While just one rider in each class dominated the majority of this season’s Enduro World Championship, the Enduro 2 category was hotly disputed.

Gathering a sizable lead throughout the year, the French trio of Antoine Meo, Christophe Nambotin and Mathias Bellino all secured their respective world titles at the penultimate round of the season in Finland. With the season done and dusted, they had the luxury of enjoying a pressure free home race in Brignoles, France that signified the end of the season.

Unfortunately, their compatriot Pela Renet did not.

On the verge of securing the Enduro 2 world title, since turning to enduro three short years ago after clinching the MX3 World Championship, Pela was very much under the spotlight in France.

A French rider, on the cusp of becoming an enduro world champion for the first time at his home race in the final round of the season ensured Renet was the centre of everybody’s attention during the final two days of the season.

However, knowing that the last 48 hours of the 2012 EWC series would become a major factor in defining the career of the Frenchman, Pela approached the event with the utmost professionalism.

He knew that only two riders stood a mathematical chance of preventing him from becoming champion and regardless of how everyone else performed beating both Cristobal Guerrero and Juha Salminen was the only thing that mattered.

Ending day one nine hundredths of a second shy of the win, he claimed some extra points over his nearest rivals to extend his lead with just the final day remaining.

On day two and with only 12 special tests standing in the way of his first world title, he wisely opted to fight for the championship instead of the win. Clicking into title winning mode he rode to a safe and calculated third place.

The result was more than enough to secure the title and thus earn his place in history as one of the small handful of competitors to win both enduro and motocross titles.

Congratulations Pela on becoming the 2012 Enduro 2 World Champion…