Race Wrap: 2025 Enduro World Cup – Val di Fassa Italy
Two days and seven brutal stages of racing in the Italian Dolomites and the four South Africans keep charging!
| IMAGES: Sven Martin |
After two days of racing, Slawomir Lukasik (POL) and Ella Conolly (GBR) are the winners of the UCI Enduro World Cup in Val di Fassa. The seven-stage, 60km course featured 3057m of descending and 3316m of ascent in the mighty Dolomite Mountains of Italy. American powerhouse Richie Rude finished second some 13-seconds back with Canadian Jesse Melamed rounding out the podium, 17-seconds off the winner’s time.
“I was super-happy after the first day,” said Łukasik. “I felt that I could push really hard and it was a smooth day. I then struggled to sleep and I was really tired in the morning. I tried to push as hard as the day before, but it was really hard with the heat and also the track was sketchy at times. I had fun riding so I tried to stay smooth and had good momentum through the whole day. The altitude wasn’t the big issue, the bigger issue was the heat and it was a really hard day.”
“Every stage today I feel like I found that intensity which has been really nice. It has been super-hot and we’re at altitude so the sun feels really intense as well. Between every stage I was trying to stay on top of eating and drinking.” – said women’s winner Ella Conolly.
The first South African rider home was Keira Duncan: “Being my first international race of the season and only a week into my campaign, I’m real stoked on claiming 26th position on stage one and stage six. Stage six being the famous Tutti Frutti trail, it’s long, technical and super physical. I am real chuffed with my result on this stage. What I learned from this race is to not over think it or over analyze sections of trail, as this can waste time and energy.”
“Also, I conserved energy during practice by not repeating sections unless absolutely necessary. I also focused on the line that I felt suited me best and rode it to the best of my ability. Overall, this is an amazing venue to visit, never mind race. The race organization was well put together and it brought together a lot of great people. I spent some time socializing and the sense of community and engagement from a lot of the top athletes was really cool. At the end of the day, we’re all people who love riding out bikes, some are just insanely fast.” – continued Keira.
For Jason Boulle (WC), it was a rough weekend in Italy. “Coming into this race I was really looking forward to the big two-day course, racing a familiar venue, and the town and scenery being some of the most beautiful on the circuit. I felt quite well prepared and was keen to make some improvements in my racing, working my way up the standings. I was pretty happy with my riding in practice but when race day rolled around things really took a very unexpected turn..“
He continues: “During five of the seven stages I battled with chain drops when going into the heavy gears at the bottom of the cassette, something that I have never had an issue with on this bike. You don’t realise how much pedaling you do on an Enduro stage until you’re unable to do it. I did my best to keep the flow going with the dropped chains but it ended up being a real mess on most of the stages. I think I have found the source of the issue and should have it sorted for the La Thuile World Cup next week.“
“Despite the adversity, I loved the stages out here and I think I had some good pace when things were going smoothly and I look forward to putting those pieces together in La Thuile. I won’t put too much weight in my result because of the mechanicals and I think I would have been on pace for some some stage results in the 50s without the issues. I received a lot of help from the guys at SRAM and plenty other friends at the race this week which I am really grateful for. I’m thankful for the support of Omega Capital and everyone else that’s been behind me through the highs and lows and I look forward to a better race next week! Super proud of Keira’s ride, flying the SA flag high and showing us what is possible!” – Jason Boulle
A little further back, Keagan Brand (KZN) received a time penalty and ended the weekend down the results sheet, in 118th. The fourth South African competing, Luca Zietsman (WC) placed 21st in the Junior Men’s category.
Luca Zietsman: “I would say one of the highlights of my race weekend was the hug I got from my brother as I crossed the finish line — that was really special. I have learnt a lot this weekend especially on where to brake and how to ride the slippery roots. Despite some bad luck here and there, I managed to get P21 in the Juniors and my best stage result was 15th. I love racing in Europe, it is so different to what we are used to in SA and the two day format is a really cool thing that I really support.“
The next round of the 2025 Enduro World Cup Series takes place in La Thuile (Italy), this coming weekend. Full results here. //