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After all the uncertainty around the future of enduro racing, I felt the need to create a new forum topic just around enduro racing, the enduro world cup and all other things enduro, because we all love enduro don't we?
Correct. Keen to see how things shake out at Finale. Genuinely have no idea what kind of form everyone's in - it seems most of the top riders have all had fairly smooth off-seasons?
Looks like a whole 5 stages for the first round. How will the riders cope.
finale schedule and race book link
https://ucimtbworldseries.com/content/22478/01HX6TNFE1HFMVE95CHW4SZ1ZM…
moir's finale shakedown vid
The beginning of Jack's video where they're in the fan shuttling reminds me of one of the things that makes enduro great... all the riders able to "party" and have a good time as groups. The atmosphere and mood during enduro (both fun/happy and miserable/suffering) are what set it apart from DH. It's about the racing, but it's also about the experience and the story just as much. I'm unsure if there's even a way to capture it in a live format.. and really it's more about the experience for the racers than the fans I suppose, which is why it's not going to probably ever have much success as a broadcast sport.
Just bums me out to see it dwindling so badly.
Is Enduro really dwindling? Or is it like the Mark Twain quote about his death being grossly exaggerated?
Local Enduro events here sell out very quick. Lots of stoked riders.
Could just be our region and the races we do, but definitely seems to be on the decline here. Races used to sell out quickly and have 300+ riders and now barely get over 100. Big Mountain Enduro also seems to be down, but that might be a result of new ownership’s decisions rather than overall state of enduro.
A couple of more videos to get you in the mood!
Around here it seems dh racing is on the rise and enduro is on a slight decline. Especially in the younger age groups. I think a major reason is most the new venues are pretty remote to the rest of the series and the others haven’t really had new tracks or major changes to existing tracks. a lot of guys who were racing enduros after feeling dh was getting stale are now either going back to some dh races (where there is generally some new section or feature) or just cutting back on all but their favorite venues. I think the other big reason is for a few years before Covid ews/local enduros wEre arguably getting more media attention than dh and now it’s very much back in wc/local dh’s favor. So when a new guy or kid in the sport wants to try a race he’s showing up To a dh race rather than an enduro. That said I don’t think it’s remotely at a risk of disappearing. Though I do think we will see a lot more growth in the e bike category at expense to the regular ones.
Richies on a new chainguide this season....
XT cranks? Shimano can't even get the big guy some XTR cranks?
Gravel converts?
It could just be ergonomic preference. XT has a wider Q factor than XTR.
Part of me thinks that a lot of the enduro tracks are just as rough as the some of the DH tracks. Why beat yourself up on a 160mm bike when you can let it go on a DH bike??
Maybe I am wrong, enduro bikes are very capable these days but still no comparison to a DH bike.
Well… I’ve heard that a lot of the organizers here feel that way. They can sell out a 3k attendee gravel event in 24 hours evidently, so it makes it hard for them to get excited about enduro if they don’t have a personal stake in it.
How I see it is that DH is always been the favourite among younger people, kids like to jump and wreck their bikes and bones. All the kids want to ride bike park DH bikes, you really need to enjoy suffering just to decide that "I'm an enduro guy and start with this sport that makes my body feel like shit" (like myself), rather than "hey let's go ride bike park and enjoy some smooth jumps with big ass bike". As for the e-bike side, it will grow to a point but never get close/surpass regular, just because those bikes are that much more expensive so it narrows down the amount of people who can buy them and willing to wreck them, in my opinion.
Stoked that the race season is finally starting, in all levels! Gonna be nice a summer and autumn.
EDR is on the press conference vibe this year as well. Pretty sweet.
Press release announcing the Orbea FOX Enduro Team for 2024, complete with new kits and bikes.
From May 10–12, the Orbea FOX Enduro Team embarks on a new season at the Finale Outdoor Region, where all eyes will be on the opening round of the UCI Enduro World Cup. Following an intense pre-season, the Orbea FOX Enduro Team enters the season with boundless enthusiasm and determination. With the goal of retaining last season’s E-EDR title and securing victory in EDR, the team is also committed to sharing values like dedication, effort and passion with enduro fans. “Once again, we have a competitive team that aspires to rank the highest in EDR and E-EDR. In addition to pursuing top results, we aim to showcase the tremendous effort and dedication required for elite racing by riders, staff, engineers and others, with the objective of generating greater interest in the category,” says Iñaki Ucin, Orbea Sports Marketing Manager.
Martin Maes, Flo Espiñeira and Edgar Carballo are pivotal in driving the Orbea FOX Enduro Team to success. Edgar and Flo will focus on the E-EDR category, where Flo faces the challenge reclaiming their winning title from last season and showcasing their dominance that led to their victory in three out of five races.
Meanwhile, Edgar, now recovered from last year’s injury, aims to match his 2022 performance with podium finishes and nurture dreams of another race victory, as he achieved two seasons ago. Martin Maes continues to be the team’s choice for EDR, returning stronger and more focused than ever. After a turbulent 2023, the start of this year will be critical in harnessing the positive momentum and confidence that propelled him to three podium finishes in 2022.
