An ecstatic Manuel Ducci (Life Cycle) stepped on top of a PRO podium for the first time, ending a great weekend of racing in Gemona. This is the first time the PRO circuit has stopped in Gemona and it is already cementing itself as a riders’ favourite. Ducci was impressed by the area, saying, “I like this race, I felt comfortable on these trails and I felt good and thought I could win. It’s also good to see enduro spreading further north-east across Italy like this, it would be good to see more races here and in the south, although I hope we come back here to Gemona next year!”

Toby Pantling agreed with Manuel on the trails here in Gemona, “they are amazing, particularly the first stage. The terrain is rocky and very muddy in places. You can climb at a nice pace and there are fifteen minutes of pure fun coming down!”

Fifteen minutes of pure fun coming down.

Through the day there was a great battle between Manuel Ducci and Vittorio Gambirasio (GT360), with each rider taking two stage wins. Over the day, Manuel edged ahead, taking the victory by four seconds from Vittorio. Away from the leading two, there was an equally tough battle for third place and Alex Lupato (FRM Factory) and Slovenian newcomer, Peter Mlinar (KK CRN TRN). In the end, the more experience Superenduro racer, Alex held of the challenger to round out and all-Italian podium. In the women’s race, Maria-Federica Zanotto (ASD Scavezzon Racing Team) sealed her victory with a 23 second won on the long stage one. Second place went to Laura Rossin (Dream Team Genoa) and Chiara Pastore (Cicoikes-DSB-NonSoloFango) took third.

We are now at the mid-point of the season and so far each PRO race has had a different winner. This means heading into the second-half, the game is wide open. The series returns 22-23 June when we head into the Alps for the first time this year at Madesimo (SO).

Results:

Overall:

Women:

Video:

A run down the urban “prologue” stage with the race winner Manuel Ducci.

Filmed & edited by RITM

This is such a good (not too serious) interview:

Have a look at the full race report and the results here

And if you were wondering, here are the results in full.

Wish you’d been there? We have a full report to come tomorrow with our feelings and reflections on the first ever Enduro World Series race, but for now sit back with a cuppa and watch the fastest bike riders in the world as they make their way around the tough and challenging race course in Punta Ala, Italy.

Click here for results and stay tuned for the report.

Rockinthemiddle caught up with Matteo for a few words on life as a pro mechanic. Fancy Matteo’s job?

Introducing Matteo Nati from Superenduro TV.

Get entered into the Dirt Enduro Fantasy League for your chance to win not only glory but also some top prizes from Avid.

Head over to www.dirtendurofantasyleague.com to get signed up even if you missed round 1.

Have a look at this vid and word below from the organisers:

‘ARD ROCK ENDURO – THE UK’S PREMIER NATURAL ENDURO AND ALL MOUNTAIN SPORTIVE 

- June 29th & 30th 2013, Swaledale, North Yorkshire

Combined mountain bike Enduro and All-Mountain sportive in the stunning Yorkshire Dales National Park. Our exclusive route takes in 100% natural rocky descents incorporated into a big day out in the Dales. We obtained one-off access to private land, which means ‘Ard Rock Enduro can take in gnarly, rock strewn terrain only rideable in our event. Our chip timing system is provided by industry leaders SportIdent.

Expect plenty of rough and ready terrain – no groomed trails here.

There will also be camping, a BBQ, beer and fantastic spot prizes from event sponsors Santa Cruz, Hope and Mavic. All entries before Monday 10^th June are automatically entered into a prize draw for a £600 set of Mavic Crossmax ST wheels.

www.ardrockenduro.co.uk

@ardrockenduro

Dales Bike Centre – supporting the event along with a host of other sponsors. There will be a BBQ and plenty of beers here.

From Avid:

Enduro racer Curtis Keene has ridden trails all over the world. From dry, desert rock to deep forest singletrack, Curtis says it’s all about getting after it and experiencing what’s out there. Avid brakes help Curtis ride fast and win races—but more importantly they put powerful, reliable performance right at his fingertips every time he rides. So he can think less about his bike and more about Chasing Trail.

The guys over on our sister site Dirt have set up an awesome World Enduro Series Fantasy League powered by Avid – and there’s some ace prizes to boot.

Whats even better is that it’s completely free to play and there are some amazing prizes up for grabs. It really is quite impossible to think of a reason not to get involved with this!

Here’s what you can win:

Overall Winners

1st place: Full Bike Tune by SRAM at one of the races of the Enduro World Series 2014 or at our factory in Schweinfurt, Germany. This includes a fork, group set, brakes, handlebar and pedals. Winner has to pay for and arrange own travel.

2nd place: Rockshox PIKE fork

3rd place: SRAM XO Trail brakes

Come 2nd overall and get a set of Pikes – wow!

Round Winners

1st place: SRAM XO Trail brakes

2nd place: SRAM Duffle bag

3rd place: SRAM swag pack with socks, trucker hats and lots of nice goodies

These XO trail brakes are great performers and you can win them by nailing each round

Check out our world enduro series coverage and see if you can piece together who is going to take the top prize in the most exciting new event in moutain biking. The 65km course going all around Punta Ala is really going to push the world’s best riders and their top grade machines to the absolute limit.

What wheel size is going to give the edge? Will the downhillers prevail over the enduro specialists? Will the weeks of shuttling the timed sections really be the key to winning? All of these will be answered on Sunday and our editor James Mcknight is out their reporting from the front line.

So get involved and hit up www.dirtendurofantasyleague.com and start selecting your team. Easy!

1 million big ones to pick your dream team!