E-Enduro series with World Cup status: Dream shattered - a review of the season

2023 was to be the year of the breakthrough. For the first time, e-races would take place in World Cup events with classic disciplines such as XCO and downhill. Manufacturers and organisers hoped for more coverage, more fans at the track and better prize money.

But things turned out differently. Not least because a clear line was missing. The UCI and organisers scheduled Enduro (EDR) and E-Enduro (E-EDR) on the same days and on almost identical routes. This reduced the starting fields and prevented real E-courses, in which the uphill also plays a role. Everything was done to make reporting as easy as possible for broadcaster Warner Discovery. But it hardly reported at all. Increased entry fees and long idle times between training and racing made the events even less attractive, especially for smaller racing teams and amateurs. In some cases, the E-EDR did not even appear in the local programme and was often completely lost in the giant World Cups. This does nothing to change the spectacular races - but for outsiders, the sport remains almost impossible to experience.

The E-EDR Top 3: Men

1 - Fabien Barel

The former champion is the full-time manager of the Canyon Downhill Team. He competed in the E-EDR more or less on the side and won three out of five trophies as well as the overall victory.

2 - Kévin Marry

The Frenchman from the Lapierre Overvolt Team won in Val di Fassa and Châtel and is clearly the second strongest rider in the E-EDR. A strong development - last year Marry was still riding in midfield.

3 - Tiago Ladeira

At 23, the Portuguese rider is one of the youngest in the field and is just getting off to a flying start. His best result: second place at the last E-EDR race in Châtel.

The E-EDR Top 3: Women

1 - Florencia Espineira

It wasn't until she was in her late 20s that the Chilean earned her place as a professional athlete in the Orbea team via Pinkbikes Academy. This overall victory in the E-Enduro is now her second in a row.

2 - Laura Charles

The Frenchwoman rides on KTM for the Miranda Factory Team and has already claimed a few podium places in the EWS-E in 2021. In addition to E-Enduro, she also skis professionally.

3 - Ines Thoma

Hardly any other rider has been as successful in international enduro races for as long as the Allgäu native. She raced for Canyon in the EWS back in 2014 and has now contested her first E-EDR season.

Opinions

Sofia Wiedenroth, Specialised Enduro Team:

E-Enduro is now a World Cup discipline. Enduro and E-Enduro now take place at the same time, however, meaning that there are fewer racers and spectators. And uphills hardly play a role in the race anymore. The speciality of the format is therefore somewhat lost.

Johannes Fischbach, GasGas Sram Racing Team:

I experience the E-EDR as an innovative sport and also enjoy the challenging uphills. There aren't many spectators, but that's always been difficult in enduro. But when it comes to video, more is possible. The series is currently missing out on too much publicity.