Locals secure a haul of medals at the Swiss Enduro Series in LAAX

After the summer break, the Swiss Enduro Series kicked off its second round in LAAX. On the training day on August 12, 2023, and the race day on August 13, 2023, national stars of enduro mountain biking competed on varied terrain. Anita Gehrig from Flims proved that this suits her, securing second place in the Elite Women category. Although he was unable to repeat his victory from last year, reigning Swiss champion Basil Weber from Flims was delighted with his silver medal in the Elite Men category. In the Open category, there was no getting past the locals: Andrea Binkert and Armin Beeli, both from Flims, won the women's and men's categories respectively. Both were able to defend their titles from last year.

Training crashes among favorites

During training on Stage 4, the Never End Trail, the top favorite in the Elite Men category, Gustav Wildhaber, suffered a setback when he broke his collarbone in a fall. This prevented him from competing in the race on Sunday, August 13, 2023. Despite this unfortunate incident, Wildhaber is in fighting spirit and hopes to make a speedy recovery so that he can return to the racing scene soon. This will probably not be the case until 2024. As Sidonie Jolidon also injured herself during training, one of the co-favorites in the women's category was unable to compete. Melanie Pugin, the 2021 Enduro World Champion, was at the start, as was Noga Korem, an absolutely world-class rider.

Bad luck for some means good luck for others

Noga Korem lived up to her role as favorite in the Elite Women category: before the final stage of the race, she had built up a comfortable lead of almost one minute. Spectators were eager to see whether she could maintain her lead until the end. But fate had other plans. Shortly after the start of the final stage, Korem had a flat rear tire, which cost her valuable time. At that moment, Delia Da Mocogno showed her determination and seized the opportunity to turn the race in her favor. With an impressive performance over the final stages, Da Mocogno secured her second victory in the Swiss Enduro Series, a remarkable achievement that underlines her talent.

Tim Bratschi won three of the four stages. After the second stage, he was two seconds behind Basil Weber, the reigning Swiss champion and last year's winner of the race in LAAX. Basil Weber crashed on the third stage and was unable to make up the deficit. Tim Bratschi thus secured his first victory in 2023.

Thrilling race against an impressive mountain backdrop

The race in LAAX will undoubtedly go down as a memorable chapter in the history of the Swiss Enduro Series. With the start of Stage 2 at Laaxerstöckli at over 2800 meters above sea level, the athletes proved that they have exceptional skills even in the most technically demanding terrain. "The race in LAAX was truly a rollercoaster of emotions," sums up race director Max Willis. "We saw the athletes give their all to secure victory. The dramatic events on the final stage show just how unpredictable enduro races can be."

All results from the Swiss Enduro Series LAAX can be found at swissenduro.ch/results-2023.