Snow-go!
Published: 10th April 2008
Author: Words and photo by Jonty Edmunds
For the last three seasons the WEC’s kicked off in Sweden but for ’09 the world’s best enduro riders will head for sunnier climes in Portugal and that, reckons Jonty, is an opportunity lost…
It’s a time-worn cliché that a change is as good as a rest and while most if us probably don’t give this old chestnut much thought the simple act of doing something different is often the perfect way of revitalising and re-motivating.
For the past three years the opening round of the World Enduro Championship has been exactly that – different. Requiring that the world’s best fit their bikes with spiked tyres and compete in near sub-zero conditions, round one of the ’06, ’07 and ’08 WEC has been an event completely unlike all others.
Finding riders that enjoy the Swedish season opener isn’t easy. In fact, finding southern European riders that like the event is almost impossible but, despite the general lack of enthusiasm for the event among many riders, the GP of Sweden has done a lot more for the WEC than most realise.
Like all championships it’s the opening round that usually attracts the most attention and often the most media coverage. As the world’s most prestigious enduro championship the event that starts the WEC series is of huge importance. More so than any other event of the year the first round - no matter where it’s held - has to have something about it that makes it stand out from the rest. And make no mistake about it, the GP of Sweden stands out from all other international enduro events like a sore thumb due to its snow-lined special tests and, well, just the fact that it’s very, very different.
No other international off-road motorcycle series in the world starts with an event as dynamic as the WEC’s Swedish winter enduro. Few rounds of the WEC project such a positive image of our sport due to the event being so unique. While the GP of France will look all but identical to the GP of Italy or the GP of Spain to the untrained eye, the uniqueness of the GP of Sweden has caught the attention of many more than just those interested in the enduro world championship. Visually it’s been the best thing that’s happened to the WEC in a long while. But it won’t be returning in ’09.
While no-one knows how good a job the Portuguese organisers that will host the opening round of the ’09 series will do when it comes to adding a little something extra to the most important WEC event of next season, it’s unlikely it will match the Swedish winter enduro on a number of levels.
One of the most interesting things about the winter enduro is the way in which some riders have allowed the event to get inside their heads and effectively put an early stop to their world championship aspirations. An event that most said couldn’t be won by anyone other than a Scandinavian, in ’06 David Knight proved that simply wasn’t the case as he claimed a deserved victory before going on to dominate the Enduro 3 world championship.
This year’s event proved to be every bit as exciting as the previous two. Regarded by many as the best winter enduro so far, it saw some riders dominate and some struggle while some finally seemed to have got to grips with what it takes to perform well in the snow. It seems fitting that this year the event was won by a Swedish rider on a Swedish bike. Joakim Ljunggren, competing on Husaberg’s new forward facing cylinder bike, claimed a popular and well-earned Enduro 2 class win. But most interesting this year was the fact that a number of riders that had previously struggled in Sweden seemed to have finally mastered the snow-covered special tests.
When it was announced that the WEC would be starting with a winter enduro many riders were quick to comment that they thought it was ‘stupid’ and not right for the Scandinavian competitors to be handed such a big early-season advantage. Some continue to complain to this day.
But irrespective of whether the event was easier for Swedes and Finns than it was for Italians and Spaniards, over three years it has highlighted the fact that very few riders have been able to deal with something so different to what they’re used to. Yet some non-Scandinavians did manage to overcome it. The Swedish winter enduro offered a unique challenge compared to all other rounds of the series. Those that did perform well showed that like all good enduro riders they were able to adapt. Few riders will need to adapt to conditions at next year’s WEC opener in Portugal.