Supported by an exceptional team, the Orbea FOX Enduro Team operates as a close-knit family. Primož Štrancar assumes the role of Team Manager, while mechanics Eneko Prado and Gilles Franck ensure all bikes are perfectly tuned. Physio Gregg Combes will keep athletes at 100% throughout the season, and cameraman Sandro Szukat will have the job of capturing every storythat unfolds.
The Orbea FOX Enduro Team will once again ride Orbea’s top-tier enduro bikes: Orbea Rallon for Martin in EDR and Orbea Wild for Edgar and Flo in E-EDR.
For 2024, Orbea Rallon gets an upgrade with 170mm of front travel and 167mm of rear travel, along with new geometry designed to tackle the most challenging courses. “During the preseason, I have been testing and adjusting my bike to my liking, and I must say I feel very comfortable in it. The mullet setup feels great and is reactive and very aggressive when the terrain gets complicated,” says Martin Maes.
Anticipation is high to witness Orbea Wild in action, following its recognition as the bike of the year by prominent media outlets in both the US and Europe. Its stiff yet lightweight frame, responsive suspension and geometry, and natural power delivered by the Bosch CX-R motor will be instrumental for Flo and Edgar in their quest for victory.
Both bikes will feature frames in gold and gray to commemorate FOX’s 50th anniversary, with the option for anyone to personalize their bike with these colors on Orbea’s MyO platform. To mark FOX’s golden anniversary, the forks on both bikes feature colorful Gold Edition accents and the new GRIP settings.
OQUO wheels complement the bikes’ striking design and continue to demonstrate their reliability under the harshest conditions. Depending on the terrain, the team will choose from the alloy MC32 TEAM and MC32 TEAM POWER models, the latter specific to e-bikes, or the carbon MC32LTD model. Through Orbea’s MyO program, customers can choose between aluminum or carbon wheels, with the carbon option available in a wide range of colors.
Raceface and Bluegrass have also contributed to the team’s gala by providing helmets and gold components that help them stand out in Final Ligure’s technical sections. Alongside these brands, the Orbea FOX Enduro Team continues to receive support from Bosch, Maxxis, Fi’zi:k, Met, Galfer and Crankbrothers, all of which are integral to the team’s success throughout the season.
To commemorate the start of the season, we’re offering a special opportunity to equip yourself with the best gear. We’re giving away a gear pack valued at €1,000 that includes products from the brands that power our team. To enter, visit the team’s website and sign up. In addition to wearing the Orbea FOX Enduro Team colors this season, you’ll be plugged into all the latest news and updates from the team.
I personally love the Enduro racing and concept the most in the bike racing world. I do watch other bike disciplines too, I even pay to watch the DH.
I just wish that there was a more creative broadcaster of the bike events, as it doesn’t really work to copy the structure from Moto GP, F1 and the likes. I’m sure that there’s brilliant ideas out there, somewhere.
Might be true for pro athletes or events at bike parks. But some of the guys I know are much more excited at the idea of riding all day Saturday and racing Sunday and not feeling absolutely dead at work on Monday. And while post COVID deals won’t last forever a mid level race ready e bike isn’t that far out of reach for them.
My son (16) and his friends still predominantly race enduro, and they love racing enduro. They enjoy being out on their bikes all day on long rides and getting to ride as a group and hang out together. That being said, they feel that there's a lack of "hype" around enduro now and that DH is getting a lot more attention and resources put into it... so a lot of them are starting to explore DH more. It's also because there are zero local DH races, but we have three local/regional enduro series. But now that they're starting to travel further for more competitive races... they're starting to wonder if they should be traveling for DH races since they're already driving 10-12 hours for enduros.
hey - in the title of this article you forgot to include the biggest sponsor - ORBEA
Enduro coverage peaked, for those of us more tuned in to the sport, with the vitalmtb slideshows. Sven moved on and is doing content on misspent summers, but that (his?) website hasn't quite figured it out yet, with respect to content formatting and delivery.
For an outsider, the EWS coverage just isn't there/accessible like DH or XC. Whatever they're doing now isn't fixing that problem.
It's kinda sad, but I've never been more disconnected from MTB racing since before the Freecaster days. One could argue that even then, the print and video media (like Earthed series for example) was superior to what we are getting today. Special mention to the Sleeper crew; I'd pay $30 for a hard copy video from from them.
pit bits gallery from finale
https://www.vitalmtb.com/pit-bits-finale-ligure-world-cup-edr
finale practice video. looks rad!
What is this?
Richie looked clearly smoother/faster in every shot of him.
Lapierre
Ease of removal/installation? I ran the xtr cranks in the past but have switched to this setup, XT cranks/xtr chainring, because I had issues stripping out the crank bolt on xtr. The xt pinch bolt system is pretty fool proof, and I have to swap out bottom brackets pretty often- we get a lot of rain in my part of the world.
Here's a good look at all the stages being raced in Finale this year, with insights from Isabeau Courdurier and Charles Murray. A must watch if you plan to visit Finale!
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