ALN second in Enduro World Series Val di Fassa
Richie Rude returns to dominate in the Dolomites, B.C's Lucy Shick wins U21
It was a great day in the Dolomites for Canadian women at Round 4 of the Enduro World Series. Andreane Lanthier Nadeau came out on top in a back and forth battle, earning second in Val di Fassa, Italy. In the Under 21 race, B.C.’s Lucy Schick landed her first EWS win.
The men had slightly less luck. ALN’s teammate Jesse Melamed crashed hard on the first stage of racing on Saturday, breaking his ankle and being forced out of the race.
ALN ascends: EWS Val di Fassa women
Isabeau Courdurier (Intense Mavic Collective) extended her 2019 winning streak to a fourth straight EWS round in Italy. The French woman was again near-perfect, winning four of the five race stages.
The only rider able to steal a stage from Courdurier was Andreane Lanthier Nadeau (Rocky Mountain Race Face). ALN won the fourth stage by a massive 1 minute 27 second margin. That helped push her solidly into second, after a back and forth battle with Israel’s Noga Korem (GT Factory Racing) over the opening stages. Korem would go on to finish third by the days end.
ALN wasn’t the only Canadian at the sharp end of the race, though. Miranda Miller (Kona Gravity Racing) finished 11th. Close behind her were Georgia Astle (14th) and Olympic ski cross medallist Brittany Phelan (Juliana Bicycles) in 15th. Rebecca Beaumont, who normally races World Cup cross country, finished 34th.
In the Under 21 race, Lucy Schick won with a time of 48:32.760. The Canadian won the first two of five stages, jumping out to an early lead. Lean Maunsell of Ireland put in a late race surge to win the final, Queen Stage. That brought Maunsell to within just 1.11 seconds of Schick’s winning time after nearly 50 minutes of racing. Polly Henderson of Great Britain finished third.
Rude Returns: EWS Val di Fassa men
Richie Rude (Yeti – Fox Shox Factory Team) made an emphatic return to the Enduro World Series on Saturday. After serving an eight month suspension for an anti-doping infraction, the American won in dominant fashion in the Dolomites. Like Courdurier, Rude won all but one stage of racing to take the win in Italy.
Sam Hill (Chain Reaction Cycles / Mavic) was the only rider able to knock Rude off the top spot, winning Stage 3. Hill would end up second at the end of the day. Florian Nicolai (Canyon Factory Racing) continued his incredibly consistent season, finishing third. Nicolai, who has only been off the podium once this season, extends his lead in the series overall after Val di Fassa. Hill moves into second in the season standings.
Jesse Melamed had been the top ranked Canadian going into Italy. With the suspension of Martin Maes earlier in the week, Melamed moved into second overall. It would not last long, though. Melamed crashed on the first stage of racing, breaking his ankle in the process.
Remi Gauvin (Rocky Mountain Race Face) was third overall going into the weekend. Finishing 22nd, as the top Canadian, sees Gauvin drop to 6th in the incredibly tight Pro Men’s series standings.
Rhys Verner (Kona Factory Racing) landed his best result of the season in Italy. Verner was close behind Gauvin, finishing 26th by the end of five stages of racing. Along the way, the young Squamish rider landed a 13th place on the lengthy opening stage, with a time of 9 minutes 30 seconds.
Max Leyen (Norco Canadian Enduro Development Team) was the next best Canadian, finishing 70th in Val di Fassa.
In the Under 21 Men’s race, Carter Krasny finished sixth for Blueprint Canadian Enduro Development Team. Antoine Vidal (Commencal Vallnord Enduro Team) took his third win in four EWS races this season.
