Nathalie Schneitter wins at her WES debut, Jérôme Gilloux confirms his solid standings lead

Castiglione dei Pepoli (Italy), Saturday 5 June – The second round of the season took place today at the Bologna-Appennino venue, presented by Suzuki Hybrid.

Qualifying and race on the same day is always a tough call for any racer when there is a huge climb up to the race track, however, that was for the race not for the qualification which went down in fantastic style with the riders discovering the real possibilities of their batteries and legs.

In the Women’s field, following her first Holeshot, Nathalie Schneitter (Trek Bosch) took the win at her debut in this WES season, whilst Mélanie Pugin (BH) broke her chain and finished the last lap walking, crossing the line in second. Visibly upset, it was a harsh end to a hard race that she badly wanted to win. However, the reigning World Champ took the Women’s standings lead by one point over Sofia Wiedenroth (Specialized), out for an injury. Karen Pepper (Lapierre) got another important third place in WES Bologna’s Race 1 today and a strong third position in the standings.

Jérôme Gilloux (Moustache) qualified in first place and kept that position for the rest of the day taking a convincing win over second place Joris Ryf (Bergstrom) who was pushing hard and said he tried everything to try and beat him back into second place. Disappointed but still with resolve, he will try again tomorrow. Cecce Camoin (Specialized) took Race 1 Holeshot and clinched the third step of the podium, a coveted score evening after WES Round 1 in Monaco.

The track held out well with all the races liking the descent but suffering a bit on the climbs. Before the race, many riders were worried about their battery life however, this was not a problem in the end with most riders returning home with 20 per cent remaining.

For tomorrow’s race, the track will change slightly and the riders will find themselves back on the grid, ready to suffer more on a world-class race track that was not designed for non- E-bikes!

The weather held out today but for tomorrow it looks a bit risky, with the possibility of rain…

Qualirace 2 will start tomorrow at 11:00 am CET with the regular race starting at 3:00 pm.

Download Race 1 photo gallery HERE
Check out the results and follow tomorrow’s live timing HERE
Download this Press Release in PDF format HERE