After the long break from the summer holidays, this weekend was the third round of the Spanish Enduro Championship. A real enduro race, with a 60km route and three special tests to be completed three times by the Elite riders.
Under a day with high temperatures, in the E-1 class Pau Tomás carried out a good performance, battling throughout the competition with his main rivals, setting very even times. After fighting throughout the race for second place, Tomás finally finished in a good third place in the category, just three seconds behind the second.
For his part, Víctor Guerrero did not feel at ease in the special stages and until the last lap he did not manage to improve his times, finishing in fifth position in the E-3 class. After this competition, Victor remains in fourth place provisionally in the championship and with two rounds to go, he still has a chance of reaching the final podium.
Francesc Moret took advantage of the Enduro race to add hours and kilometres with the idea of being able to face the end of the Hard Enduro championships in good conditions, where he is still the leader of the Spanish Championship. Moret finished sixth in the E3 class, behind riders who are specialists in classic enduro.
In this race in Gironella, in the women's class, the number of participants who were encouraged to compete increased. Despite this, Mireia Badia continues to show her high level, in a category where she ended up beating her rivals, although on this occasion some mistakes and falls made her lose some time. Mireia continues to lead the provisional classification with two rounds to go before the end of the season.
Rieju rider Edgar Riera took third place in Senior B 2T and Rubén Palmar also finished third in Senior C 2T.
Quotes from the Rieju Team riders
Víctor Guerrero:
"For me it was a bit of a mixed weekend, I couldn't quite find the feeling, the times were tight and short, so I decided to vary my riding style, doing different things to try to find a way to set good times, but until the last lap I couldn't manage to improve, so I finished fifth in E3. At least I could score some points for the championship and I hope to fight for the final podium. Now I have to think about the next race in Alicante and I hope I can improve the result for the team, who do a great job, and the sponsors".
Pau Tomás:
"The race went very well, I'm very happy with the result, I finished third in E-1. All day I was fighting for second place, in the end I was only three seconds behind my rival, finishing third, but I had a lot of fun and the bike worked perfectly. I would like to thank the whole Rieju team for their work and I am looking forward to next week's race in Alicante".
Francesc Moret:
"It has been a positive day, in fact, this season I had not yet been able to compete in any Enduro race, happy with the pace, I feel better and better on the bike in this discipline, where the speed and body position is not exactly what I'm used to, also walking the specials before competing helps me to know the terrain better before the race. Regarding the race, I have remained fairly regular, three seconds up or three down, I have not suffered crashes, a problem that used to happen to me a lot, I have done many hours on the bike, which is positive, it helps me to face next week the last round of the World Hard Enduro in Hixpania, that's what it's all about, to keep learning and every day to be better to raise the level".
Mireia Badia:
"Finally I ended up winning among the women, although in the special Motocross type, is where I had more trouble setting good times due to the very dry terrain, with soft sand and that there were practically no ruts, it is a terrain that with the 2T I still find it difficult to master the bike. In the other specials I felt better, I also suffered some crashes and some mistakes, but finally I saved them, so I'm happy with the race. I want to thank the team for their professionalism, today I made them work harder after the crash and then everything worked perfectly".
Next weekend, the fourth round of the Spanish Championship will be held in Alicante.
