Albin Cambos ·
Shan 6 ·
Thirteenth in the World, on a Bike You Can Buy
Finale Ligure doesn’t do easy.
For more than a decade, the trails above the Italian Riviera have set the standard for top-level enduro racing, and this October they hosted the third edition of the Enduro World Championships. Six timed stages. 16.79 km against the clock. An opening stage of 6.69 km that drops 907 m of loose, rocky, rooty Ligurian hillside. Then five more stages, with long, punishing transfers between them that leave nothing in the legs for the stages that follow.
The start list was as deep as it gets: Ryan Gilchrist, Richie Rude, Elliot Jamieson, Luke Meier-Smith, Alex Rudeau, and a pack of the fastest gravity riders on the planet, all chasing one set of rainbow stripes.
Lining up among them in the colours of France was Albin Cambos, reigning French National Enduro Champion, on his Production Privée Shan No. 6.
He crossed the line 13th overall!
The Closest Racing on Earth
Put that result in context. After more than 36 minutes of flat-out racing, Ryan Gilchrist took the elite men’s title by just 4.86 seconds. Only 22 seconds separated the top five. At this level, a single dab, a missed line or a moment’s hesitation costs you places, and every one of the six stages had to be ridden on the limit with no room to ease off.
Albin’s race was a slow burn. The opening stage, Megaroller, is a 15-minute monster, and he ended it in 22nd. He held steady through Oribago and Little Dog to sit 19th at the halfway point.
From there he got faster every time the clock started: 18th on Groppo, then 13th on Blitz, a ride that lifted him six places overall in a single stage. On the final stage he was quicker still, setting the 11th-fastest time of the day. In total he gained nine places from the end of the first stage. The margins were tiny all the way down the results, and Albin finished just 1.1 seconds clear of 14th.
Thirteenth in that field is a ride to be very proud of. It matches Albin’s career-best World Cup finish, and this time he did it at the biggest single race of the year, against everyone who matters.
Even more impressive, Finale isn’t Albin’s kind of terrain. We caught up with him after the race:
“I’m really happy, especially on terrain I don’t particularly like and never ride. I didn’t even think I’d make the top 20! And the bike handled absolutely everything.”
Sitting outside that top 20 after the first stage, he rode himself well inside it. And the bike underneath him took the lot in its stride.
Dressed for the Occasion
World Champs has its own traditions, and one of the best is the custom paint job. Riders show up to the biggest race of the year on bikes dressed to represent their country, and Albin’s Shan No. 6 was no exception.
His frame was hand-painted in France to match the French flag. A French National Champion, on a French-painted bike, racing for France at the World Championships. We couldn’t think of a better way for the Shan No. 6 to turn up in Finale.
The Paint Is a One-Off. The Bike Is Yours.
Here’s the part we want everyone to remember. Underneath that tricolour paint sits the same Production Privée Shan No. 6 that anyone can order today. There’s no secret team frame, prototype geometry or special-edition chassis hiding under the paint.
Hand-welded steel front triangle, with Reynolds 853 top and down tubes. Carbon composite swingarm. 167 mm of rear travel driven by a 225 × 75 mm shock. A 64.5° head angle and 457 mm chainstays for a long, planted chassis that stays composed when the trail turns properly ugly. It’s a bike built for riders who want to commit and stay on the gas, and in Finale it took on six of the hardest stages in world enduro alongside the best riders in the sport.
One Bike, One Season
Albin’s year on the Shan No. 6 reads like a checklist of everything a race bike should be able to do:
- Enduro des 1000 Vaches, January: 0.1 seconds off the win on a prototype
- French National Enduro Champion
- French Enduro Cup: 2nd overall by just 19 points, with the win at the final round in Luchon
- UCI Enduro World Cup: career-best 13th
- Enduro World Championships, Finale Ligure: 13th overall in the world
National titles, a series fight that went down to the final round, and now a top-15 at the World Championships. All on one bike.
Huge congratulations, Albin. You did France, and the Shan No. 6, proud.
Learn more about the Production Privée Shan No.6!
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