SSES#2 - Bikefestival Riva del Garda: Mixed feelings

Bikefestival Riva del Garda: Mixed feelings

Last weekend the Radon Factory Enduro Team raced at the famous, German BikeFest in Riva del Garda Italy. Part of the festival is the Specialized Sram Enduro Series.

After winning the first round in Treuchtlingen, expectations for our youngster Raphaela Richter where very high. With World Series rider Anneke Beerten at the start, this race would be a good showcase for Raphaela to see where she is at, at a world cup level. Also James and Petrik where on forehand one of the favourites.

The trials around Riva are rocky, very rocky. Every year the riders pray for dry weather conditions. But for the third year in a row in rained during the weekend and the trials where slippery as #%*&!

With a loop of 35 KM with over 1500 vertikal meters is was a big day in the sattle.

Raphaela started the day of very good. With 3 stage wins, she only had stage 4 left. This is where things went wrong, 2 big crashes on this stage, made her lose over a minute. Resulting in a 3rd place overall.

Raphaela:”The trails where very slippery, but i tried not to hink about this. I know i ride my bike best when i have fun on it, so i tried to enjoy it. This way i forget the pressure of the number 1 plate i am running. I was happy that i showed i can match myself with riders as Anneke. This is a good confidence boost for me”.

Petrik Brueckner was on fire on the first 2 stages, on stage 3 things went wrong! A big crashes on the slippery rocks made an end to Petriks day.

“The trials where so slippery, at some sections i was just a passenger on bike wihout. Still I was feeling very confident on my Radon bike, even in these horrible conditions. This maybe took the best of me and made me crash hard. We will recharge and be back at our best in Willingen”.

The weather conditions in Riva where like at home for our Scottisch boy James Shirley. This did not help James much. “I wasn’t feeling it. I was very tide and stiff on my bike, which made it impossible for the bike to find its lines. The best thing is to forget this race and look forward to the EWS race in Tweedlove, i am looking forward to race and play in my backyard”.

Today we recieved some bad news from Raphaela. After a hospital visit today it turned out that she has a ruptured ankle ligament, which will keep Raphaela out for at least 4 weeks. We hope she will be ready in time for the Enduro World Series in Tweedlove in 4 weeks. We will keep you posted on our facebook page www.facebook.com/factoryenduroteam  on this.

Next team events will be:

22-24 Mai IXS Dirtmasters Winterberg

12-14 June BIKEfestival Willingen