Cycle News Staff | June 22, 2021
EnduroGP Gets Green Flag In Portugal
The 2021 FIM EnduroGP World Championship finally got underway in Portugal, June 19-20, with Beta’s Brian Freeman coming away with the overall victory in the EnduroGP (overall) class. He also topped the Enduro 3 class.
Freeman got things started with the opening-day win over Beta teammate Steve Holcombe by nearly 36 seconds, with KTM’s Josep Garcia taking third 52.6 seconds behind the winner, Freeman.
Holcombe’s season got off to an auspicious start when the defending champion overshot a turn in the very first special test and buried his bike in the mud, losing approximately 40 seconds in the process.
On day two, TM rider Wil Ruprecht, of Australia, came from behind to edge out Freeman by 8.48 seconds and take the win, with Holcombe third and Garcia fourth. It was Ruprecht’s first career win.
“It’s awesome to get my first EnduroGP win, I’m so happy with that,” said Ruprecht on Sunday. “Today was a tough day, the tests were so rough after day one. Everyone was on the limit today, pushing for the win. Winning in these conditions, against these riders, is crazy and will take a while to sink in what’s just happened. It’s been a brilliant weekend and an incredible way to start the season.”
In the overall ranking, Freeman took top honors over Rupretch, with Holcombe taking third and Garcia rounding out the podium.
Holcombe was the overall winner in Enduro 2 over Rupretch and Garcia.
In the Women’s class, six-time champ Lais Sanz (GasGas) came out strong on day one, taking the win, but struggled in what were wetter conditions on day two, finishing third.
GasGas rider Mireia Badia edged out Jane Daniels (Fantic) by two seconds for the win. Sanz finished 12 seconds behind Badia to claim third.
Day One (Top 3)
- Brian Freeman (Bet)
- Steve Holcombe (Bet)
- Josep Garcia (KTM)
Day Two (Top 3)
- Wil Rupretch (TM)
- Brian Freeman (Bet)
- Steve Holcombe (Bet)
For more information, visit www.endurogp.com