Simon Carlsson fights his way up to 16th, with Guido Tschugg placing as runner-up in Masters 35+ class in Slovenia
After a strong start to the Enduro World Series opening round, the Husqvarna E-Bicycles Racing team were out in force for the second stop of the season in Slovenia. Simon Carlsson excelled with a career-best result of 16th in Pro, while team stalwart Guido Tschugg finished second in Masters 35+ class. A final stage puncture prevented Alex Fayolle joining Simon inside the top-20 of the hyper-competitive Pro category.
- Career-best of 16th overall for Simon in Slovenia
- Podium success for Guido in Masters 35+
- Eighth fastest on stage six for Alex
- Riders faced seven tough stages in Petzen Jamnica
All eager to build on their performances at the EWS-E first round in Scotland, the Husqvarna E-Bicycles Racing trio of Simon Carlsson, Alex Fayolle, and Guido Tschugg arrived to Petzen Jamnica on the Slovenia-Austrian border in high spirits.
Featuring a high-altitude mountain feel, a tough 61-kilometre-long course with 2,687 metres of climbing to contend with was laid on for round two. Competitors faced seven stages of timed racing, including one uphill power stage. At almost five kilometres long, with 1,000 metres of vertical descent, the seventh and final stage would prove the most demanding and spectacular.
Arriving in Slovenia having overcome an illness that hampered his racing at round one, Simon was eager to put in a strong ride on his Mountain Cross LE. A solid start to the day saw him end the opening stage inside the top-20 with 18th. Fighting hard throughout the day and not making any major mistakes, Simon built on that to claim a career-best 16th in the EWS-E Pro class.
Feeling more at home in the Slovenian terrain, Alex slotted inside the top-20 on the opening stage. After another competitive top-20 time on stage 4, the following power stage climb went against him. Turning things around on the penultimate stage, Alex finished just five seconds shy of the fastest time with eighth and headed into the lengthy stage 7 fired up. Unfortunately, a puncture robbed him of a strong finish as he nursed his way home for a frustrating 23rd.
After a memorable runner-up result in the Masters 45+ class in Scotland, Slovenia saw Guido jump into the Masters 35+ category. A small crash on stage 2 unluckily resulted in a lot of lost time, recovering his bike after it fell off the trail and down an embankment. Improving as the day progressed to win the final two stages, Guido eventually raced his way back onto the podium for second overall.
The Enduro World Series continues with round three in Valberg, France on July 2-3.
Simon Carlsson: “I’m super happy with my result. In Scotland I was battling with fever, so it was good to be able to push all day here. I started out a little bit stiff, but I felt I worked into a better rhythm as the day progressed. That final stage was really long, but I enjoyed it. I’ll try to build on this again in France!”
Alex Fayolle: “It was a good day and conditions were good out there. I struggled on the power stage, but I was really happy with eighth on stage 6. I was pretty motivated coming into the final stage, but then I got a puncture in the middle of it. I was lucky just to ride it out. It’s my home race next in France, I’m looking forward to that.”
Guido Tschugg: “For this race I rode in the 35+ class, instead of 45+ like Scotland. I had a big mistake on stage 2 and lost a lot of time. I crashed, but then my bike fell down the side of the banking and I had to go looking for it! I fought back as best I could and was having a nice battle with Marco Melandri. I won the final two stages, but unfortunately, he just had enough time on me at the end. But second is good and it’s super cool to be on the podium again.”
Pro Category
1. Pontal Yannick (Black Box) 34:41.840; 2. Tiago Ladeira (Miranda) 34:44.060; 3. Edgar Carballo (Orbea) 34:44.450… 16. Simon Carlsson (Husqvarna) 36:38.550… 23. Alex Fayolle (Husqvarna) 38:12.240…
Masters 35+
1. Marco Melandri (WeRide Racing) 39:51.400; 2. Guido Tschugg (Husqvarna) 40:04.530; 3. Daniel Greenwood 40:53.120…