EDR #3 Pietra Ligure (ITA) – Podium for Alex Rudeau

Direction Italy and the perfect combo of gelato, dust and enduro for this third World Cup of the season! 
On the return of the competition to Europe, we were presented with a thrilling race as Liguria often serves, and a key third place for Alex Rudeau. A tricky and physically demanding course, racers had to adapt to the high temperatures and the degradation of the tracks throughout the weekend. COMMENCAL ENDURO PROJECT riders showed their strengths.

They were all placed in the top 10 with the exception of Guillaume Jeandel who had to pull out following a big fall.

Across the six stages Alex Rudeau was able to find the balance between commitment and managing the race to finish in the leading group, seven seconds ahead of 4th place and only 0.9 seconds behind 2nd. He confirms again that he is one of the best in the world by getting a great result on a very different playing field to Loudenvielle.

For the COMMENCAL development team this is an additional indicator that the work on the META V5 is paying off as the project reaches its home stretch.

Alex told us that his bike was easy and energy efficient, while remaining reliable with excellent results throughout the race:
S1-P6/S2-P3/S3-P1/S4-P2/S5-P6/S6-P2

Teammate Louis Jeandel’s result is also very positive. The important prep work has allowed him to put everything together to reach another top 10 after ending up 9th. A bit of revenge after the Derby round (EDR #2) for this rider, who does not hesitate to push himself and learn from each experience in order to progress.

Pietra Ligure also marked the start of the EDR-E World Cups with a new race format for ebikes. The power stages are now part of the trial manoeuvrability section while the stages are now identical to those of the EDR.

Mathieu Ruffray launched his season behind the handlebars of the new META POWER SX Bosch. After a 2022 season developing the bike, he can now devote himself fully to competing and will seek out the top 5 for the second time in his career. Mathieu intends to continue this momentum into the next races.

The entire COMMENCAL ENDURO PROJECT team will reconvene in Leogang, Austria, in a fortnight for the fourth Enduro and second E-Enduro rounds.