Raphaela Richter reports from the Enduro World Cup in Val di Fassa

In the interview, Raphaela Richter made her season goal quite clear: The podium in the Enduro Worldcup. After two top 5 finishes in the last two races, things are not going 100% according to plan in Val di Fassa. Text: Raphaela Richter Images: Niklas Wallner

Our Athletes Blogs

. In our magazine we not only show the most exciting bikes of the season. It’s also where some of the best athletes from around the world tell us about their lives on the track. While Lukas Baum and Georg Egger report in the “Glagow Goals” from their way to the Marathon and Cross Country World Championship, Raphaela Richter blogs from the Enduro World Cup. You can read Raphalela’s back story here in the interview. If you subscribe to the newsletter in the footer, you will not miss any of these reports.

Eye candy and lung killer in Val di Fassa

. Every year I can’t get out of the amazement: The scenery in and around Canazei and the Fassa Valley is unbelievably beautiful and the more grateful I am to be able to ride my bike in such a place. The 5th Enduro World Cup was coming up and with it the third big race within a month. After the announcement of the racetracks it was clear that the stages will be long, rough and partly pedally. The original plan to train all stages on Friday was canceled due to a storm and practice was divided between Friday and Saturday. For the race on Sunday we had to race 5 stages.

After a few days of stomach problems after Leogang and a week of no appetite in Canazei, I felt really exhausted during Friday’s practice. The altitude and the many slippery roots didn’t make the situation any easier, but I tried not to focus too much on that. A look to the left and right showed that everyone else was struggling just as hard as I did. Towards the end of the first day of practice I found back to my flow and could enjoy Stage 3 again. Saturday was similar: the track conditions were actually perfect, but I was still very tired, unfocused and felt weak at the beginning. The result was a small crash, which at least woke me up again. And to be honest, a crash was long overdue – I guess it’s part of the game and literally grounds you.

Final boss: Breakfast

. As always, I studied the helmet camera videos, partly with the help of my teammates, and laid out my lines here and there. This time I managed not to get too crazy with it and also got a quiet night behind me. Nevertheless my stomach got funny again at breakfast and with that the nervousness got worse again. However, as soon as I headed towards the pits and race day got slowly going, the stressful situation became easier to handle again. I can simply deal with one step at a time and know that my routines are working by now.

Hard, harder, Titans

A long day was ahead and Stage 1 “Titans” was the first test of endurance with big roots, steep terrain and deep holes. I maneuvered myself into the classic negative spiral there: I took a few hard hits that I was just able to hold on to. After that, I was more and more on the brakes and thus rode into every hole I could find. I think that’s the definition of antiflow. When I reached the finish at the bottom, my forearms and triceps were burning and I could hardly hold on to the handlebars. Stage 2 was the final boss early in the day: 12 minutes of racing and I think I pedaled 3 minutes of it only uphill. In a mindful manner, I didn’t let it drive me crazy in advance, but just lived in the moment. So in the end the stage really didn’t seem that long – but still it was quite horrible. Exhausted from the previous lung-busting, I started the third stage. The triceps, the lungs, the legs were burning, but I actually started off quite well until I saw myself on the ground in a loamy corner. During the 20-minute lunch break I felt as empty as I only really knew it from after racing. I couldn’t even finish my sandwich.

One last push

The afternoon with two stages left somehow didn’t feel too long and exhausting as before lunch break. I did two more okay runs but knew that there was no way I was going to finish near the podium this time. I started the last stage sitting in 8th place, messed up some momentum in an important section and slipped back to 9th place after more than 42 minutes of racing. In the end I am a bit disappointed with my performance, but on the other hand another top ten result on such a day is something positive. Now we have a 2-month World Cup break, in which I can relax for a bit and train well.

The fastest bikes from the World Cup in Val di Fassa

. On bike-test.com is actually the full focus on the material. Therefore, we always present you the fastest bikes from the competitions to our blog series. So you can not only dream of the equipment, but also compare the geometry of the bikes one to one. One thing is clear: the pro bikes differ minimally from the equipment. Isabeau Courdurier wins on Lapierre in the women’s category. Mathew Walker was with his Pivot fastest in the men. If you’re seriously considering getting a new enduro, here’s a complete buying guide with the best 2023 models. Sign up here for our newsletter and never miss another blog in our racing is live series.