The second UCI Enduro World Cup season is just around the corner. Last year’s changes were limited to regulations and points, but 2024 has some exciting new venues for us race fans to watch.
What you need to know about the 2024 MTB Enduro World Cup:
- 6 races held in exclusively Europe with 3 new venues.
- The first one is in Finale Ligure, Italy from May 10 to 12.
- Single-day races instead of two-day events with multiple timed stages.
- Race highlight shows are free on Youtube. There are no live broadcasts.
Race Calendar
There are 6 UCI World Cup Enduro races scheduled in 2024. The race season starts on May 10th in Italy and finishes on September 8th in Loudenvielle, France. There are no more races in the UK, North America or Australia.
2024 UCI Enduro World Cup Schedule
For the initial round the circuit returns to the staple stop in Finale Ligure, Italy. With half of the races held at new venues, it promises to be an exciting season for EDR racers and fans.
Although many fans and racers hoped for more variety on various continents – especially since there are XC races in Brazil.
Especially for Poland, it’s the first World Cup races (together with Downhill) the fans there will be able to see live.
Now being part of the UCI MTB World Series there are a couple of venues where the EDR schedule overlaps with Downhill and Cross Country events on the same weekend.
The Enduro World Cup replaced the Enduro World Series (EWS) in 2023 without continuing the Trophy of Nations race. So there are no Enduro World Championships.
How to watch
All UCI Enduro World Cup races are broadcast via highlight shows on-demand for free on the UCI World Series YouTube channel. This includes shows for EDR (formerly EWS) and e-Enduro. A live broadcast is not possible due to the stage racing format.
Riders are still allowed to film the race weekend on their own POV helmet cameras. For complete and up-to-date race coverage you can follow some of the best riders on the planet on YouTube.
Both past EWS champions Jack Moir (MoiMoiTV) and Jesse Melamed upload footage of their race weekends regularly. Make sure to give them or your favorite riders a follow to stay up-to-date on Enduro racing action.
The basics of Enduro racing
Enduro racing (EDR) includes several timed downhill sections (Special Stages) and non-timed transfer sections (Liaison Stages).
Riders start the downhill stages individually at specific intervals. The total time of all stages is used to determine the winner. Outside mechanical assistance is only allowed between certain stages.
Think rally racing on mountain bikes.
This means racers need to find a balance between all-out speed and preserving their equipment.
Mechanical issues are pretty common with how rough some stages are. Flat tires and bent rims are the most common and are very time-consuming to repair, if not impossible.
The regulations determine the route and means to travel between Special Stages in training and on race day. For the training day, shuttles or chairlifts are usually allowed, while on race day they may not be.
On training day, riders can preview certain stages (and often record them on GoPros) – usually for only one run – before the race day.
While the Liaison Stages are not timed, riders still must ride uphill on pace to arrive at the start of the next Special Stage within a certain timeframe to make their allotted starting time.
By the way, if you’re wondering what’s up with the constant whistling at MTB races by race marshals, here’s a hint: It’s regulated in the official UCI rulebook.
eMTB Enduro World Cup
Parallel to the EDR, the Ebike Enduro World Cup (E-EDR) is held.
E-Enduro is similar to regular Enduro, but the race course is adapted to suit the capabilities of electric-powered mountain bikes, including more challenging technical uphill sections in the timed stages.
