EWS7 Finale Ligure | Two intense days of practice, but the going will get tough tomorrow on the start line
Sunshine, amazing trails and a lot of fun. The two days of open practice here at FInale Ligure, on the course of the Enduro World Series, couldn’t go any better. Tomorrow the going will get tough, with the first four Special Stages and the start of the first rider scheduled at 08.30. The square Piazza Garibaldi is already the beating heart of the paddock area, which extends over the whole promenade. Hundreds of people are here, hanging around the stands of the different companies. The same great vibe, so badly awaited during one whole year, is back and the spotlight of the MTB scene is pointing again on Finale.
The totally new racing course got the full approval of the riders, that look pleased at the end of their practice. “Here there is everything you can hope for in a round of the World Series, each Special Stage has different ingredients and the winner will be the rider able to find the best compromise.
EWS-7 Superenduro Finale Ligure – Highlight Friday Practice from Superenduro TV on Vimeo.
The key to success will be given by being consistent, eventually launching the attack during the last Stage. The local staff has done a brilliant job and the guys of Finale deserve our praise for it”. Alex Lupato said, so pumped at this last event, which closes his very long season.
As the Italian top rider mentioned, the job of the Finale Outdoor Resort crew has been impeccable as also Andrea Principato confirmed this afternoon: “That of Finale Outdoor Resort is a new reality, born during last summer. Our goal is the promotion of the whole Finale region, set up by eight different counties, merging together outdoor sport and nature. We would like to create a single large district with the support of the local administration, lead by the mayor Ugo Frascherelli. Re-establishing trails that have been abandoned during years has not been easy, but being able to ride them has given us a very intense emotion and we hope that it is going to be the same for the EWS riders, finally able to ride in places that have written the history of the international mountain-biking more than twenty years ago”.
From the hilly back-country to the sea in a few kilometres: this is Liguria, ready to offer to the entire world its heritage of hundreds of trails and to the organizers the chance of putting together a new race course every year. The race is going to be incredibly long, exhausting. For the five hundred bikers on the start line being able to manage their energy during the two days will be critical. The really warm weather and the summer temperatures could represent an extra challenge, making it harder on the body with more than 95 kilometres of course.
Nobody wants to miss the final event, a contest that means both confrontation and enjoyment for the whole MTB community. Every year at Finale the specialists of a number of disciplines, enduro, downhill and cross-country, get together to vie on the Special Stage of the back-country and to convene on the beach at the end of the race, for the most awaited chillout rendezvous. This is why even Lorenzo Suding has not missed it and he is back after last summer’s bad crash. “To me Finale is a real MTB festival and I could not stay at home. I am just back from the practice and I really like the course, I think the whole race will be decided on the PS 5 and 6. It is hard to make a prediction, because the techy bits will be good for those who are fast in the descent, but the long pedalled sections will work against them and will instead favour the real enduro specialists. The balance will be the real plus to win. Being back to racing and finding the old friends is great, but being able to do it here at Finale is just the best”.
