After six stages of wild alpine racing, epic hammer-down descents that lasted up to 18 minutes, and a winning overall combined time of 1:20:40, the final podium of the the third round of the Enduro World Series this weekend in Valloire, France, came down to a microscopic four-second spread between the top three men.
A testament to the unpredictability of racing flat-out down mountains for a cumulative 12,000 metres of descent, (the largest amount of vertical covered in any EWS round yet), the weekend saw a myriad of punctures and mechanical issues shake down many of the top racers and early leaders. Every stage saw the top 10 leaderboard reconfigured dramatically.
Despite not winning an individual stage, Australian Jared Graves' (Yeti/Fox Shox) consistency put him on the top step, flanked by two newcomers to the Enduro World Series podium - Frenchman Damien Oton (Devinci/Alltricks.com) who powered home on the final two stages after top 10 finishes all weekend to take second place, and Switzerland's Rene Wildhaber (Trek Factory Racing Enduro) who took third.
In the women's race, Britain's Tracy Moseley (Trek Factory Racing) won all but one stage to finish in 1:29:50, 1:36 ahead of France's Anne Caroline Chausson (Ibis) and 2:02 ahead of The Netherlands' Anneke Beerten (Specialized Racing).
Beerten celebrated her first EWS podium after being so close for so long. Isabeau Courdurier (Rocky Mountain Urge BP) finished in fourth, followed by Cecile Ravanel (GT Pulse) whose powerful start to the weekend was upset by a puncture on stage 2.
The Enduro Series Valloire was the 10th anniversary of the Valloire French Series Enduro hosted at the famous mountain bike hub, featuring the style of riding that forged the discipline. Both Moseley and Graves declared it the hardest round yet, with Graves telling Dirt TV in the first day's highlight video, "It's real riding. Your heart rate's on max, you've got arm-pump, your legs are burning up and you're just ploughing through rock gardens at 50 kms/hr. It's awesome."
Navigating snow patches, endlessly unfurling singletrack and menacing alpine rock at full-throttle took its toll on the field.
France's Francois Bailly-Maitre (BMC Enduro Racing Team) started strong, winning the first stage ahead of Graves and Leov, and holding the lead after the second stage, but a spate of mechanical issues saw him drop back to 19th.
After a second place finish at TweedLove, New Zealand's Justin Leov (Trek Factory Racing) had his eye on the top step this weekend. After winning two stages, he finished day one in the lead, only to see a 38-second lead eaten up by a puncture on stage 5. Leov rallied to win the final stage and finish 11th overall, keeping him in second place in the Overall Series Rankings.
TweedLove winner, and the current French Enduro Series leader, Nico Lau (Cube Action Team), was another threat thwarted by a puncture. Lau salvaged his race, coming back on Sunday to win stage 4 and 5 and take second on the final stage, for a top 20 result and fifth in the Overall rankings.
Nico Vouilloz (Lapierre Gravity Republic) who finished the inaugural Enduro World Series season in fifth, but has been rehabilitating from knee surgeries and a broken scaphoid, made his comeback ride this weekend, but retired from the race with fatigue, saving himself for round four in La Thuile in three weeks.
Having identified himself at TweedLove as one to watch, France's Damien Oton proved to be the most consistent rider amongst the field, clinching top eight finishes in every single stage to secure second place.
Bringing his deep alpine racing experience and swag of Megavalanche victories to bear, Switzerland's Rene Wildhaber (Trek Factory Racing) held strong through the race to secure third place, his first EWS podium.
Curtis Keene (Specialized Racing Team) and Ben Cruz (Cannondale Overmountain) both rode on pace to put the USA into the top 10.
"This was the tenth anniversary of the Valloire French Series Enduro and it went down in style, securing itself as a classic that will not be forgotten by many of the riders for a long time," said Enduro World Series Managing Director Chris Ball. "The diversity we saw in the top 10 in the men's and women's, in ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, is a real testament to the demands of enduro mountain biking. It's physically and mechanically challenging. I think this weekend was a bit of a surprise to those who expected the alpine specialists to dominate."
The next round - number four - will be in La Thuile, Italy on July 12-13.
Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti / Fox Shox Factory Team | 1:20:40 |
| 2 | Damien Oton (Fra) Devinci/Alltricks.com Enduro R | 0:00:04 |
| 3 | Rene Wildhaber (Swi) Trek Factory Racing Enduro Te | 0:00:04 |
| 4 | Cedric Gracia (Fra) Santa Cruz | 0:00:28 |
| 5 | Yoann Barelli (Fra) Giant Factory Off Road | 0:00:54 |
| 6 | Curtis Keene (USA) Specialized Racing Team | 0:01:14 |
| 7 | Alexandre Cure (Fra) Rocky Mountain Urge BP Team | 0:01:17 |
| 8 | Thomas Lapeyrie (Fra) Scott SR Suntour Enduro Team | 0:01:19 |
| 9 | Benjamin Cruz (USA) Cannondale Overmountain | 0:01:29 |
| 10 | Joe Barnes (GBr) Canyon Factory Enduro Team | 0:01:31 |
| 11 | Justin Leov (NZl) Trek Factory Racing Enduro Te | 0:01:43 |
| 12 | Florian Nicolai (Fra) Rocky Mountain Urge BP Team | 0:01:46 |
| 13 | Remy Absalon (Fra) Scott SR Suntour Enduro Team | 0:01:56 |
| 14 | Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Polygon UR | 0:01:59 |
| 15 | Theo Galy (Fra) Devinci/Alltricks.com Enduro R | 0:02:13 |
| 16 | Ludovic May (Swi) Canyon Factory Enduro Team | 0:02:16 |
| 17 | Bryan Regnier (Fra) | 0:02:20 |
| 18 | Nico Lau (Fra) Cube Action Team | 0:02:21 |
| 19 | Francois Bailly-Maitre (Fra) BMC Enduro Racing Team | 0:02:29 |
| 20 | Jamie Nicoll (NZl) Polygon UR | 0:02:41 |
| 21 | Aurelien Giordanengo (Fra) Polygon UR | 0:03:00 |
| 22 | Jordan Regnier (Fra) | 0:03:04 |
| 23 | Florian Golay (Fra) BMC Enduro Racing Team | 0:03:31 |
| 24 | Greg Callaghan (Irl) | 0:03:33 |
| 25 | Antonin Gourgin (Fra) | 0:03:37 |
| 26 | Cedric Ravanel (Fra) GT Pulse | 0:03:43 |
| 27 | Lukas Anrig (Swi) Norco Enduro World Team | 0:03:47 |
| 28 | Olivier Giordanengo (Fra) | 0:04:01 |
| 29 | Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) | 0:04:01 |
| 30 | Aaron Bradford (USA) BMC Enduro Racing Team | 0:04:02 |
| 31 | Bernat Guardia (Spa) Intense Go Pro | 0:04:06 |
| 32 | Adam Craig (USA) Giant Factory Off Road | 0:04:17 |
| 33 | Joseph Nation (NZl) | 0:04:27 |
| 34 | Lars Sternberg (USA) | 0:04:34 |
| 35 | Baptiste Gaillot (Fra) | 0:04:47 |
| 36 | Jeremy Arnould (Fra) | 0:05:04 |
| 37 | Alex Lupato (Ita) FRM Factory Racing Team | 0:05:17 |
| 38 | Maurian Marnay (Fra) | 0:05:19 |
| 39 | Thomas Decugis (Fra) | 0:05:20 |
| 40 | Nicola Casadei (SMr) | 0:05:29 |
| 41 | SOTTOCORNOLA Davide (Ita) | 0:05:35 |
| 42 | Liam Moynihan (GBr) | 0:05:45 |
| 43 | Josh Carlson (Aus) Giant Factory Off Road | 0:06:01 |
| 44 | Nejc Rutar (Slo) Unior Tools | 0:06:07 |
| 45 | Tobias Reiser (Ger) Focus Trail Team | 0:06:26 |
| 46 | Thomas Hartstern (Fra) | 0:06:27 |
| 47 | Iago Garay (Spa) Santa Cruz | 0:06:30 |
| 48 | Emmanuel Allaz (Swi) | 0:06:39 |
| 49 | Daniel Macmunn (Aus) | 0:06:47 |
| 50 | Guillaume Heinrich (Fra) | 0:07:12 |
