Saturday’s practice went well for Gee; unfortunately, teammate Marc Beaumont crashed into a wooden stake at speed. The stake shattered but Marc escaped with just bruises – still enough to hamper his pedalling and keep him from any further part in the race.

Sunday’s seeding was super wet and slippery with riders ploughing everywhere and lots more crashes but Gee rode with assurance to take the lead by 3.43 seconds.

Race day saw a big improvement in the weather; the sun came out and the track became dusty and faster as the day went on.  The course itself is short but in great shape – it has plenty of testing sections – from rooty and technical to flat pedally stretches. Gee faced the added challenge of avoiding the spectators who pressed closer and closer during his race run to get the best view.
Gee Atherton was the last man down, he put in a flawless run to better his seeding time and take the win from home favorite Marcus Klausmann by an awesome 6.16 seconds; Andrew Neethling finished third 0.3 seconds behind Klausmann.

Gee said “That was awesome, Marcus Klausmann set a challenge and these guys on the sidelines lifted me all the way. At this stage of the season it’s all about race preparation so when I’m in that start gate it feels like a World Cup.”

Results:

1st     Gee Atherton (GT Factory Racing) - 2:05.663   +0

2nd   Marcus Klausmann (Ghost Factory Racing) - 2:11.827   +6.1654

3rd    Andrew Neethling (Giant Factory Off Road)  - 2:12.152    +6.489

4th    Marcelo Gutierrez (Giant Factory Off Road) - 2:12.593  +6.930

5th    Wyn Masters (Team Bulls) - 2:13.094   +7.431

Photos: Thomas Dietze / Source: Atherton Racing

Jared’s training is legendary, so there was no doubt he would commit 100% to becoming a great enduro racer. His first indication came at the Australian National Championships this year -- he finished eight in the pro cross-country race and less than an hour after his race, qualified first in downhill and went on to place second in the finals.

Fast forward to the first race in the Enduro World Series in Punta Ala, Italy this weekend. There was endless debate about what type of rider would excel in the new format and the field was packed with the biggest name in our sport. The Yeti crew felt confident Jared would be in the hunt.

Here’s Jared’s diary during the week of training and racing...

Monday, May 15 - I arrived in Florence straight from Australia, collected the hire car then off to Punta Ala. For sure, it was a mission, finding my way out of the airport. Being solo with just a printed Google map and driving on the wrong side of the road was tough. CRAZY Italian drivers and no street signs made the trip an adventure. Eventually I just decided to wing it. I knew the venue was southwest, so that’s where I headed. My plan, surprisingly, worked out very well.

Once I arrived in Punta, I built my bike, got groceries, unpacked and then went out for an easy spin to check out stages 4 and 5. Stage 4 and 5 are definitely the more mellow trails, such good flow and just plain good fun! Grabbed dinner and headed off to bed ready to get some big days riding in over the next few days.

Tuesday, May 14th - Jet-lag is a killer sometimes, but I generally like it when I am wide awake at 5am and ready to get on with the day. By 6 am I was out on the trails. I had all the trails to myself, the sun was out and I was loving it. What a way to start the day.

I took a quick break and early lunch. Late morning, I decided it was time to check out the first three stages. This is where things got a little frustrating. After four hours out riding and about 4000 vertical meters climbing we had finally checked out the the first three stages. We then saw a bunch of riders shuttling with quads, moto's, and trucks. They were doing four runs to our one and saving a load of energy.

To me this is not really in the 'spirit of enduro' that people keep talking about, but I guess as soon as you call something a World Series with a World Champion to be crowned, things change. I've trained way too hard to be at a major disadvantage, so I planned to shuttle as much as we could over the coming days.

Wednesday, May 15th - Again, I was up nice and early for another solo spin of stages four and five (which can't be shuttled, at least not in any way that I know of). Another awesome morning, two runs on each and a good start to the day!

11 am and it was shuttle o'clock. We only had a hire car, which meant part shuttles, the rough roads wouldn't allow the car all the way up top. But it was good to save the legs a bit and get in some more riding, even though there was still a lot of climbing involved.

