Over the last weekend in March 2023, the opening round of the all-new UCI Enduro World Cup (EDR) took place. The COMMENCAL Enduro Project team headed to the Southern Hemisphere and those Maydena tracks in Tasmania, to make this brand-new frame shine.
A change of scenery is the term that we think of when we talk about this first EDR round. Between the wallabies and the cockatoos, the Maydena spot had plenty of charm and so did local riders with five Australians in the top 10 !
At the end of the six stages that made up the race, it was Alex Rudeau who proved to be the most efficient within the team. The man from Ardèche, recently back from injury, finished in a fine 12th place less than a minute from the podium.
“It was not the type of terrain that I prefer with tracks that were quite like DH tracks. I'm still happy with my riding, despite a few small errors. This result is encouraging for the rest of the season.” – Alex Rudeau.
On fast and technical stages where features on-track were hidden by a thick layer of dust, Louis Jeandel and Guillaume Labeyrou ranked 36th and 58th respectively.
"I'm very unused to riding on tracks like this and I struggled to find the commitment to lose enough seconds.” - Louis Jeandel.
“I clearly lacked the riding time to be able to set the pace. It's been two months since I rode due to my injury. I’m still grateful to be able to start this race at all.” - Guillaume Labeyrou.
A real milestone, this first World Series round allowed riders to see their progress from the off-season. At the same time, the development work of the META Team bike has visibly paid off, with a platform that adapts perfectly to the terrain. The entire COMMENCAL Enduro Project team looks forward to the next meeting (31 March - 1 April) in Derby, also in Tasmania, for the second round of the Enduro World Cup.
Photos : Sven Martin
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