Enduro World Series will end re-start early

Call made to stop shortened 2020 EWS after two Italian rounds

Photo by: Enduro World Series

Terry McKall September 8, 2020

Just as the World Cup is set to get its delayed season going, the Enduro World Series is cutting 2020 short. Organizers announced the delayed season would end early. Two Italian venues will host races in September to close out the season.

The EWS resumed racing just one week ago in Zermatt, Switzerland. Whistler’s Jesse Melamed won on a challenging course, in epic weather. The complications of hosting an international event weren’t the only challenge organizers faced in Zermatt. Racers were greeted on race day by thunderstorms, rain, and even snow. The severe weather in the high mountains forced the event distance to be cut in half on race day.

While the Zermatt was successful, even with the wild weather, the EWS has decided to end its 2020 season early. This means two postponed rounds are now cancelled. This includes one round in France and one split round in Austria and Czech Republic.

EWS Enduro World Series Finale Ligure — Finale Ligure is the iconic venue that has wrapped up EWS seasons for years. Image: Enduro World Series

Double headers in Italian Riviera and return to Finale

On the positive side, there are still four races left. EWS will head to the Italian Riviera for two double weekends of racing. A new venue, Pietra Ligure, will host the first two races. Then the Enduro World Series will wrap up for 2020 with a double weekend in Finale Ligure.

EWS Managing Director Chris Ball said that returning to Finale seemed like a fitting way to close out the abbreviated season. The Italian venue has traditionally hosted the closing EWS round of racing.

“We’ve finished our season on the iconic coastal trails of Finale Ligure since the sport’s international launch in 2013,” said Ball in the announcement. “It’s with this positive spirit and support from our local and industry partners around the world that we have made the decision to wrap up a challenging year for everyone in what has become our spiritual home. We’ve shown that we can host international bike races in this era and learned a lot that has empowered us for 2021. A heartfelt thank you to everyone for the support and we look forward to four great bike races here in Pietra and Finale to round out 2020.”

EWS Pietra Ligure will debut on the weekend of 19-20, September.

Finale Ligure will close out the Enduro World Series 2020 calendar on 25-26 September.