Round five of the UCI Enduro World Cup (EDR) moved back to Italy for the second time this season, this time to Canazei in Val Di Fassa. The location is a favorite among racers for its technical trails and epic views. It would be the last stop on Kiwi SGR rider Elliot Smith‘s first time in the pro ranks and his first time riding and racing in Europe. The leadup to the race weekend didn’t exactly go to plan for Elliot, a broken-down van and a late arrival to Canazei meant no time to get used to the altitude and the local trails, to add insult to injury, Elliot and his fellow travelers came down with an illness during the events practice. Elliot wasn’t going to miss racing his Process X though, and pushed through the illness (and a mechanical) to finish the race and the second block of racing. You can check out Elliot’s full report below.
With the final round of the second block of 2023 EDR season on the horizon, I was frothing to get some racing done in the iconic location that is Canazei. We had been told about how much the altitude could affect us and had a plan to get there early in the week after a bit of riding in Innsbruck. That plan was thwarted by our (not so) trusty Ford Transit, which, while going a chill pace up a not-crazy large hill, decided it was done and shut down on us. This was followed up by a sketchy (surely illegal) tow truck ride to a random workshop, where we proceeded to spend.waste the next 40 hours. Very unenjoyable.
With an amazing rescue from our guardian angel Matt, we were finally on the road on Wednesday night. With one day (Thursday) to get used to the elevation, and a looming sickness in the air from our travels, the weekend was shaping up to be a great success!
The two practice days were awesome. with minimal uphill efforts required and pure descending it was very easy to enjoy. I was excited about racing, and I felt good on the tracks, but on day two of practice, my throat began to get sore, and my breath became very short.
By the time I had woken for race day, it was evident that I was truly cooked. Tossing up the possibility of not racing against trying a couple of stages and seeing how I felt. I decided with giving it a go, as I only needed 3 more points to qualify for the 2024 UCI Enduro World Cup season.
After stage one, I felt a thousand times worse. I was secretly hoping that I had posted a shit result so that I had an excuse to pull out, but I hadn’t. I’d got 68th. Which was a little bit bittersweet. So push on I did. The next two stages whooped my ass. My lungs were shot, my throat was killing me, and I couldn’t stop coughing. But I somehow was still enjoying myself and really wanted to race stages 4 and 5. So push on I did, again.
I ended the day with an 86th, which was confusing considering how bad of a day I thought I had. Weird to still be somewhat consistent with my previous results. I was happy to get it done, but a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to go as fast as I knew I could have due to multitudes of different problems. It was a fun day nonetheless!
It’s back to New Zealand now to recharge (and to sleep in a real bed) before I return to Europe for the final two rounds in September.
Above Photos: Sven Martin