This is where my preparation paid off. Some solid study on what the trails were like lead me to believe a more aggressive bike setup would be the way to go. I chose a Maxxis 2.5 EXO 3c Minion front and rear, tubeless of course! Added an extra 5 psi in the Fox 34's and an extra 10 psi in the Float X CTD out back. I switched to  a 50mm mm stem from the 70mm I was riding at home, and my bike felt right at home on the VERY rough and fast trails.

Stages 1,2, and 3 were to my liking - actually very similar to the trails that the SB66 was designed for, fast, rocky and unforgiving! Loving it!

This is where things get tricky... you need an easy 48 hrs leading up to the race to be fresh and ready to roll on race day, so squeezing in that last practice while freshening up proves to be a bit of a juggling act. Time management over the next few days is going to be very important!

Thursday, May 16th - The predicted rains for today rolled in last night, which is giving me a bit of a forced rest. Sunny skies are predicted for the weekend so there isn't much point going out and sliding around in the mud. I'm taking my first moments to myself since I've landed, getting on top of some emails, and letting the body recover a bit. Also, a perfect time to do some helmet cam footage study from the past two days riding to learn the tracks a bit better.

Friday, May 17 - More overnight rain, and very slippery conditions. I  decided to just take it easy and check out how the tracks were changing and if they were getting cut up from the runs in the mud. The rain has totally transformed the tracks -- they are full on World Cup DH status rough. The punchy climbs were boggy and slow, very physical now, but really enjoyed the riding today. Unfortunately, a couple bad line choices ended up in some mechanical issues which resulted in quite a stressful next 24 hours!

Saturday, May 18th - Sun’s out guns out! Bike was back to 100% perfect working order, and it was time to head off and do a final check of stage four and five. They were both drying nicely, especially stage five, which was top to bottom hero traction, such good fun! Focus of the day though was on recovery with 6000 ft of climbing over 62km in the dirt and mud to ride tomorrow, I needed to freshen up.

PM was the prologue which is a showcase for the spectators, done street race style, down through the streets of a nearly town. After washing my bike and making sure everything was 100%, I headed off for the prologue. Practice went until 5pm, but with me arriving at 4pm, and 500 riders to practice, I only got in one run. It’s gonna have to do...

Then the rain came down, just to make things more interesting! My plan was to just not crash, you don't want to throw away the whole race in a 40 second stage when there’s going to be close to 30 minutes of timed race stages to come tomorrow. So I kept it simple, and casual, and just tried to make it down with myself and my bike in one piece. To my surprise I came in 8th fastest, pretty happy with that!

Ready for a big one tomorrow. Weatherman says its going to rain, which will make things interesting for sure, but I'm ready for whatever, can't wait!

Sunday, May 19th, Race Day - Yep, there was overnight rain, but not as much as predicted - just enough to keep thing interesting.

The first two stages were long, rough, rocky, muddy, rooty, rough, physical, tiring and rough! The call "world cup DH on trail bikes…. with some pedaling" was being thrown around a lot! My plan was to stay smooth and carry overall speed from top to bottom. I knew stages four and five would be my strongest, so I had to be within striking distance in these stages.I was very happy when I found out I was in 3rd overall after the first two stages.

Stage three and four were less physical and technical, but more about flow and speed maintenance. I knew had to push hard to try and push my way up the order, but I pushed a little too hard on stage three. I found a tree with my shoulder, nothing major, but a few seconds gone. Still, I ended up 2nd fastest on the stage, which gave me a lot of confidence for the final stage.

I wasn't really content to ride smooth and just make sure I got down safely. I really wanted a stage win! Stage four suited all my stregths the best, so it was now or never. My run was clean and fast, and to cut a long story short, I got my stage win. What a perfect way to end the day. I was two seconds off Jerome Clementz, who finished second, and fifteen seconds off Fabian Barel who took the win. But to stand on the podium with those guys was awesome!

Man I learnt a lot this week. It was very mentally and physically tough, 6-7 hours riding most days, and in the end, I got very limited shuttling. Enduro definitely combines the best of all forms of riding -- you can't have any weak points. The hype of this race was justified and I am looking forward to the next race.

Bike Set-up:
Yeti SB66c frame / medium
Fox RAD 34 and Float X 2014 fork and shock
Fox DOSS dropper post
DT Swiss EXC 1550 wheel set, ghetto/split tube tubeless
Maxxis 3C EXO Minion front and rear / 26psi front 29 psi rear.
Shimano XTR group, with Saint brake calipers
Renthal 740 wide fat bar lite and 50mm duo stem
Stages power meter

That's about it for now! Cheers!

