The first-ever UCI Enduro Mountain Bike World Cup race took place last weekend in Maydena, Tasmania, Australia. Back story: Up until the end of 2022, international enduro racing took place under the guise of the Enduro World Series, but for 2023 the series organiser, ESO Sports, and Warner Bros Discovery have teamed up to take enduro to the next level.
Title image: Richie Rude by Sven Martin
The Union Cycliste International (UCI), cycling’s governing body, has signed up ESO and Discovery to organise the running and broadcast of all World Cup disciplines from this year onwards. Below you’ll find some of their official coverage from this first enduro race. It’s all looking good so far – will we see the official highlights show on Eurosport and other mainstream channels though? Fingers crossed.
Here’s the official MTB World Series website for any information (err oh yeah – the MTB World Cup series is called the MTB World Series now – and each discipline has its own World Cup series, eg Enduro World Cup, Downhill World Cup. Got it?).
ENDURO WORLD CUP ROUND 1 MAYDENA TASMANIA HIGHLIGHTS SHOW
Get the full lowdown direct from the race organiser, MTB World Series (ESO), on everything that went down in Maydena for the first round of the UCI Enduro Mountain Bike World Cup Series 2023! Luke Meier-Smith, Dan Booker and Connor Fearon made it an all-Aussie podium in the men’s, while Isabeau Courdurier, Morgane Charre and Ella Conolly made it an all-Euro top-three in the women’s.
Check out the full EDR Round 1 results here.
OFFICIAL COURSE PREVIEW
For some non-official action and squid talk, check out our Squids On Tour course preview by Sven Martin and friends.
Here, Josh Carlson and Ric McLaughlin break down the six stages that’ll be raced on Sunday. Stage six sounds nuts! Riders will need strong forearms and a good memory to make their way down its 15+ minutes.
RAW PRACTICE ACTION
Video summary: Schralps and gnar from Friday practice at Maydena Bike Park Enduro World Cup. All the top riders checking out the six stages that will comprise Sunday’s racing. Our money’s on Morgane Charre and Jack Moir for the wins.
NEW 2023 ENDURO WORLD CUP BIKES
Video summary: We are introduced to some of the fastest riders, starting with Jesse Melamed of the Canyon Collective Enduro team. He is riding a Canyon Spectral in a small size with a 160mm travel front and back. He has DT Swiss Wheels, Maxxis Tires DoubleDown MaxxGrip, RockShox Forks and a brand new SRAM Eagle Transmission. He is particular about his brake setup, with his right brake slightly angled up compared to his left. Ella Conolly of the Cannondale Enduro team is riding a medium size Jekyll with SRAM Axis and a 32-tooth chain ring and 52-tooth cassette. She has a 175mm dropper post, 35mm stem, 35mm rise handlebars, RockShox Zeb Ultimate with 55 PSI and no tokens, and a Super Deluxe Ultimate Coil with a fast rebound. She is particular about her suspension setup, and uses a lightweight tyre insert due to the rocky terrain. We also get to meet Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing – riding a Firebird), Jack Moir (YT Mob – riding a Capra) and, er, more as they discuss their bikes.
GMBN SEASON PREVIEW
Video summary: The video discusses the start of the 2023 Enduro World Cup series. After ten years, Enduro is now a World Cup discipline, part of the UCI World Series, alongside cross-country, downhill, and marathon. The first round of the Enduro World Cup racing takes place in Maydena, Tasmania, Australia. The video then looks back at last year’s series, where Richie Rude won the opening men’s race on the tight and twisty trails in the Tweed Valley, Scotland, and Ella Conolly won the women’s race on home turf. The racing continued to Petzen, Jamnica, where Jesse Melamed and Isabeau Courdurier won the men’s and women’s races, respectively. The series then went to Val di Fassa, Italy, Whistler, British Columbia, Burke, Vermont, Sugarloaf, Maine, Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and Loudenvielle, France, before finishing with the Trophy of Nations in Finale Ligure, Italy. Isabeau Courdurier won the women’s overall title, and Jesse Melamed won the men’s overall title. The video also talks about the channel’s plans to show highlights of the Enduro World Cup racing and a racing news show, followed by longer highlights of the racing later in the week. The next round of racing will be in Derby, Tasmania.
