It has been an exciting showdown with more than 230 starters this weekend in Treuchtlingen: This is the last stop of the European Enduro Series presented by XS Power Drink so riders are not only fighting for the fastest time of the day, but also for the final overall ranking.
The last race of the series in Treuchtlingen featured not only one, but two premieres: This was the first time the European Series had visited Germany. The rather short, varied and technical trails were great to ride, no matter if you’re fighting for elusive points or just riding for fun. The wooded hills in the Altmühltal provided good terrain for some great stages: With steep sections, lots of roots, even more slippery stones and natural berms, the trails of Treuchtlingen was more than a match for the more alpine stops of the series.
The second premiere was that it was the first stop without any rain. And that’s a good thing, especially because the soil in Treuchtlingen is slippery even when dry. The freshly build first two stages had lots of loose soil, the challenge was to keep control of the bike all the time, as even a small slip-away would cost lots of time. Stage three started with a pedal-heavy flat section, crossed two old bomb craters and then went into a steep section.
Nico Lau
Stage four featured some really interesting parts, leaving much room for line choice: Steep sections with lots of loose rocks guaranteed some spectacular moves. Stage five and six were less technical but really fast. Wide corners, speedy berms and some jumpable elements ensured lot of fun.
The last stage was pedaly again, as it was the same track as the prologue the day before. It was interesting to see how much the times differentiated from the day before – 33 km, 900m of altitude and racing six other stages had definitely taken their toll.
Fastest in the Pro Men category was Cube Action Team rider Nicolas Lau (FRA) with a time of 15:02.51, in front of Robin Wallner (SWE – W-Racing) and André Wagenknecht (GER – Cube Action Team). Michal Prokop (CZE – Specialized Racing) returned back from an injury time-out with a solid fourth place in front of Fabian Scholz (GER – Focus Trail Team).
James Shirley & Robert Williams
The fastest Pro Woman of the day was Birgit Braumann (AUT – Trek Gravity Girls) who took the win before XC-racer Sofia Wiedenroth (GER – AMG Rotwild Racing) with less than 10 seconds lead and a total time of 18:50.08. Joint favorite Raphaela Richter (GER – Radon Factory Enduro) crashed in special stage 3 and couldn’t continue the race. So the third place went to Sandra Börner (GER – Fahrwerk Farnau) with Laura Brethauer (GER – Cube Action Team) and Alexa Hüni (GER – Team Centurion Vaude) on fourth and fifth place. Rudiger Jahnel (AUT – Specialized-mountainbiker.at) had the best time in the Masters category and placed in front of Benedikt Purner (AUT – O’fetzn Racing) and Remo Heutschi (SUI – gravityunion.ch). Michael Meister (GER – Stuttgarter Härte) beat Tobias Müller (GER) in the Amateur Men category and won. Third place went to Patrick Jirjahn (GER – HSB Heidenheim). Stephanie Frankl (GER – WOMB girlsridetoo.de) had the fastest time in the Amateur Women category, followed by Ilona Halk (GER – MTB Weiber) and Katrin Rahrig (GER).
Birgit Braumann
Today, it was not only the fastest of the day who were awarded, also the overall winner of the European Enduro Series. And it got exciting with many of the positions changing with this last race in Treuchtlingen. Robert Williams (GBR – UK WTB Enduro Team) defended his first place. Ludwig Döhl (GER – Cube Action Team) used his sixth place on the day to overtake James Shirley (GBR – Radon Factory Enduro) who got third in the end. The fourth place went to Samuel Shucksmith (GBR – Pro Ride Guides) in front of Markus Reiser (GER – Focus Trail Team). It was Birgit Braumann who had the best season in the Pro Women´s category, pushing Lorraine Truong (SUI – Norco Leysin) to second place in front of the injured Raphaela Richter.
The overall ranking in the Master-category was close, but in the end Benedikt Purners second place was enough for him to win in front of Rüdiger Jahnel and Remo Heutschi. In the Amateur Men category, Tobias Müller won with a comfortable lead and scored against Oliver Windler and Michael Meister on places two and three. Fastest Amateur Women of the series was Stephanie Frankl in front of Sabrina Morell (SUI) and Mirjam Wieser (SUI – freeride-connection.com).
In conclusion, the first year of the European Enduro Series was a huge success: With exciting and demanding trails, high-class starters and close racing, each of the five stops knew how to please the riders. Treuchtlingen, with its professional organisation and welcoming atmosphere was a well-worthy season-ender of the series and makes us impatient for the races next year! For more information visit enduroseries.eu or facebook.com/enduroseries.
Photos: © Hanno Polomsky
Results: enduroseries.eu