura Rossin (fifth today, Soul Cycles Racing Team), enough for the third position in the series.
In Youth, the battle is again between two Ancillotti Team’s young riders, each of them winning one stage: Andrea Garella, who in a repeat of Calestano round, wins again in Val di Fassa, and Francesco Mazzoni. Mattia Guglielmi (Ponente Gravity Team) rounds out the podium in 3rd.

In the Men’s Amateur Racers Davide Dalpian (Cmc Cycling Experience) sets the fastest time by 93 hundredths of second, ahead of Fabio Di Renzo (Ancillotti Factory Team) and Alessio Vercelli (Locca Team). In the women, Bruna Benedusi (Raptors Bike Asd) takes first, Irene Savelli (Team Dsb Comes Fristads Airoh Ion) second and Nicki Moore third.
Ancillotti Team continued to dominate the Teams’ field and they are on the top spot of the podium for the third time in a row. It is clear that trusting the youth is a strategy that pays off.
The Ebike race has been won by Alessandro Bonarotti (Bikegarage Speedwheel-Sv Focus Mgo) who keeps the series leadership, followed by Marco Dorigatti (5.1 Bike Team) and Andrea Belluomini (M6G Bikestore Racing Team).

The impressions

Nicola Casadei, CMC Cycling Experience team: “The race here, in Val di Fassa, has been really good; quite physical, as all Special Stages had quite a lot of pedalling. In between the elevation we were at and all that pedalling, there was a nice mix of issues to deal with, and it made the race really challenging. At the end I was quite exhausted.”
Noga Korem, GT Factory Team: “It as been a really awesome weekend. I came over mainly to have fun, but also to switch back into racing-mode before the EWS round, that will take place in Slovenia next weekend, considering I have not been riding for 1 month and a half. As soon as I arrived and saw these amazing views, I fell in love with the place. I raced well, I felt on form and at ease on the bike. I really had no goal other than enjoying myself and find the right pace on the bike. I am stoked I also managed to win the race”

Chris Ball, Enduro World Series managing director: “This weekend was the first ever EWS European Round and the trails and organization were perfect and started the new European Series off in the best way possible. They showed the world class standard in Canazei and Val di Fassa and proved that next year it will be incredible for the EWS coming here with our trusted partners Superenduro. We’ve been speaking with the local trail builders and they have some incredible ideas on how to add some additional special touches to this already incredible place for what is going to be a spectacular race here in July 2019.”
William Basilico, head of Fassa Bike’s Organising Board: “Putting together a race of this level takes at least an entire year while most of the work on the Special Stages is carried out in a very tight period of time as we have to wait for the snow to disappear. The feedback Fassa Bike’s Organizing Board got from the participants has been very good; this brings us great joy and satisfaction and shows us that we are on track to achieve a world class level.”

The anecdote

A race that on paper was ‘light’ thanks to the use of the uplifts and to the reduced length, made everyone think that the Fassa bike Drop Down was not going to require a big physical effort of the riders. Instead the design, length and nature of the Special Stages proved otherwise. Many sections, especially the ones just cut, have been using a lot of riders’ energies, confirming once again that enduro events are quite tricky to judge on the base of figures and data. And this is why it is so fascinating and difficult for racers.