MTB News: The Enduro One 2020 racing series is history! Six top events with full starting fields were on the program this year, but the Covid 19 pandemic threw a spanner in the works for the organizers and the riders. After the lockdown, an "emergency series" of four events was supposed to save the series this year, but this season is finally over.
With four races, the Enduro One racing series actually had a chance this year. The start of the 2020 season was to take place late on August 29th and 30th in St. Johann/Tyrol. However, the implementation of the race in St. Johann, which had already been approved, was judged negatively by the authorities. The decisive factor for the decision was the high number of participants, which with spectators and relatives would clearly exceed the maximum of 750 event guests currently permitted in Austria and as a result, among other things, the specification of the permanently allocated seats could not be met. Another piece of bad news came from Bad Endbach almost at the same time. The official requirements would have required an extreme effort, and nobody could really have guaranteed compliance with the Infection Protection Act. So now Bad Endbach is off the table. With only two more races to go, those responsible are now drawing a line under the Enduro One 2020.
Ulrich Hanus, boss of E1 promoter BABOONS, about the series: "It must be good now. The constant "hanging around" with the permits - if so, then under conditions that can hardly be implemented in practice - is no longer comprehensible to the drivers, the organizer and also to us. That's why we will not allow the 2020 KENDA Enduro One series to take place and there will be no series ranking. Anyone who, as an organizer, puts his signature on a document in which a hygiene concept is required for an event, which is definitely not feasible in practice, is acting irresponsibly and ultimately endangers everyone involved. That's why we prefer not to do it."
E1 racing director Christian Hens also sees no point in maintaining the 2020 series under the given conditions: "We live from the close cooperation, the family atmosphere of a professional mass sports event and the great experience for the athletes but also for the many helpers. We can neither imagine the administration nor the joint sport in large starting fields under distance requirements - whether with or without mouthguard. Simply putting something on paper is not enough. The KENDA Enduro One Series 2020 is either 100% original or not at all.”
Anyone who has registered and paid for the Kenda E1 Series 2020 will of course get their money back. For this purpose, those responsible for the series will set up a refund button on the official Enduro One from September 01st, which will be active until September 30th. Entry fees already paid for the individual runs will also be refunded upon request. It is still unclear how the two races in Innsbruck (September 12/13) and Winterberg (September 19/20), which have not yet been canceled, will continue. One thing is certain: If these two events also fall victim to the effects of the pandemic, the entry fees paid will also be refunded here on request.
Web: www.enduro-one.com