The countdown is on for the first ever UCI Mountain Bike Enduro World Cup which kicks off the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Series race season this weekend in Maydena, Australia. 

This historic race will see the world’s fastest enduro riders descend on the Maydena Bike Park, a purpose built trail centre located high in the forests of the Derwent Valley in Tasmania (lutruwita). 

With over 800 metres of elevation, there will be no easing into the new season, as riders go up against a six stage course featuring the big jumps and incredibly technical terrain that Maydena is famous for. 

The new look competition will feature, with all six race stages now raced on the same day (Sunday, March 26). Points will now be awarded for every stage, leading to tighter and more exciting racing, as well as a closer season long competition as athletes bid to be awarded the elusive overall UCI World Cup title.  

In the women’s competition it’s Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) who will leave the startline with a weight of expectation on her shoulders. The reigning Enduro World Series (EWS) winner from 2022 has dominated the enduro field since 2019. However, fellow Frenchwoman Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) and the UK’s Harriet Harnden (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) will be hot on her wheels and doing their best to stop her claiming the first win of the year. 

In the men’s competition all eyes will be on 2022 Enduro World Series Winner Jesse Melamed. This weekend’s race will mark his debut performance for new team Canyon CLLCTV Factory Enduro Team, and the first in his professional racing career not aboard a Rocky Mountain. Two times Enduro Worlds Series Winner  Richie Rude (Yeti/Fox Factory Racing) will be looking to claim the UCI World Cup win, while Martin Maes (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) had a strong finish to his season last year to be back on the podium. Australia’s Jack Moir will get his first race with new team YT MOB under his belt on home soil and will no doubt be turning it on for his Aussie fans. 

And it’s not just pro racers who will be between the tapes this weekend, with amateur riders taking part in the Enduro of Maydena race, before cheering on the sport’s top athletes on the same trails the following day in the UCI Enduro World Cup race. 

 

To catch all the action from this week’s race in Maydena, make sure you subscribe to the UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel for race day highlights, course previews, bike checks and interviews with the world’s fastest enduro racers.

More information on this weekend’s race in Maydena can be found here.