Video & Race Report: Fox Enduro Race 2023 – Lousã, Portugal

Lousã, Portugal

FOX ENDURO RACE

powered by MontanhaClube, Bicimax and Geonatlife.

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Words & Photography by João Fânzeres & João Martins

Video by Rodrigo Vicente

We could start this race report by the usual way but, this time, wer’re going to step back a few weeks and share with you what the Portuguese MTB scene feels about this venue. It’s the beginning of the Spring and for sure the best time of the season the ride mountain bikes in Portugal due the humidity and temperature levels being so good that the chance to get good dirt and good trails are almost 100%. That’s exactly what riders feel, they know that Lousã will not disappoint and that Montanha Clube, the hosts of this venue for the 7th time, will provide the best weekend of Enduro Racing of the year.

This competition was divided in two categories, MTB and E-MTB, with a total of 200 participants.

But, the race itself is not everything. This year, FOX ENDURO RACE had another fantastic outdoor area, where the Paddock and the “Expo Area” were located but also a more surprises along they way.

The “Expo Area”, located on the main square, was reserved for exhibitors, where athletes and the general public could have contact with the main sponsors: FOX, SANTA CRUZ, RIDE MAX, KENDA, SPONSER, 7PROTECTION and TAG METALS.

The event was composed of 5 Special Stages in a 35km course with an addition of 2 Power Stages for the E-Bike category, pretty similar to last year but with a few changes here and there on the course. As usual here, the starting point was almost on the top of the mountain range and the finish line was in the city, which mean more fun down the hills and not so much time wasted on the climbs.

DAY I

TRAINING

Stage 1 was an old trail with a fresh new mid and bottom sections. The top section, just below the peak of the mountain range, was on a hard pack pine forest type but as soon as we entered the middle section the landscape changed completely to a young oak forest with a super flowy trail. Definitely a riders favourite.

Stage 2 is known for the loosest conditions of them, because it goes to the other side of the mountain range, an area that is generally drier and hotter than the main face of the mountain.

Stage 3 had a lot of new sections since last year but with similar characteristics – steep, techy, loamy, fast – and ended up close to “Terreiro das Bruxas”.

Stage 4 had the same starting point from previous one and a super fast top section but once you got over the “Terreiro das Bruxas” you would enter in the “interminável” section – an endless single-track-off-camber section that went forever. For sure the most challenging trail of this edition.

Stage 5 started just before the World Cup track bridge but halfway down crossed to another trail more appropriate to Enduro riding, equally steep but narrower and a bit slower. To make sure that riders would end the race completely out of fuel, Montanha Clube added a new steep, lose and off-camber section to break the rest of your arms (or legs). The finish point? Of course, it was on the bottom of the hill.

OK, enough action for the day and back to the pits.

New talk show in Town.

Gonçalo Bandeira took the opportunity to have his suspensions rebuilt by Bicimax.

Any guess for whats is going on here? Miranda Factory Team is working on something.

For this year, we added a few extra ingredients to spice up the things.
JUMP ACTION SPORTS and TRIALMOTOR showcased a night performance for everyone in town.

One last song and we’re done for the day.

DAY II

RACING

Good morning everyone! It’s race day here and, as usual, we have a foggy morning up on the mountain. Who doesn’t like to ride bikes on this kind of weather?

Trevim peak just lightly covered in clouds.

It’s great to watch the younger generations following the same passion as the older ones.

Tiago Ladeira from Miranda Factory Team is recovering from a collarbone injury but still managed to win all the 5 stages.

Miguel Pardal had a strong and very consistent performance on his class and overall.

Local “kid” just after taking the win on the 1st stage.

José “Mr. Bomba” Borges felt the pressure and on the 2nd stage recovered the 7 seconds lost to Gonçalo on the 1st one of the day. Pretty tight battle!

Guess what, Bandeira managed to navigate 5 seconds faster than Borges on the 3rd stage.

With no surprises Laura Charles from Miranda Factory Team took the win on Female E-MTB.

Lino Correia took the win on the Master 40.

Daniel “DPX” Pombo had a strong performance and was the only one of the pack who got closer to Bandeira and Borges. He won the Master 30 and got 3rd overall.

Exciting moments between these two – after a victory for Mr. Bomba on stage 4 both went to the last stage separated by just under 2.5 seconds.

After 21 minutes of racing, 9.3 seconds was the difference between them. A fair and healthy fight.. A joy to watch!

A big mistake from Gonçalo Bandeira on the last stage may have cost him the possibility to win.

Fábio Gil and Duarte Medeiros had an almost identical performance, securing the 7th and 8th place overall.

Happy faces all over the place after the race.

Well, the classical beer to get back to the levels.

Just before the awarding ceremony, all the event sponsors raffled off several prizes among the athletes.

Since a few years now, the FOX tests here in Lousã are quite a big thing for the local MTB scene. The best riders in the world have been traveling to Lousã during the off-season to get their suspension setups dialed just before the start of the World Cup circuit. Jordi Cortes who’s been leading the FOX tests in the past few years, took advantage of the end of the testing program to enjoy our trails.

ELITE: 1st – José Borges; 2nd – Gonçalo Bandeira; 3rd – Luis Zarco

OVERALL: 1st – José Borges; 2nd – Gonçalo Bandeira; 3rd – Daniel Pombo

OVERALL E-MTB: 1st – Tiago Ladeira; 2nd – Emanuel Pombo; 3rd – André Fernandes

OVERALL FEMME: 1st – Sophie Bagnall; 2nd – Raquel Ferreira; 3rd – Sandra lopes.
OVERALL FEMME E-MTB: 1st – Laura Charles; 2nd – Margarida Bandeira.