The 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is in full flow after the Gravity events kicked off with a brilliant UCI Downhill World Cup in Fort William, Scotland. This weekend, it’s time for the Enduro and E-Enduro (EDR) formats to join the fray with their first UCI World Cup of the season in Finale Outdoor Region, Italy (10-12 May).

The first of two back-to-back UCI Enduro and E-Enduro World Cup weekenders (with Poland’s Bielsko-Biała hosting both Enduro and Downhill the following weekend), is key for all competitors to hit the ground running in Italy, with a third of the season to have already settled by Sunday, May 19.

It’s hard to think of a better location to launch the 2024 UCI Enduro World Cup season – the Finale Outdoor Region is regarded as the format’s spiritual home.

SPIRITUAL HOME OF ENDURO

The Italian Riviera town might not rival Rome or Naples for mainstream appeal, but when it comes to off-road riding, it’s something of a mountain biking Mecca. For three decades, the hills to the north of the coastal town of Finale Ligure have been a hive of activity, spawning a series of trails across the exposed limestone rock that are now world-renowned.

The always-expanding network extends across more than 20 municipalities and is a chocolate box of technical terrain that pushes riders and their bikes to their limits. Since 2013, it has hosted an Enduro World Series or UCI World Cup every year – the only destination in the world to have done so – and always attracts an incredibly passionate crowd, lured to the spiritual home of Enduro by the gripping racing, the unique chance to ride from the mountains to a crystal-clear sea, and the epic post-race piazza parties of Finale Ligure and Pietra Ligure.

This year, the UCI Enduro World Cup will see athletes take on five stages during a 57km course featuring 2,570m of descent and 1,600m of total elevation gain (including liaisons), while the UCI E-Enduro World Cup has nine stages across and a 84km course with 3,600m descent and 2,450m of total elevation gain (including liaisons). Both will include some Enduro classics, new sections and two old favourites that have been renewed.

Last year, Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Enduro Team) and Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) recorded wins in the Men’s and Women’s Elite UCI Enduro World Cup, while Fabien Barel (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Enduro Team) and Laura Charles (Miranda Factory Team) were victorious in the E-Enduro format.

FAVOURITES IN FINALE

Enduro and E-Enduro are tricky formats to predict, as seen in last season’s UCI Enduro World Cup series, where there was a different winner at almost every round. In the Women’s

Elite class though, Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) bucks that trend – the Frenchwoman winning four out of seven UCI Enduro World Cups and podiuming in the other three.

Finale Outdoor Region is something of a bogey venue for Courdurier though. The 30-year-old has never won an individual race on the Italian trails and finished third last year. Morgane Charre was the most consistent rider that day, winning two out of six stages and putting in the third-fastest time in three to beat second-placed Gloria Scarsi (Canyon CLLCTV Pirelli) by 13 seconds. Expect Charre and Courdurier to battle it out for top spot this weekend and continue a rivalry that wasn’t decided last season until the final round.

In the Men Elite competition, Melamed will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in Finale Outdoor Region, but don’t expect the rest of the field to go easy on the Canadian. Richie Rude (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) won at the venue back in 2018 (when it was part of the Enduro World Series), while Jack Moir (YT Mob) and Martin Maes (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) have also tasted success in this corner of the Mediterranean coast.

After the dust has settled on Saturday’s UCI Enduro World Cup, things will power into action the following day with the E-Enduro contest held on its own day for the first time. Last season’s Women’s Elite overall title winner Florencia Espinera (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) will be aiming to go one better than 2023’s second place, while in the Men Elite competition, it’s hard to look beyond Fabien Barel – the 43-year-old showing no signs of slowing down in the E-Enduro racing format.

Racing gets underway in Finale Outdoor Region on Saturday with the UCI Enduro World Cup – full schedule and events details are available here.