Via Yeti Cycles

Both Manuel and Valentina took 13th place in their races, Paul Aston returned from injury, but we lost Dorian and Kike to injuries.

Manuel started tenth in the race and rode hard to claim 13th overall. In a stacked, international field like this, he fought off many established riders and this gives him a good start to take a top ten result over the course of the season. This also placed him as the second of the Italian riders.

Valentina was the first Italian woman home, putting her thirteenth overall in the women's race. Paul Aston returned from a ligament injury in his ankle, which had put him off the bike for a month. On race day he put in a solid ride to take 63rd.

The course at Punta Ala was always going to be one of the toughest tests of the year and it didn't disappoint. On the first day of training Dorian crashed hard training on PS1, dislocating his wrist. Fortunately nothing was broken, but he will be out of action for a month. On the second day of training Kike crashed on the same track, slightly dislocating his shoulder. He recovered well enough to compete on Sunday, but the injury took its toll on him.

Team manager Manuel Ducci says:
"It's been a tough week for us, with the injuries and I had influenza mid-week, which hurt my fitness. But to come away with both myself and Valentina in the top fifteen is a great achievement for us."

You can follow the team on: www.facebook.com/pages/Life-Cycle

450 Practice
Justin Barcia qualified first overall in the 450 Class followed by Canard, Stewart, Dungey and Villopoto rounding out the top five. ONE Industries and Rockstar Energy Racing’s Ryan Sipes, who moved up to the 450 Class this season while Davi Millsaps sits out to recover from leg injuries, turned in the thirteenth fastest overall time.

250 Practice
In the 250 Class, Eli Tomac was fastest overall in qualifying with ONE Industries and Rockstar Energy Racing rider Jason Anderson in second, followed by Baggett, Musquin and Roczen.

Anderson’s teammate, Nico Izzi, made his return to racing after missing the entirety of the Supercross season due to an injury late last year, qualified well in seventh.

450 Moto 1
James Stewart jumped out front for the early lead in the first 450 moto. However, Ryan Villopoto would quickly make his way past Stewart with Josh Grant and Ryan Dungey close behind.  A few laps later, Dungey also got by Stewart and moved into second.  Villopoto grew his lead with each new lap, shutting the door on any hopes of Dungey reeling him in like he did earlier this year in Minneapolis. By now, the top three riders had put some space between them and the rest of the field. Behind them was Trey Canard and Justin Barcia riding in fourth and fifth, each with quite a bit of daylight between them as well.

Amongst the rest of the field was ONE Industries and Rockstar Energy Racing rider Ryan Sipes, who finished his 2013 450 debut with a solid eighth place finish.

ONE Industries and JGR Yamaha rider Justin Brayton had an unfortunate first moto, going down on lap six due to a flat front tire. His mechanics changed his front wheel and he was able to complete the race, but not after falling two laps behind; he finished the race in thirty-third.

250 Moto 1
Blake Baggett grabbed the holeshot in the first 250 moto, followed closely by Marvin Musquin, One Industries and Rockstar Energy Racing rider Blake Wharton, Cooper Web and Eli Tomac.
Wharton’s ONE Industries and Rockstar Energy Racing teammate Nico Izzi got a decent start inside the top ten. He rode well during the first part of the race, but slid several positions to the middle of the field by the end of the race. Unfortunately for Wharton and Izzi’s teammate Jason Anderson, he did not get a good start; Anderson made contact with Musquin immediately off the line, and got pushed back deep in the pack going into the first turn.

Musquin made his way past Baggett to grab the race lead, but it would be short lived. Ken Roczen, who was charging through the field gaining positions quickly, passed Tomac and Musquin, in the same lap, and took over the front spot. With Musquin now is second, Tomac was next to put the pressure on the Frenchman, with the rookie Webb in tow.  Tomac would later get by Musquin, along with Baggett, pushing Musquin down to fourth. Rookie Darryn Durham rounded out the top five.

Despite the bad start ONE Industries rider Jason Anderson worked his way up several positions to just outside the top ten in twelfth.