| 51 | Nace Krivonog (Slo) | 0:07:15 |
| 52 | Nick Geddes (Can) Norco Enduro World Team | 0:07:20 |
| 53 | Max Schumann (Ger) | 0:07:27 |
| 54 | Vincent Colange (Fra) | 0:07:30 |
| 55 | Max Leitsberger (Aut) | 0:07:31 |
| 56 | Maxime Dekeyser (Fra) | 0:07:33 |
| 57 | Jonas Bahler (Swi) | 0:07:45 |
| 58 | Robert Kordez (Slo) | 0:07:48 |
| 59 | Denny Lupato (Ita) FRM Factory Racing Team | 0:07:50 |
| 60 | Gaetan Dupin (Fra) | 0:08:33 |
| 61 | Jakob Breitwieser (Ger) | 0:08:36 |
| 62 | Andrea Pirazzoli (Ita) FRM Factory Racing Team | 0:08:47 |
| 63 | James Hampton (NZl) | 0:08:49 |
| 64 | Xavier Murigneux (Fra) | 0:09:01 |
| 65 | Paul Aston (GBr) | 0:09:05 |
| 66 | Anze Zabjek (Slo) Unior Tools | 0:09:40 |
| 67 | Markus Reiser (Ger) Focus Trail Team | 0:09:53 |
| 68 | Quentin Arnaud (Fra) | 0:10:00 |
| 69 | Dorian Pascal (Fra) | 0:10:11 |
| 70 | Matthieu Seguy (Fra) | 0:10:16 |
| 71 | Yannick Pontal (Fra) | 0:10:24 |
| 72 | Thomas Blondeau (Fra) | 0:10:25 |
| 73 | Jeremy Voet (Fra) | 0:10:48 |
| 74 | Aurele Arnaud (Fra) | 0:10:56 |
| 75 | Damien Saint-Patrice (Fra) | 0:10:56 |
| 76 | Lachlan Blair (GBr) | 0:11:44 |
| 77 | David Rimailho (Fra) | 0:11:46 |
| 78 | Von Wurstemb Alois (Swi) | 0:11:50 |
| 79 | Simon Andre (Fra) Orbea Enduro Crew | 0:11:57 |
| 80 | Peter Mlinar (Slo) | 0:12:02 |
| 81 | Ian Coates (Irl) | 0:12:10 |
| 82 | Juuso Pihlaja (Fin) | 0:12:28 |
| 83 | Nicolas Legrand (Fra) | 0:12:32 |
| 84 | Gael Wirz (Fra) | 0:12:40 |
| 85 | Thomas Escudier (Fra) | 0:12:44 |
| 86 | Yoan Pesenti (Fra) | 0:12:53 |
| 87 | Pierre Lehry (Fra) | 0:12:55 |
| 88 | Alexander Rudigier (Ger) | 0:13:10 |
| 89 | Clement Benoit (Fra) | 0:13:39 |
| 90 | Peter Ostroski (USA) | 0:13:42 |
| 91 | Christophe Trognon (Fra) | 0:13:47 |
| 92 | Klas Oberg (Swe) | 0:13:52 |
| 93 | Matthew Ineson (GBr) | 0:13:54 |
| 94 | Yohann Vachette (Fra) | 0:14:01 |
| 95 | Evgeny Shipilov (Rus) | 0:14:09 |
| 96 | Henrik Karppinen (Fin) | 0:14:20 |
| 97 | Elliot Lees (Fra) | 0:14:46 |
| 98 | Adrien Bartole (Fra) | 0:14:54 |
| 99 | Michael Gray (GBr) | 0:14:58 |
| 100 | Florian Findeisen (Ger) | 0:15:00 |
| 101 | Ismael Muller (Swi) | 0:15:07 |
| 102 | Richie Rude (USA) Yeti / Fox Shox Factory Team | 0:15:25 |
| 103 | Ulysse Francoglio (Fra) | 0:15:27 |
| 104 | Anthony Balester (Fra) | 0:15:29 |
| 105 | Andreas Tschanz (Swi) | 0:15:57 |
| 106 | Baptiste Remblier (Fra) | 0:16:12 |
| 107 | Thomas Jouet-Pastre (Fra) | 0:16:34 |
| 108 | Quentin Champion (Fra) | 0:16:49 |
| 109 | Julien Knuchel (Swi) | 0:16:50 |
| 110 | Michel Angelini (Ita) | 0:16:56 |
| 111 | Thibaut Legastelois (Fra) | 0:17:07 |
| 112 | Gaylord Delamarliere (Swi) | 0:17:52 |
| 113 | Maxime Levert (Fra) | 0:18:03 |
| 114 | Thibaut Poncet (Fra) | 0:18:11 |
