With less than one month to go until the 6DAYS® FIM Enduro of Nations takes place in Bergamo – Italy, 24-29 August, for the ninety-ninth edition of this legendary race, talk turns to the terrain that competitors will face.

Italy is famous for Enduro riding and Bergamo, together with its surrounding mountains in the north of the country, has helped cement that reputation.

Tasked with the duty of overseeing the course preparation for this year’s 6DAYS® Italia is FIM Track Inspector Maurizio Micheluz. As an Italian, Micheluz has been looking forward to this edition for a long time, and what he feels will be a very special week of racing.

“Bergamo is the heart of Enduro in Italy,” says Micheluz with deep pride and passion. “The public, the passion and the atmosphere will ensure that the 6DAYS® Italia will never be forgotten by the competitors.”

From the gates of the Fiera di Bergamo race paddock, the seven-hundred competitors from thirty-three nations and six continents competing in the 6DAYS® Italia will be led out onto its breathtaking mountainside.

In total, riders will complete up to thirteen-hundred kilometres of riding during the six-day race, with an average of two-hundred-and-fifty kilometres ridden during each of the first five days.

“For the 6DAYS® Italia, we have devised three courses to challenge competitors,” tells Micheluz. “The opening course for Day One and Day Two is in Val Cavallina. This is a wide valley to the east of Bergamo. The riding will be the least technical of the event, and along with three very nice special tests, we feel riders can properly settle in and begin to enjoy the race immediately.

“For Day Three, we will only use this route once and it will be a mixture of the previous two days and the loop for Day Four and Day Five.”

Micheluz feels that it was important this year to devise a course that celebrated the true beauty of the region, while recognising the deeply rooted association that Italy has with Enduro. And for this, Val Seriana on Day Four and Day Five awaits.

“Day Four and Five is probably going to be the most demanding loop,” he confirms. “Located in Val Seriana, this is the most famous valley in Bergamo. We have witnessed Enduro races run here several times in the past and it is where our 6DAYS® Italia riders will face the most famous of Italian trails in the history of Enduro.

“I am pretty sure that our time in Val Seriana will be the most memorable thanks to its amazing landscapes, iconic special tests and demanding transfers.”

As ever, the traditional Final Cross Test on Day Six will witness the crowning of this year’s 6DAYS® FIM Enduro of Nations’ champions at the Covo Campo MX circuit, thirty minutes south of Bergamo.

A purpose-built, permanent Motocross facility, it is set to deliver some sensational racing and closely fought battles, bringing the 6DAYS® Italia to a close in style.