Fri 7 June 2024: The UCI and Warner Bros. Discovery announce that the inaugural UCI Mountain Bike Enduro and E-Enduro World Championships will take place in Val di Fassa on 14-15 September 2024.
We first noticed Val di Fassa accidentally confirming that it would be hosting the first-ever Enduro World Championships on its bike park page and in an Instagram comment back in April, and now we are extremely excited that the rumours were finally confirmed by this morning’s official announcement.
At long last we will get to see the world’s best enduro and e-enduro riders go head-to-head for their chance to earn the coveted rainbow stripes.
Previously, the closest that enduro riders had been to earning a Rainbow Jersey was the ‘special UCI jersey’ awarded to the winners of the Trophy of Nations.
The Trophy of Nations, which first took place in 2019, was the Enduro World Series’ take on a World Championships. The event took place at the end of each race season in Finale Ligure, with each nation represented by a maximum of three male and female riders. They would then compete as a team and the fastest overall team would take home the win, along with the ‘special UCI jersey’.
A full Trophy of Nations race recap can be found in The World Stage 3 – Enduro World Series Yearbook 2019.
The 2024 Enduro MTB World Championships is likely to mirror the Cross-country and Downhill World Championships, with individual elite winners earning a rainbow jersey and the right to sport rainbow stripes (racer bling) in UCI Enduro World Cup races forever more. It is so far unclear if there will be Under-21 Enduro World Championships.
Val di Fassa has been a regular venue for world enduro racing since 2019 and has always hosted fantastic events. It is home to the infamous ‘Tutti Frutti’, one of the longest and most picturesque stages seen in recent years.
From the UCI Mountain Bike World Series:
UCI President David Lappartient said:
“I am thrilled that the first Enduro and E-enduro UCI World Champions will be crowned in Val di Fassa Trentino, which hosted a very successful round of the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. This venue in the beautiful Italian Dolomites is already well-known to many international athletes, and we can only look forward to the first ever UCI Mountain Bike Enduro and E-enduro World Championships in this majestic setting.”
Chris Ball, Vice President of Cycling Events at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said:
“We are incredibly proud to take on the challenge of promoting the first edition of the UCI Enduro and E-enduro World Championships. We are fully committed to leveraging our expertise and the resources deployed in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series to support this discipline.Our pioneering and innovative spirit makes us the perfect partner for the UCI in this new project. Returning to Italy, where the public and private institutions, athletes, and people love mountain biking and always treat us so well, is a privilege.”