| 115 | Alan Stokes (Irl) | 0:18:13 |
| 116 | Damien Guichard | 0:18:27 |
| 117 | Andrea Scappini (Ita) | 0:18:27 |
| 118 | Eric Regallet (Fra) | 0:18:34 |
| 119 | Clement Comte (Fra) | 0:18:35 |
| 120 | James Shirley (GBr) | 0:18:53 |
| 121 | Florent Bois (Fra) | 0:18:53 |
| 122 | Thomas Di Litta (Swi) | 0:19:09 |
| 123 | Jean-Baptiste Gali (Fra) | 0:19:17 |
| 124 | Franck Dalla Costa (Fra) | 0:19:40 |
| 125 | David Schmied (Ger) | 0:19:51 |
| 126 | Julien Brosse (Fra) | 0:20:05 |
| 127 | Martin Maes (Bel) GT Factory Racing | 0:20:50 |
| 128 | Andy Hyam (GBr) | 0:21:31 |
| 129 | Sam Gerrett (GBr) | 0:21:34 |
| 130 | Mark Scott (GBr) | 0:21:47 |
| 131 | Sean Glynn (Irl) | 0:22:29 |
| 132 | Daniel Prijkel (Ned) | 0:22:44 |
| 133 | Conor Swaine (Irl) | 0:22:50 |
| 134 | PEYSSONNEAUX Sebastien (Fra) | 0:23:15 |
| 135 | Nicolas Mavit (Fra) | 0:23:20 |
| 136 | Bjorn Petterson (Swe) | 0:23:21 |
| 137 | Meyer-Krentle Philipp (Ger) | 0:23:27 |
| 138 | Thomas Boch (Fra) | 0:23:57 |
| 139 | Vincent Piquet (Fra) | 0:24:42 |
| 140 | Andrea Mori (Ita) | 0:25:38 |
| 141 | Even Braaten (Nor) | 0:26:20 |
| 142 | Erwin Mattesich (Ita) | 0:26:23 |
| 143 | Martin Larsson (Swe) | 0:26:36 |
| 144 | Walker Shaw (USA) | 0:26:36 |
| 145 | Stephane Besacier (Fra) | 0:26:52 |
| 146 | Chris Panozzo (Aus) | 0:27:01 |
| 147 | Mathias Havaux (Bel) | 0:27:18 |
| 148 | Pierre Mommessin (Fra) | 0:28:00 |
| 149 | Damien Delorme (Fra) | 0:28:06 |
| 150 | Guilhem Lamoise (Fra) | 0:28:12 |
| 151 | Julien Mairot (Fra) | 0:28:25 |
| 152 | Matthias Schmid (Swi) | 0:29:12 |
| 153 | Pascal Knuchel (Swi) | 0:29:39 |
| 154 | Benoit Beltritti (Fra) | 0:29:48 |
| 155 | Jeremie Teuma (Fra) | 0:30:23 |
| 156 | Yannick Offredi (Fra) | 0:31:05 |
| 157 | Andy White (Swe) | 0:32:39 |
| 158 | Massimiliano Caroli (Ita) | 0:32:55 |
| 159 | Gaetan Ritz (Fra) | 0:34:01 |
| 160 | Cyril Ben Said (Fra) | 0:34:22 |
| 161 | Antoine Machin (Fra) | 0:34:40 |
| 162 | Clement Haudrechy (Fra) | 0:35:00 |
| 163 | Gaetan Falaize (Fra) | 0:35:24 |
| 164 | Inko Iriarte (Spa) | 0:35:34 |
| 165 | Daniel Naftali (Ita) | 0:36:30 |
| 166 | Keith Brock (Irl) | 0:37:13 |
| 167 | Vandenbrouck Olivier (Bel) | 0:39:00 |
| 168 | Andre Anthony (Fra) | 0:40:14 |
| 169 | Guillaume Farin (Fra) | 0:43:29 |
| 170 | Romain Lopez (Fra) | 0:52:42 |
| 171 | Andrew Devine (GBr) | 0:55:00 |
| 172 | Jake Paddon (NZl) | 0:55:05 |
| 173 | Damien Pages (Fra) | 1:04:01 |
| 174 | Arno Faucher (Fra) | 1:04:04 |
| 175 | Aurelien Ferriere (Fra) | 1:04:56 |
| 176 | Renaud Havaux (Bel) | 1:31:26 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tracy Moseley (GBr) Trek Factory Racing Enduro Te | 1:29:50 |
| 2 | Anne Caroline Chausson (Fra) Ibis | 0:01:37 |
