The finale of the UCI Enduro World Cup was billed as a battle royale with both the men’s and women’s titles yet to be decided. But no one was prepared for what went down in the first race day at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Loudenvielle – Peyragudes, presented by Facom.
The trails of the Louron bike park are regarded as the jewel of the French Pyrenees, but challenging conditions and a constantly changing terrain made for one of the most difficult Enduro races in memory.
Before the racing had even got underway, the weather was causing carnage with high winds on the high mountain leading Stage 3 to get cancelled. And once the first riders started to drop in, it was clear that the outcomes would be even harder to predict.
STAGE 1: COURTALETS
The women’s overall series was finely balanced as it entered the final UCI Enduro World Cup round of the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) and Harriet Harnden (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) were separated by just 63 points, while Ella Conolly and Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) could still mathematically seize the title.
It was Harnden who got the early upper hand over her rival, winning the wet and sloppy 2.715km opening stage. But Courdurier wasn’t far behind the Brit – finishing third behind Ella Conolly on the stage, with a 17-second gap possible to reel in when the conditions are this difficult.
For the men, only Slawomir Lukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Charles Murray (Specialized Enduro Team) could feasibly stop Richie Rude (Yeti/Factory Race Team) from claiming back-to-back UCI Enduro World Cup overall titles and his fourth of a storied career. But the American appeared to have brought his A-game to proceedings in the French Pyrenees, showing the consistency that he has displayed all season to dispatch the first stage in 7:01.468 – a time only bettered by Greg Callaghan and Alex Rudeau (Commencal Enduro Project).
STAGE 2: NABIAS
While there was a slight reprieve from the weather on course, the mud on track had turned to peanut butter by the time riders were embarking on the longest stage of the day.
It would wreak absolute havoc on the women’s field – Mélanie Pugin the only rider to complete it in sub-10 minutes. But it could also prove decisive in the battle for the overall title. Harnden crossed the line more than 56 seconds down on the new race leader Pugin, but it was Courdurier who was affected most. The three-time overall series winner suffered a multitude of mechanicals and offs including a snapped front fender and finished almost two-and-a-half minutes down on the stage, dropping her down to 11th in the overall. The Frenchwoman was left with a mountain to climb to overturn her time deficit on her closest rival and was visibly upset as she started the liaison to stage four.
Nabias had a similar impact on the men’s field, with riders trying to stay on two wheels as they slipped and slid their way down the mountain. But Rude looked in imperious form, keeping things upright to finish second on the stage, 10 seconds behind winner Martin Maes – the Belgian clearly at home in the sloppy conditions. Lukasik and Murray, who were tied in sixth in the overall with exactly the same time, would now ultimately need Rude to DNF to take the title.
STAGE 4: ZEBRE
A mechanical uplift and flowy descent ferried the field to the start of the shortest stage of the day and the penultimate stage of the 2024 UCI Enduro World Cup season.
For Courdurier, it was simple. To be in with any chance of retaining her overall title, she would need to accrue as many points as she could on the remaining two stages and hope Harnden made a mistake. The 30-year-old appeared to have put stage two’s disappointment behind her, cruising to the stage win in 3:09.044. While Harnden couldn’t match her for pace, the British rider could afford to play it safe, and her seven-second deficit still left her with an advantage of more than one and a half minutes entering the last stage. Pugin meanwhile remained in the lead on the day, with compatriot Charre eight seconds back in second.
In the men’s, