Dan Atherton takes fourth while team GB lead the Enduro of Nations
This weekend was Round One of the Enduro of Nations at Sauze d'Oulz. A line-up of the biggest names in Enduro gathered for the race that’s been dubbed "the unofficial world championships".
Sauze D'Oulx has the highest peaks of any Superenduro race this year, with the top of the stages at well over 2,000m.
The two-day race runs in a slightly different format to the usual with eight special stages including a Supermountain mass-start stage on Sunday.
Saturday morning's rain wasn't in Dan's favour as he raced in the morning as part of a team while the individual riders raced in the afternoon on a drier faster track but by Sunday he managed to put these frustrations behind him to take the Supermountain stage in unassailable style. Alex Lupato took the holeshot but Dan’s downhill skills came to the fore as he overtook Lupato on the fireroad down to the single track section and despite Nicolai Florian’s best attempts to reel him in he stretched out his lead to take the win by a conclusive 8.7 seconds
The individual competition was dominated by French riders Jerome Clementz, Nico Vouilloz and Nicolas Lau who took 1st 2nd and 3rd places respectively however none of them were riding for the national team which meant that Dan’s 4th combined with Al Stock’s 6th (despite a practise crash that left him with blurred vision and a smashed bike) and Joe Barnes 9th won them the team gold for GB.
Dan said "The team win and Supermountain stages were cool but I can’t pretend that I’m happy with 4th in the individual competition – I’ll be looking to better that next week."
Latest news
THE MERIDA EX 2026 - pre-registration is now open2026 Scottish Downhill Association Series Dates and Venues Announced
New Spot: Abergele Pump Track
New Spot: Cadishead Pump Track
Watch: Down For Life - 30 Years of Bicycles & Dirt
Popular news
Review: Shimano Saint PD-MX80 PedalsRockshox Announce 2014 Sid, Revelation, XLoc and updates to the Monarch
Review: Maxxis Ikon 26x2.35 Tyres