France’s Isabeau Courdurier and Canadian Rhys Verner emerged victorious at the fourth round of the UCI Mountain Bike Enduro World Cup in Leogang-Salzburgerland, Austria. A venue that is no stranger to UCI World Cup racing, but it’s the first time the Enduro racers have taken on these famous trails. The pair were consistently fast on a big, burly day around Leogang which saw riders covering 55km with 1,090m of climbing and a massive 4,800m of descending over the six stages.
Courdurier won three stages to see her triumph by a relatively comfortable 14s from Italy’s Gloria Scarsi. France’s Morgane Charre finished the day in third after taking the day’s final stage. The win for Courdurier is her second of the season after she triumphed at the opening round in Maydena, Australia and will see her take the series leader’s jersey from compatriot Charre.
In the men’s race, Verner was right up there all day – not outside the top five on any stage – and with three stage wins. But the Canadian was pushed hard by Richie Rude, and the pair were separated by just two seconds going into the final DH-focussed stage. But Verner took more time on the last test of the day – winning the stage – and ended up nearly 3 seconds ahead of USA’s Rude. Alex Rudeau of France came out third and 8.7s back. With his second place result Rude leads the series going into round five next weekend in Italy.
In the U21 Men it was a win for France’s Lisandru Bertini of Lapierre Zipp Collective and in the U21 Women was a second victory of 2023 for Canada’s Emmy Lan of Forbidden Synthesis Team.
Team of the day were Forbidden Synthesis Team and Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team are leading the series.
