Breaking through! The second stop of the UCI E-Enduro World Cup in Leogang, Austria proved to be an awesome time for GASGAS Motorex Racing’s Alexandre Fayolle and GASGAS SRAM Racing’s Alex Marin with the duo finishing fifth and sixth. Between them they also won four of the day’s 10 stages.
It was a pretty awesome Thursday for GASGAS at round two of the UCI E-Enduro World Cup in Leogang, Austria. After a solid top-10 start to the season two weeks ago in Italy, more ground was gained with closely-fought fifth and sixth place results, plus four stage wins!
After claiming a career-best 10th last time out in Pietra Ligure, GASGAS MOTOREX Racing’s Alexandre Fayolle went another five positions better for fifth overall in Leogang. The Frenchman is feeling the flow right now and by taking two stage wins, it’s clear his winter work is paying off. Describing it as the best day he’s ever had on an eMTB, we couldn’t be more pumped for Alex and can’t wait to see what’s in store for him next week at round three.
Alex Marin was also on fire in Leogang and brought his GASGAS SRAM Racing eMTB home for sixth. Although a rookie in the E-EDR, the Spaniard is already pushing hard. Enjoying the wide mix of downhill, bike park, and enduro style stages, Alex also took two stage wins. Battling all day with Alex Fayolle, he finished just one tenth of a second behind him in sixth.
For Johannes Fischbach, Leogang was all about getting a finish in the books, following his disappointment at round one. And he did just that with 13th. Fischi started out strong but had few issues during the middle of the day. Closing in on a top-10 result, he crashed hard with a couple of stages to go. Easing it back, he was happy to get some points on the board.
Our Swede Simon Carlsson kept showing solid pace all day, but it was overshadowed with bad luck. A slow puncture on the first stage was not how he’d hoped to start things. Needing to nurse the issue through stages two and three really put him on the back foot. Finishing 19th, we know there’s much more to come for Simon.
After what’s been a thrilling round two, GASGAS now head to round three at Val Di Fassa in Italy on June 23-25.
Alex Fayolle (GASGAS MOTOREX Racing): “That was an amazing day. I battled the whole day with Alex Marin and we kept pushing each other hard on every stage. To get two stage wins was great. It was a day where everything just clicked and came together. This feeling is something I’ve been working towards since I moved to eMTB a couple of years ago. I think I proved a lot to myself today and really want more. I can’t thank the team enough for their support.”
Alex Marin (GASGAS SRAM Racing): “The race started out pretty good. After checking the tracks, I was excited as there was a good mix of downhill style tracks, with bike park and enduro. I won stage two, which was awesome. That me fired up and I kept pushing. I got another stage win and that put me in the hunt. I think if I can build on my power stage then we can be even better. Overall, it’s been an awesome race, and everyone is pumped to build on it next week in Italy.”
Johannes Fischbach (GASGAS SRAM Racing): “I’m quite happy with finishing 13th after a disappointing start at round one. The day started out good with two top-10 stages and then I had an issue during the day, which cost me some time. I started closing back in on the top-10 with a couple of stages to go but crashed hard. I feel the pace is there and my enduro experience is building all the time.”
Simon Carlsson (GASGAS MOTOREX Racing): “I picked up a slow puncture on the first stage and then it carried across into the next two stages before I could fix it properly. That lost my rhythm a lot and it was hard to get back up to speed. It was a hard day, so considering that to still come home in a strong 19th is good.”
Results - UCI E-Enduro World Cup, Round 2
1. Fabien Barel (Canyon) 36:54.32
2. Michael Hannah (Yeti) 37:21.45
3. Tiago Ladeira (Miranda) 37:31.56
4. Emanuel Pombo (Miranda) 37:36.72
5. Alex Fayolle (GASGAS) 37:49.40
6. Alex Marin (GASGAS) 37:49.57
13. Johannes Fischbach (GASGAS) 38:47.11
19. Simon Carlsson (GASGAS) 39:34.08