| 3 | Anneke Beerten (Ned) Specialized Racing Team | 0:02:02 |
| 4 | Isabeau Courdurier (Fra) Rocky Mountain Urge BP Team | 0:05:23 |
| 5 | Cecile Ravanel (Fra) GT Pulse | 0:06:42 |
| 6 | Rosara Joseph (NZl) Yeti / Fox Shox Factory Team | 0:06:58 |
| 7 | Meggie Bichard (NZl) | 0:07:19 |
| 8 | Ines Thoma (Ger) Canyon Factory Enduro Team | 0:07:32 |
| 9 | Anita Gehrig (Swi) | 0:08:30 |
| 10 | Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) | 0:10:34 |
| 11 | Kelli Emmett (USA) Giant Factory Off Road | 0:10:53 |
| 12 | Carolin Gehrig (Swi) | 0:11:45 |
| 13 | Katy Winton (GBr) | 0:12:08 |
| 14 | Gabby Molloy (NZl) | 0:12:52 |
| 15 | Morgane Jonnier (Fra) | 0:13:20 |
| 16 | Emily Horridge (GBr) | 0:13:41 |
| 17 | Anka Martin (NZl) | 0:14:06 |
| 18 | Laura Rossin (Ita) | 0:15:14 |
| 19 | Chiara Pastore (Ita) | 0:16:23 |
| 20 | Axelle Murigneux (Fra) | 0:16:35 |
| 21 | Cecilia Thomasson (Swe) | 0:19:08 |
| 22 | Valentina Macheda (Ita) Ibis | 0:19:44 |
| 23 | Kerstin Koegler (Ger) BMC Enduro Racing Team | 0:20:19 |
| 24 | Hannah Barnes (GBr) | 0:21:13 |
| 25 | Kristien Nelen (Bel) | 0:24:21 |
| 26 | Cait Elliott (Irl) | 0:24:31 |
| 27 | Alexandra Marchal (Bel) | 0:24:50 |
| 28 | Hanna Oletra (Swe) | 0:26:05 |
| 29 | Michelle Muldoon (Irl) | 0:26:06 |
| 30 | Nina Rupnik (Slo) | 0:29:41 |
| 31 | Diana Margraff (Ecu) | 0:49:02 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrien Dailly (Fra) | 1:25:34 |
| 2 | Elliot Trabac (Fra) Scott SR Suntour Enduro Team | 0:00:37 |
| 3 | Sebastien Claquin (Fra) | 0:00:47 |
| 4 | Conor Lavelle (Irl) | 0:07:52 |
| 5 | Clement Decugis (Fra) | 0:08:42 |
| 6 | Rudy Lemeunier (Fra) | 0:15:39 |
| 7 | Gatien Pernet (Fra) GT Pulse | 0:17:34 |
| 8 | Jerome Muller (Swi) | 0:26:56 |
| 9 | Axel Fresquet (Fra) | 0:31:11 |
| 10 | Ferran Jorba (Spa) Intense Go Pro | 0:32:19 |
| 11 | Eliott Baud (Fra) | 0:42:28 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jared Graves | 1300 | pts |
| 2 | Justin Leov | 1170 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Damien Oton | 1160 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tracy Moseley | 1150 | pts |
| 2 | Anne Caroline Chausson | 1100 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Cecile Ravenel | 930 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robin Matot | 620 | pts |
| 2 | Sebastien Claquin | 520 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Pedro Burns | 470 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trek Factory Racing Enduro Team | 3410 | pts |
| 2 | Rocky Mountain Urge BP Team | 3050 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Canyon Factory Enduro Team | 2495 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
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