Dan Booker opens EDR win account; Harnden hammers to 5 stage wins
Anglophones on top at Pietra Ligure Enduro World Cup
A new name stood on top of the Enduro World Cup podium Sunday as Dan Booker clinched his first-ever EDR win on the final stage of the 2-day Pietra Ligure race in Italy.
After day 1 it was Jack Moir who found himself in the lead, but he only had 4.1 seconds over Slawomir Lukasik, with Booker trailing in third. The first stage of day 2 (stage 4) was disasterous for Moir, who finished in 39th place. This allowed Lukasik to build a lead throughout the day, and Alex Rudeau was also looking to shore up a podium finish.
Booker left it to the last stage, a 1.9km plunge down to the Mediterranean, to pull ahead and win by only .374 seconds over 43 minutes of racing.
Dan Booker: 43:00
Slawomir Lukasik: 43:01 (+0.374)
Alex Rudeau: 43:05 (+4.719)
Jack Moir: 43:09 (+8.791)
Ryan Gilchrist: 43:09 (+8.836)
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Booker said. “I reckon later on it will, but feels pretty amazing. It was a tough race, two-day races you really had to try and conserve your energy where you could, such long physical stages as well.
“Maybe Saturday I felt a bit stronger but then today I felt like I was holding onto it. To come from behind and win feels amazing. I’ll go for a swim, get some gelato then pack up and get to Poland. Really looking forward to it.”
Hariet Harnden dominates women’s race
Hariet Harnden grasped a 9 second lead after day 1 and never let up. In total she hammered to 5 stage wins, and the two stages she didn’t win both saw her finish in third.
Fellow Brit Ella Conolly placed second after winning the opening stage and staying consistent but just off Harnden’s winning pace. The French Morgane Charre rounded out the podium in third.
The top 5 women never changed places between day 1 and day 2, establishing themselves as podium contenders early in the season and Harnden setting an early standard for the top step.
Hattie Harnden: 48:02
Ella Conolly: 48:27 (+24.3)
Morgane Charre: 48:54 (+51.)
Raphaela Richter: 49:07 (+1:04)
Mélanie Pugin: 49:34 (+1:31)
Hariet Harnden wins the Pietra Ligure Enduro World Cup. Credit: UCI Mountain Bike World Series
“I wasn’t expecting that, I was just coming for some fun and downhill’s the focus next week,” Harnden said. “This was just a fun start to the season. I just enjoyed riding my bike, I wasn’t overthinking stuff. It’s nice to know I still have the feeling of how to race Enduro and I’ve not lost it over the winter.
“After yesterday I wasn’t sure, it was still super tight. Nine seconds can go in a flash but then after I started riding good this morning I was pretty confident I was in a good place.”