Sublime sea views, the ultimate end-of-season atmosphere and post-race beers with the sand between your toes – the culminating round of the EWS 2016 hit Finale Ligure once more to a resounding success. We grabbed some precious moments of peace before the party got started to check out even more riders and their bikes.
The Gehrig twins have ended the Enduro World Series 2016 with huge grins – and rightly so: Anita claimed third overall, while twin sister Caro finished 5th. Both riders race for the Ibis Cycles Enduro Race Team.
Germany’s 19-year-old Raphaela Richter took the overall victory in the U21 category on board her Radon Slide Carbon 160. With another two minute advantage to her name in Finale Ligure, her victory was never really up for question, and her clocking of 49.02 min would have seen her finish tenth in the senior women’s field.EWS Champion Cécile Ravanel’s overall lead was cemented before Finale Ligure, and she took to the start on the new COMMENCAL META AM V4.Dutch rider Anneke Beerten will be racing for GT Factory Racing Team at the 2017 EWS. And even though this year’s round at Finale Ligure came to a premature end due to an infection, Beerten is still ending the season on a high thanks to her third-placed finish at the 4X World Champs.More often found racing XCO for Focus XC Italy Team, South Tyrol’s 19-year-old Greta Seiwald grabbed the opportunity to toe the start line at the EWS in Finale Ligure: “I never would have expected to finish 3rd! Super cool!”Part of the Swiss national cyclocross team and riding for the ROSE Vaujany Team, Nathalie Schneitter has ridden three of this year’s Enduro World Series races, with 9th in Valberg marking her highest finish. The second day of racing in Finale was more suited to Schneitter thanks to the amount of pedaling, and the final stage with its sea views and hordes of spectators was her absolute favourite.ACROS sales manager Steffie Teltscher turned up at her first ever EWS race with her custom-made FOCUS SAM C. Her thoughts: “Tough, the toughest thing ever! But there’s an absolutely brilliant atmosphere and vibes!”Steffi Frankl built her NICOLAI ION 16 from the 2015 model year from the frame up, and admits that this custom approach has paid off, as she’s stoked with the bike. As a self-confessed amateur, Frankl said she was fraught with nerves at the start. She rides for the GIRLSRIDETOO.DE team, and has documented her thoughts on her first EWS race over on their website.Veronika Brüchle is a social work student based in Freiburg and rides for the STEVENS MTB Racing Team. She set off in Finale on the new STEVENS Sledge Max, and despite suffering a flat on stage 6, Brüchle says the EWS race in Italy’s Finale Ligure was a serious season highlight.After finishing third overall in the Specialized Enduro Series 2016, Lisa Policzka from the GHOST Riot Racing Team raced the final EWS series on her GHOST PathRIOT.Sweden’s Louise Paulin has been living and working in Finale Ligure as a ride guide for several years. She rides for the Team Airoh ION Santa Cruz, and her bike sports some distinguishing Italian components like the cranks, chainring and cassette from INGRID as well as the steel spring shock from EXT Racing Shox.
Switzerland’s Daniela Michel is a physiotherapist and part-time ride guide in the Bernese Oberland. Racing for a team based out of Sputnik bike shop, she rode her Specialized Enduro Expert Carbon 29 down in Finale.Current Italian MTB Enduro Champion 2016, Laura Rossin from Team Bike Garage Revolution Intense was unable to finish the EWS round in Finale after crashing out and braking the front brake lever. She rides a custom Intense Tracer 275C.Noga Korem is the reigning Israeli XCO champion. Valberg marked her first EWS race where she finished 6th, and her 7th place finish in Finale was another superb result. While she rode a Giant Reign Advanced 1 this season, she is looking for a team to represent next season.
Emily Horridge is a former downhiller from the UK and now lives in Les Arcs where she works as a mountain bike guide, introducing guests to the stunning singletrack of the French Alps. She has kept with big wheels on her Intense Carbine 29.Canadian doctor Geneviève Baril travels the world to compete in various enduro races. As an ambassador for Juliana Bicycles, she raced a Juliana Roubion 2016 for Muddbunnies Racing, a Canadian women’s team. Her bike was kitted out with DVO suspension consisting of a DVO Diamond and a Topaz T3Air.At the final EWS race of the year, Alice Grindheim from Norway rode a custom-built Turner RFX Carbon Enduro bike with Hope brakes and an oval chainring – thanks go to her boyfriend here, who lent her his bike as her own rig had some mechanicals that couldn’t be fixed before the race.
All our attempts to gather these riders and their bikes for a group photo were in vain, as the women settled on a dip in the Mediterranean instead. And could we blame them?
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As the proud father of Robin and Max-Philip, Manne has been there from the start and is the wise elder of the editorial team. He won his first cycling race in elementary school at a school sports day. After less successful attempts at football, he found his passion for cycling via endurance racing in 1989! The world of racing still consumes him and no one in the team knows the EWS pros better than Manne. As a former head analyst of a state agency, he knows how to do proper research and finds exclusive news that no one else has. He supports his sons in day-to-day business dealings as the authorised signatory for 41 Publishing – viva la familia!
