Finn Chapman takes on the Finale.

Finale Ligure is a staple of the Enduro World Series (EWS) and has been the closing race every year since it started in 2013 and, even after many schedule changes, 2020 was no different. 

Finale Ligure is a beautiful quiet town set in the Italian Riviera, but don’t let it fool you. With dramatic limestone mountains, the 4 stages of the race through its steep descents and extreme technical sections aren’t for the faint hearted. 

If you love your extreme sports you want to be watching this race, but if you're mad about it you want to be racing!

Outskilltherisk’s in house nutter Finn Chapman was there competing in the Rider Trophy. He’s one of the youngest in his category and managed to place an impressive 36th out of 105 in his first international EWS event. We caught up with him after the race to hear about his experience.

So tell us about Finale Ligure, what was the track and atmosphere like?

Italy, for many reasons, is my favourite place to be. I love the culture and the people; it makes me happy just to wake up there. When I arrived I parked my van in a great spot which meant waking up pretty much on the beach. My event was on Saturday, so I arrived on Wednesday evening and spent the whole of Thursday doing my track walks and studying my line choices.

The atmosphere of the event was awesome. The area has plenty of racing history and great scenery. All the top teams and riders were there with everyone excited to race. My favourite stage was the first. It was the longest and what I class as a proper enduro stage: hardcore, technical, fast and steep with huge rock sections through woodland. Just what I expected!

The track walk highlighted how important it is to get your racing lines right as there is no room for error, otherwise you could find yourself in trees or rock gullies. It was a big learning curve. During the race I thought I was pacing well but found myself being closely followed by a Norco team rider. Fueled with extra adrenaline I managed to find some more speed and open up a gap, showing them I have even more in the tank. It’s about learning how to unlock that ability and when to push hard to get that time down.

The other stages were of course just as savage and body battering. The fourth and final stage destroyed any energy I might have had left with steep technical climbs. There was even one point I had to get off and push my bike to the top. 

You secured a really impressive result at Finale, what was in your head to improve on or do more of from Zermatt?

Between Zermatt and Finale I spent some time riding the longer tracks which I felt improved my riding and fitness. But Zermatt and Finale are very different mainly due to the different terrain, which meant changing my riding style to get the best out of it. I know for next year I will be doing some tactical early track walking and local track rides in the race area just to get myself comfortable with the terrain and dirt type.

The real difference in Zermatt was prepping. I wasn’t prepared for what was in store and felt the result would never reflect what I can achieve. The conditions we had in Finale were, I suppose, normal for the time of year. In Zermatt there was a surprise snowfall and it was very hard to adjust the mindset and body to those conditions. Finale was a clearer reflection of my riding ability. Of course I made mistakes but I’m really pleased with finishing 36th. I can go away knowing where my skill level is at. I’m going to go back to training knowing my strengths and weaknesses, practicing sprinting and more weight sessions in the gym every week. 

Right now I’m staying with Ride Enduro Spain where there’s a great 10 minute long track where I can practice to use my energy more efficiently. There’s so much for me to learn from but it is great to know I have got the pace inside me. I need to go away and learn how to unlock it to get the results I know I can achieve.

How important did you find good form and strength to be when attacking these 4 stages? 

Form and strength go hand in hand; it is a massive part of riding. Having form on your bike gives you the strength to stay in the correct body position. This helps with bike control, being able to make yourself tall on the bike and look ahead while breathing. For example, my Geometron has a long geometry so ideally I want my body to be placed in the centre of the bike. Doing this makes you faster and more controlled, but keeping your body in that position uses up more strength.

A weakness I have picked up on is recovering after sprints. I find myself losing time on the technical downhill sections when I’m not using my energy efficiently. Bike time is great but right now I’m at a point where my speed is faster than my body fitness can handle, which I’ve never had before while riding. When the tracks get wet is when weaknesses are especially highlighted.

In Spain there’s not a lot of chances to ride in wet conditions, which means I’m not as used to them. It causes me to start losing form and when you lose form you start over compensating with your legs. I’m going to start putting myself in uncomfortable situations, maybe use my hardtail mountain bike more to push myself and keep that form.

Top riders have their own mechanics tweaking and fixing their bikes, how are you finding doing all this by yourself?

Top riders have their own mechanics, tweaking settings and sorting out their bike set up.

Doing it by myself has been great to understand what these changes, big or small, are going to do to that bike, like how it affects how it rides and reacts to different terrain. It’s helped me pick up on things that I would have never thought about before and it’s also made me more conscious about bike changes. For example, upgrades I am debating are raising my bottom bracket height to sort out some oversteer problems and going back to using push on grips as I’m finding I develop less arm pump and thinking about using dual crown Manitou Dorado forks. 

But bike changes and upgrades are expensive. I’m hoping next season to pick up some more sponsors to help support me with the racing. My Geometron bike has been awesome. The Extreme Racing Shox rear shock makes the bike so plush and gives it loads of grip. 

It can be difficult doing it by myself without a computer of stats and settings to go by, but I am learning lots and not just guessing and playing around with numbers. When I change these things myself, I can feel and see the difference first hand. 

What tips and tricks have you picked up through this event that you can share ?

Organisation and time management is key. Going through in your head and figuring out what you’re going to do on the track walk, when you're going to attack, when to save energy, what your line is going to be.

In these races you need to know how long it takes to get from one stage to the next. A good tip is putting some effort into the uphill cycling to the next section. I would try to arrive 10 minutes before so I’d have a nice break before I had to set off. I noticed other people were turning up just a few minutes before, out of breath and then having to go and try to get a solid time down on that stage. 

Keep your cool by thinking you are just going for another ride. This is hard to do but if you're calm you will perform better. That being said these competitions are not easy, nothing about them is easy. They test your mental and physical ability to the limit but this is what makes them so great and addictive.

I had such a good time this race; the organisation was spot on and it was a good test of my skill and fitness. Finale has given me even more love and motivation for this sport, a great event to close the season to and amazing to be representing Outskilltherisk. I have to say thank you to them for their continued support.

Hearing about Finn’s experience in the EWS was incredible. The motivation and drive needed in order to keep going even against the odds is why we’re proud to have him representing Outskilltherisk in Europe. We’re excited to hear about his next adventure and are sure he will continue to grow and achieve even more moving forward. 

If you want to get your hands on some Outskilltherisk gear to help you when you’re pushing yourself to the max, head to our shop by clicking here.