Sit in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II at around 4pm and it’s just possible to think that you’ve slipped, perhaps under the influence of industrial quantities of gelato, into a parallel universe where everyone rides mountain bikes. All ages, all shapes, all sizes, all languages meld together as the usual everyday hubbub makes way for conversations on tyre pressures and broken rear mechs. It’s as though the whole town is breathing mountain bike riding.
Finale Outdoor Region, which includes the equally bike fixated Pietra Ligure just a couple of minutes further around the coast, is set to host its first rounds of the Cross-country Marathon and Enduro UCI World Cups 02-04 June. And it’s a big deal.
It’s easy to wax lyrical about just how much the small Italian towns live and breathe mountain biking but perhaps a more interesting way is to take a wander down one of the beautifully rustic shuttered back streets of some of its past glories.
Here, in no particular order, are the races that helped to make the Finale Outdoor Region the legendary trail network that it is today:
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Martin Maes’ debut win
When Martin Maes turned up at the first ever Enduro World Series (EWS) race in Punta Ala back in 2013, few knew his name. A gangly Belgian youngster on flat pedals and DH tyres, they learnt the name the hard way when he started claiming scalps. But the journey to that debut win was a slow burn and took three years.
The 2016 season had already featured four elite men’s winners including no fewer than four victories going to the man who would win his second title on the bounce, Richie Rude. Maes’ victory in Finale Ligure cemented his status as one of the very fastest in the world. Four more victories have since followed but all eyes are now on when the Orbea Fox Enduro Team pilot can convert a season’s worth of results into a title. Pietra Ligure would feel like a good place to re-find those winning ways.
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Trophy of Nations
The Trophy of Nations began in 2019 and right from the first parade through the back streets of Finale Ligure became one of the loudest races in mountain biking. Teams of three racers competed on stage as one with each trio representing their country. The difficult years surrounding the global pandemic limited the event to just one other appearance (2022) where Team France (Isabeau Courdurier, Melanie Pugin and Morgane Charre) backed up their 2019 victory whilst Team New Zealand (Eddie Masters, Charlie Murray and Matt Walker) replaced Team USA (Richie Rude, Shawn Neer and Cody Kelly) as elite men’s gold medal winners.
Aside from its unique structure, Trophy of Nations was the first time that UCI World Champion’s medals were up for grabs in the enduro sphere and saw the ‘big single race’ vibes of Worlds meld with the ‘end of season party’ atmosphere of the traditional season closing battle above the beaches of Finale Outdoor Region.
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Damien Oton wins in 2017
Damien Oton was one of the fastest enduro racers of the original generation of racers from the beginning of the EWS. The extremely likable Catalan had been on the cusp of some big results during the 2017 season only for events to inevitably conspire to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. He had already tasted victory, in La Thuile 2014, but his triumph at the final round of 2017 was extremely emotional and remains one of the most celebrated in the sport’s history. Racing for Devinci at the time, his podium tears summed up perfectly just how tough it was to take to the top step in a series that was spiraling to ever-higher levels of bike racing.
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Cecile Ravanel and Isabeau Courdurier summon perfection
Cecile Ravanel’s EWS palmares is unlikely to be bettered any time soon. But, if it is, then her compatriot Isabeau Courdurier perhaps is one of the only riders likely to lay claim to the kind of numbers required. Both rounded off perfect seasons of wins in 2018 and 2019 respectively on the edge of the Ligurian Sea.
Ravanel was forced to sit out 2019 due to a back injury sustained during training which denied fans the opportunity to see the two square off properly but that in no way detracted what Courdurier achieved that year. It was a steamrollering. The Frenchwoman won every round and then capped it off by piloting Team France to the elite women’s Trophy of Nations title in Finale Ligure. A special season capped off in a fittingly special place.
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2020
What has become colloquially known as ‘the Covid season’, 2020 was a story of survival for the Enduro World Series. So much momentum had been built and stoked only for the global pandemic to threaten to put pay to just about all international sport. But there was no stopping the Finale Outdoor Region.
Under a blanket of extensive precautions, the spiritual home of enduro fought back and made sport a priority to bring a little bit of normality to not only the local area but to the fans all over the world. Pietra Ligure hosted its first round (as well as a round of the new EWS-E e-bike category) and was immediately backed up by Finale Ligure with the pair joining Zermatt in Switzerland as part of a limited but vitally important season.
Don’t forget that you can catch all the action from the UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Marathon, Enduro and E-Enduro World Cup’s from the Finale Outdoor Region on Discovery+, Eurosport and GCN+ 02-04 June.
