The reigning world champion and Private Sport Shop ambassador is preparing to put her title back on the line this weekend for the first stage of the World Cup in Finale Ligure, Italy. The Frenchwoman also took advantage of the event's press conference to announce her intention to take a break next year.
A fourth star and then out? Isabeau Courdurier sets out to conquer a fourth world championship title this weekend at the opening of the MTB Enduro World Cup. The Private Sport Shop ambassador is expected to do her utmost to overtake Cécile Ravanel and Tracy Moseley (who also have three world titles to their name) before taking a sabbatical, as she announced at a press conference organized ahead of this Italian stage, held on the famous Finale Ligure spot.
"I'm obviously motivated to go for another title, but I'm at a point in my career where one title more or less won't necessarily change the way I look back on my career, which I'm proud of," explained rider Lapierre. "For a long time, I didn't feel equal to girls like Cécile Ravanel or Tracy Moseley, who have also won three world titles. Now I'm up there with riders of such high calibre, and I'm more aware of what I've achieved in this discipline. But the most important thing is to have as much fun as possible on the bike, as I've been doing for the past 10 years.
"It's the first stage of the season, so we'll have to get our bearings and not necessarily take off like a bullet on the trails. It's a stage I've never won, on which I've always missed out on the top step of the podium, but I've never been far from victory at Finale either. I'm keeping in mind that the important thing is the overall result and to be there at the end of the year to challenge for the title. Especially as I'll be taking a break next season. I took this decision to have more time for myself and start a family. So this is my last season as a 100% professional on the World Cup, but I hope I'll still be back here on this beautiful stage after my break."
To follow the three-time world champion For this weekend's first round of the EDR World Cup in Finale Ligure, you'll need to tune in to UCI live timing (there are no live TV broadcasts scheduled for World Cup enduro rounds), while Eurosport plans to broadcast a summary of the event on Thursday, May 16, at 6:45pm. Five special stages are on the programme, covering a total distance of 57 km (including 18.4 km of timed sectors). The first special stage kicks off this Saturday, May 11, at 8 a.m., with the final stage of the day scheduled to finish at around 6.30 p.m.
