The French rider from the BH Enduro Team stole victory in the women’s category, while Portuguese rider José Borges nabbed third spot on the podium in the first ever Enduro World Series event for electric bikes.
It was a difficult weekend weather-wise in the town of Zermatt (Switzerland) where the first EWS 2020 race event was held after a delayed start to the season due to COVID-19. The event involved two disciplines: the usual Enduro World Series (EWS) and, for the first time ever, the EWS-E for e-bikes, in which the Galfer Bike riders were in top form and achieved excellent results.
In the EWS-E, Melanie Pugin (BH Enduro Racing Team) claimed the first victory in this discipline in the Women’s Elite category, with her BH e-bike fitted with Galfer Bike brake products specially designed for e-bikes: 203 mm and 223 mm Disc Wave® brake discs and purple G1652-compound brake pads.
In the Men’s Elite category Portuguese rider José Borges (Miranda Factory Team) also put in a great performance, securing 3rd spot on the podium and winning the first special stage to be contested. Also noteworthy was the final 5th position of Edgar Carballo with his Orbea Wild.
In the regular EWS race the cold and the rain took their toll and made the going tough for all riders. After only being able to do two stages, the Galfer Bike riders earned two top-ten spots in the Men’s Elite category. On a completely mudbound circuit, José Borges excelled once again and finished in 5th place, while Slovenian rider Vid Persak (Orbea Enduro Team) came in 10th. Damien Oton had pretty bad luck in his debut with the Orbea team, making a mistake in the first stage that set him back for the rest of the race.
The next EWS race will take place in Pietra Ligure (Italy) on 19 and 20 September.
