The third stop of the Specialized-SRAM Enduro Series took place in Samerberg, Bavaria, exciting both riders and spectators with amazing weather conditions and a wide variety of trails.
The Bikepark in Samerberg hosted the Specialized-SRAM Enduro Series for the third time in a row. The 24 kilometer circuit comprised of five demanding and fun special stages, awaiting the 335 riders. Stage one led through the Bikepark and made the most of the wooden park features, while the rest of the stages took in some of the area’s best natural trails. The transfer to the last stage was a steep climb, where riders had to work hard to gain 500 meters of altitude, but were rewarded with a beautiful panoramic view on Chiemsee and Inn. Also, the following stage was the favorite of most of the riders, descending from 1150 meters, a surprising amount of hikers and spectators had also climbed into the hills to cheer down the enduro racers. At the end of the day, every rider had climbed more than 1300 meters.
Anneke Beerten
The prologue took place on Saturday directly after training and was the first benchmark for the riders. Using different sections of Bikepark, it was a mixture of demanding climbing and a fourcross-like descent – so perfect conditions for Michal Prokop (CZE – Specialized) who dominated the field with a strong 2 seconds lead, finishing in a time of 58 seconds. Fastest in the women’s category was Anneke Beerten (NED – Specialized) with a 7 seconds lead.
For the top riders, the race started early on Sunday at 8:30. In addition to well-known German riders like Ludwig Döhl (GER – Cube Action Team), Fabian Scholz (GER – Focus Trail Team) and Petrik Brückner (GER – Radon Flow Team), the international starter field also featured rising stars such as austrians Matthias Stonig (AUT – MS Mondraker). Favourites in the womens category – in addition to Anneke Beerten – were Ines Thoma (GER – Canyon Factory Enduro Team) and the 16 year-old Raphaela Richter (Radon Factory Racing).
Michal Prokop
In the Pro Men category, Michal Prokop did not only dominate the prologue, but also the race on Sunday. With a total time of 12:47.15 he was able to position himself in front of Matthias Stonig from Austria. The fast Czech had the fastest time on the physically demanding first stage already and was able to hold his lead throughout the race. Ex-downhiller Matthias Stonig caught up some time on the rough stages and had the fastest time on stage 2. Focus-rider Fabian Scholz from Stuttgart took the third place while his teammates Tobias and Markus rides scored top 10 positions too. Matej Witko (SVK – CTM Racing Team) claimed his first podium coming in fourth, followed by Petrik Brückner in fifth position.
With a total stage time of 14:28.47 and a solid 32 seconds lead, Anneke Beerten continued her winning streak on this year´s Specialized-SRAM Enduro Series – great result! Second fastest of the day was Ines Thoma, followed by Raphaela Richter in third and Anita Gehrig (SUI – Specialized Twins Racing) and Antje Kramer (GER – Giant).
In the masters category, riders like Bas de Bever (NED), Wilfred van de Hatred (NED – Nicolai), Jelmer Pietersma (NED), Nino Antic (CRO – Giant), Remo Heutschi (SUI – DT Swiss) and Benedikt Purner (AUT – Liteville) ensured exciting racing. At the end of the day, Remo Heutschi was the fastest, flanked on the podium by Walter Martinschitz (AUT) and multiple Croatia Downhill Champion Nino Antic.
All in all, the third stop of the Specialized-SRAM Enduro Series was a big success, supported by the great weather and the summer feelings. “This was the best and most fun race season so far!”, Antje Kramer summarized the weekend – and many riders will agree.
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