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Form Guide: Pinkbike’s Predictions for the Aletsch Arena Enduro World Cup 2024 – Pinkbike

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5 months ago

July 13, 2024

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Form Guide: Pinkbike’s Predictions for the Aletsch Arena Enduro World Cup 2024 – Pinkbike

Another brand new World Cup Enduro venue awaits racers this weekend, with a battle across five stages planned for the penultimate round of the 2024 series.

Round five of the 2024 World Cup series marks a return to Switzerland for the first time since the 2022 EWS round in Crans Montana. Sandwiched between two French rounds, this weekend’s racing in the Swiss Alps brings plenty of the usual challenges for racers alongside avoiding spending too long enjoying the picturesque glacial views from the mountain tops.

Before the riders go against the clock, here are our thoughts on who could be in the running for a top result this weekend.

Who’s Fast in 2024?

With the 2024 Enduro World Cup series nearing its conclusion, riders are running out of time to impress with only two more rounds of racing. So far this year, the 2023 overall champs Richie Rude and Isabeau Courdurier have been nearly unrivalled in their speed and aggression on course. Rude has secured three out of four wins in 2024, while Courdurier has seen two race victories and no finish worse than second place.

In the Elite Women’s racing, three riders have shown excellent consistency in 2024 as Isabeau Courdurier, Hattie Harnden and Ella Conolly have placed in the top five at every stop of the series. Courdurier has demonstrated the best form with two wins and two second-place finishes. Harnden has one win to her name, two second places and a fourth at the last round in France. Conolly is yet to break into the top two this season but has been third twice. Last-round winner, Morgane Charre, had a slower start to the season but picked up a great result in Combloux with a big win of 23 seconds against Courdurier.

Richie Rude remains the dominant force for the elite men as he has lost less than three seconds in overall timing across four rounds of racing. Currently, only Charlie Murray and Slawomir Lukasik have been able to hold an advantage against Rude by the end of a day’s racing. The last round in France produced some close battles with Rude as Luke Meier-Smith and Alex Rudeau almost bested the American rider in the greasy conditions. Rudeau now has a string of top-three finishes and could be a real danger this weekend with more alpine racing.

Round 1 – Finale Ligure

Elite Women

1st. Hattie Harnden: 36:06.599
2nd. Isabeau Courdurier: 36:15.229
3rd. Ella Conolly: 36:23.173
4th. Morgane Charre: 36:23.203
5th. Rae Morrison: 36:47.701

Elite Men

1st. Richie Rude: 31:53.201
2nd. Charlie Murray: 32:08.474
3rd. Martin Maes: 32:17.791
4th. Mirco Vendemmia: 32:19.749
5th. Slawomir Lukasik: 32:21.943

Round 2 – Bielsko-Biala

Elite Women

1st. Isabeau Courdurier: 27:23.465
2nd. Hattie Harnden: 27:23.701
3rd. Chloe Taylor: 27:37.527
4th. Estelle Charles: 27:41.365
5th. Ella Conolly: 27:45.812

Elite Men

1st. Charlie Murray: 23:42.034
2nd. Slawomir Lukasik: 23:42.129
3rd. Richie Rude: 23:44.832
4th. Jack Moir: 23:51.459
5th. Jesse Melamed: 24:03.739

Round 3 – Leogang

Elite Women

1st. Isabeau Courdurier: 29:02.748
2nd. Hattie Harnden: 29:40.614
3rd. Morgane Charre: 29:42.602
4th. Ella Conolly: 30:10.178
5th. Bex Baraona: 30:21.084

Elite Men

1st. Richie Rude: 24:52.002
2nd. Alex Rudeau: 24:59.314
3rd. Slawomir Lukasik: 25:06.131
4th. Kasper Woolley: 25:25.864
5th. Mirco Vendemmia: 25:30.113

Round 4 – Combloux

Elite Women

1st. Morgane Charre: 29:17.262
2nd. Isabeau Courdurier: 29:40.402
3rd. Ella Conolly: 29:43.094
4th. Hattie Harnden: 29:53.243
5th. Mélanie Pugin: 30:15.430

Elite Men

1st. Richie Rude: 25:33.390
2nd. Luke Meier-Smith: 25:35.589
3rd. Alex Rudeau: 25:36.620
4th. Slawomir Lukasik: 25:45.600
5th. Jack Moir: 25:53.630

2024 Season Stats

Elite Women’s Race Picks

Isabeau Courdurier

With two wins and no finish lower than second place, Isabeau Courdurier remains the rider to beat in 2024. As Courdurier looks to make her overall position more secure going into the final round, expect another big performance from the French racer.

Morgane Charre

After a race-winning comeback performance at the last round, Morgane Charre has shown she is back to her peak performance, which saw her challenge Courdurier for the overall last year. The big question will be whether flat pedals can win more medals this weekend, as Charre will be looking to follow up her round four victory with another top performance.

Elite Men’s Race Picks

Richie Rude

Richie Rude has been nearly unstoppable in 2024 and as he proved at the last round in France, he can still take race wins despite not going fastest on any stage. Rude’s consistency this year has paid off so far, although the last round in France proved he is beatable if someone can lay down a solid ride throughout every stage. With several riders hot on his rear wheel, Rude will be after another win as he could all but secure the overall this weekend.

Alex Rudeau

Alex Rudeau was right at the sharp end for round four, taking three wins across the five stages. Ending the season on strong form, Rudeau will be one to watch on the live timing as he will be a real threat for the in if he can keep it clean across this weekend’s five stages.

Wildcard Race Picks

Hattie Harnden

After a fast start to the season, the second half of the season hasn’t matched the success found in the opening rounds of the series for Hattie Harnden. With long stages on the menu this weekend, Harnden could return to the top of the timing sheet.

Jesse Melamed

Jesse Melamed hasn’t been able to match past successes so far this season but with some fast laps in practice and a return to alpine jank, we could see the Canadian rider return to the top of the podium.

Who Do You Think Will Win?

We shared our thoughts and picks for this weekend, but who do you think will be on top of the podium?