450 Moto 2
In the second moto it was Stewart once again grabbing the holeshot and the early lead with Dungey and Villopoto rounding out the top three. Stewart, who was determined to not give up his position so easily this time around, battled with Dungey for the first ten minutes of the race.  Dungey made a couple of mistakes while attempting to pass the number seven, which opened the door for Villopoto to get around him.  Once around Dungey, RV wasted no time and immediately made short work of Stewart and was out in front. The top three riders would finish as they did in moto one; Villopoto with the sweep, followed by Dungey and Stewart.

Trey Canard found himself once again in open space, in fourth. Barcia, who got a bad start, made his way through the field to finish fifth.

Late in the race, everyone’s attention was on the heated battle between ONE Industries and Rockstar Energy Racing rider Ryan Sipes and Weston Peick for seventh. Peick had caught Sipes and the two fought hard for several laps.  Peick was eventually able to get past Sipes and started to pull away. But it wasn’t over yet; Sipes dug deep and with a little over a lap to go reclaimed the position from Peick, and held on to take sixth.

Justin Brayton started the moto in seventeenth. He worked his way up a few positions to finish in thirteenth.

250 Moto 2
Zach Bell grabbed the holeshot in the second 250 moto but was almost immediately passed by Baggett. Teammates Blake Wharton and Jason Anderson both got decent starts inside the top ten.

Meanwhile, Roczen, who had other plans for the front spot, challenged Baggett for the lead. The two went back and forth for a few turns but it was Roczen who would come out the victor.  Osborne and Musquin got together and went down allowing several riders to get by.  Jason Anderson battled with Eli Tomac for third, but was unable to hold him off and finished up with a sixth place finish.

Baggett made a late charge at race leader Roczen, but was unable to get close enough. Roczen swept the 250 class followed by Baggett, Tomac, Musquin, Osborne, and Anderson.

Source: vurbmoto

Alliance Jersey

Sector Shorts

16 year old Martin Maes put in a sensational weekend’s riding to take 4^th place in the opening Round of the Enduro World series at Punta Ala, Italy with team-mate and mentor Dan Atherton taking an impressive fifth.

Local organisers claimed that the race would be “The hardest on the circuit” and there was certainly no shortage of technical trails across Sunday’s  Stages.

Before the bulk of the racing on Sunday the riders took on the prologue stage on Saturday night, with damp conditions the short course took on a urban feel snaking through the streets of Castiglione della Pescaia. Martin started his campaign strong with a third spot amongst some amazing talent, Dan made a small mistake just 2 seconds back in 13^th.

Back on rough ground and on the following day stage 1 was reported as greasy. Dan said “I’d been woken a few times in the night by heavy showers so we knew it was going to be muddy.” The trail was fast from the very start with tricky rock sections of varying gradient which tested both precision at speed and ability to negotiate such terrain against the gradient “The amount of mud on rider’s goggles made it really difficult to see but everybody rode it flat out regardless – they were really pinning it” Dan said. He rode the stage steadily coming in a respectable 7^th then got progressively faster throughout the day, Martin blasted his way to third – announcing his presence at this level in no uncertain terms!

Because of weather warnings in the run up to the event stage 2 Sasserelli was cancelled but luckily on the day the rain held off and after Stage 1 was out of the way the riding conditions were pretty much perfect.

Stage 3 Rock-oh is known as the toughest trail in the entire region with treacherous rock channels and gruelling sprint sections. Martin rode an amazing race to come in 4^th with Dan just behind in 5^th place.

With two to go it was looking like Dan and Martin would be fighting for the final spot on the podium in a three way battle with Australian Jared Graves, up front and comfortably in the lead was Fabien Barel with Jerome Clementz a good few seconds back in 2^nd.

Known as “The Guardian” stage 4 proved to be no such thing for Martin who crashed heavily but still managed to hang on to 12^th, Dan rode all three parts of this stage strongly claiming another fifth place.

Cala Violina the fifth and final stage is the most technical trail of all and both GT Factory Racing riders rode it with assurance – Dan claimed 3^rd on the stage confirming his 5^th overall while Martin tired slightly with a 12^th place delighting everybody with a 4^th Overall.

Dan said “I’m stoked.  Martin rode like a veteran. I was so impressed, we’d practised together and he was taking on board advice and following my lines because I’d had more chance to practise here then on the day  he was quite calm and managed to hold it together over the entire course which is an undertaking for anybody – never mind a 16 year old.”

