The Enduro World Series (EWS) today announces some important changes to its revised 2020 calendar to ensure fair competition for all in light of the current situation with Coronavirus.
This year’s Trophy of Nations in Finale will now be an EWS round
In the interests of fair sport, the Trophy of Nations race scheduled to take place in Finale on Sunday, September 27 will now go ahead as a standard individual start Enduro World Series race. With the possibility that not all countries will be able to travel to compete and no way to create a qualification process, the Nations race is on pause for 2020. However, that means some of the biggest names in the sport will still be competing in Finale.
Amateurs will still be able to compete in the Rider Trophy
The amateur Rider Trophy will still go ahead as planned in Finale on Saturday, September 26th, meaning riders entered can still experience racing on one of Europe’s most famous trail networks as planned. In order to provide more time in the schedule to allow safe distancing, the Industry Trophy race is cancelled for this year. The full Trophy of Nations programme will be back in 2021, when the biggest team competition in mountain biking will return to Finale’s iconic trails.
The new celebratory Winners’ Jerseys will be now awarded at all future EWS rounds
There will be no individual EWS Championship title this season to ensure that those riders that can’t attend races aren’t left at a disadvantage. Instead, the victors of each round will be celebrated with a new custom Winners’ Jersey, provided by Giro, to be awarded at each race. This new tradition will be continued throughout 2021 and beyond, with these elusive jerseys only available to those that make it on to the top step of the podium.
If Official Teams can’t field their rostered riders they’ll be able to unlock local talent to take their place
The Enduro World Series Championship will, however, continue this season for Official EWS Teams. In the event that Team riders can’t make it to an event, teams will be allowed to field alternative riders in order to score Team points. This will not only allow Teams to keep their championship hopes alive and uncover new talent in each region, but also offer an incredible opportunity for up and coming local riders to experience international racing at the highest level. The winning Team will be awarded the Championship at the final round of the series.
Event cancellations due to Coronavrius mean there will also be no European Enduro Series title this year. However, the last round of the series, Enduro X Race, will still go ahead on September 19-20 in the Czech Republic and has been designated as an EWS Qualifier.
