WES gets to France for Round 3

The Circuit of Charade to host the turning point of the season

Monaco (P.ty) Wednesday 20 July 2022 – For Round 3 of the season, and for the second year in a row, the UCI E-MTB XC World Cup is coming to Charade, the world-famous E-Circuit of Clermont-Ferrand, France.

The venue features unique, breath-taking views as it is located in the Puy-de-Dôme area, part of a mountain chain proud to be a UNESCO World Heritage site.

As WES approaches the French Round, the standings leaders in both Women’s and Men’s categories are local heroes, again this year, and also teammates this time, as Justine Tonso and Reigning World Champion Jérôme Gilloux represent Lapierre Overvolt Team and will be racing in front of their home crowd.

In the Women’s field, the double race of the weekend will see an exciting scenario, as behind the leader, the overall standings show Swiss Nathalie Schneitter (Trek/Bosch), German Sofia Wiedenroth (Specialized) and Reigning World Champion Nicole Göldi (Trek) within 6 points only, for an all-open battle. The top 4 are all podium contenders and they will be competing for the final score at WES which represents the ranking to access the UCI World Championships, the one-shot race scheduled for next August, 26^th where Women and Men will fight for the coveted rainbow jersey, in their respective categories.

Laura Charles (Miranda Factory) will join WES for her home round, on the same track where she debuted in the series last year, with a 2^nd and a 4^th place. Spaniard Sandra Santanyes (Trek) will also make her comeback to WES, hoping to repeat the successful debut in the season she did last year with an unbelievable double race win at the Girona Round. 

The Men’s race looks like a very interesting one to watch, with a motivated Loïc Noël from Switzerland (Specialized/Cycles Prof) being the wonder rider of the season so far, 2^nd overall, ahead of Hugo Pigeon (Scott SR Suntour Enduro Team), one of the protagonists of the season opener in Monaco. One point only separates Pigeon from Dutchman Kjell van den Boogert (American Eagle/CST Postnl) in 4^th, followed by Joris Ryf (Bergstrom), just 3 points behind, who got an important double win on this track last year, crossing the finish line in “flying mode”.
More riders can’t wait to be racing on their home soil, such as Remy Gena (Trek/AMSL Topcycle) and Théo Charmes (Cube/AOTL Team), 6^th and 7^th overall, respectively. 
WES Charade welcomes back Matt Lombardi from Commencal South Africa, who made his debut in the World Cup right on this track, in 2021. 

Pro riders and wildcards can apply to WES Charade Round HERE.

For the first time at Charade, the event includes the WES E-Bike Fest where everyone is invited with free registration, freebies, and the chance to ride around the E-Bike area to discover this amazing venue with pro guides.
Skilled amateurs can take part in the traditional Ride WES, the guided randonnée on and around the World Cup track. Participants can register HERE.
 
The brand-new WES N-SO Mobile App launched back in May for E-Bike fans and onsite spectators with exclusive content, info, maps, and much more is downloadable via mobile HERE.

Entry list, results and race live timing available HERE
Download the photo gallery HERE
Download this Press Release in PDF HERE