Martin commented “ It’s a huge surprise for me taking a top 5 but I am very happy, riding with Dan was great fun and we can both work hard now ahead of Round 2”

Round 2 will take place at Val d Alos, France at the end of June so you can guarantee there will be some serious training done by all before then.

Results:

1. Fabien Barel

2. Jerome Clementz

3. Jared Graves

4. Martin Maes

5. Dan Atherton

All photos: Sven Martin

Via: Atherton Racing

Following on from his qualifying win yesterday, Nagl made a strong start to the opening moto into fifth position, and was third by the end of the second lap. The determined German racer put a strong attack on fellow Honda pilot David Philippaerts, and passed him over the finish jump two laps later to take up second position.

While Nagl was unable to make an impression on race leader Antonio Cairoli, the Honda pilot had to maintain a fierce rhythm for the majority of the moto, which escalated into a real last lap dash to hold off a pressuring Clement Desalle; a battle Nagl won with great determination, to take second position at the chequered flag.

Teammate Bobryshev, who made his comeback this weekend following injury, had a steady start to the race, and while riding with caution the Russian racer began to find his feet once again, to finish in 12th position, although he was disappointed with the result.

In the second race, a SuperFinal with MX1 and MX2 combined, Nagl didn’t get such a good start, and was ninth at the end of lap one, while Bobryshev had made a strong first lap to pass a lot of riders and take up seventh position. Bobryshev was fighting hard, but he was taken down by another rider on lap three and came back to 11th by the chequered flag.

Meanwhile Nagl picked his way through the field on a track that was particularly narrow and difficult to find passing opportunities for sixth position, which gave him fourth overall on equal points to a podium finish aboard his Dunlop-shod factory CRF450R.

Antonio Cairoli won both races. 

Max Nagl: 4th overall
"The riding has been great all weekend. I had a good start in the first heat; I was able to pass some guys in the first few laps and finish second behind Tony. I was really happy and proud with this result for everyone, including myself, the team and the mechanics. I had a good recovery before the second heat, which I needed, as the first race was tough with Clement pushing me nearly the whole race. In the second moto I had a good gate jump, but they had ripped the start and I got kicked up a bit when I hit a big lump of mud going down the straight, which cost me a few positions. To finish fourth on the same points is nice, but I am disappointed to have missed the podium of course. When we get back I'll be taking a few days off to rest, and then we'll make a plan for the training to try and be prepared for France with the aim of a podium again."

Evgeny Bobryshev: 11th overall

“In warm-up I was feeling better than yesterday and I tried to push to find the limit with the leg. In the first race I had a bad start and I was really fighting with my bike because I had arm-pump; I was thinking about my leg in the turns, so I was braking early, and the whole race I struggled. I was very disappointed, and in the second race I wanted to improve. I had a bad jump from the gate, but then I held the speed around the first corner and got into seventh. I was quite happy, as I had good speed in the beginning; after the first race I had told myself I needed to block out the pain. I was fighting well, passing a few riders, but Tommy put me down in a corner, so it was difficult to come back. It was very narrow here, which made it tough to pass, but I’d like to say thanks to my team, to Honda Brazil for making such a fantastic job at this event, and everyone who has been behind me. The organisation here is fantastic, the crowd is loud and supportive, so I’ve had a good weekend. Now I am going to be working even harder in the week with a few races before France to try and get more confidence with a bit more speed to come back strong.”

Lorenzo Resta: Honda World Motocross Team Manager
“It was a good weekend for us with Max winning the qualifying race, and some strong battles today. He fought very hard to the chequered flag in the first moto, and although the start wasn’t perfect in race two, he demonstrated some really gritty riding throughout. It was particularly difficult to pass here, but he did a brilliant job of coming back through. We scored the same points as the podium, so it’s unfortunate Max couldn’t be rewarded for his efforts, but we can take comfort in the knowledge he finished on the same points. With Bobryshev it was a tough weekend, as he is coming back, and he is finding his confidence after missing so many races. I think we can go home from here happy, because we can show that we are in the top group, which we hope to continue at the next round.”

Via Honda Pro Racing ]]> http://oneindustries.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/bobryshev_gp07_br2013_4936-150x150.jpg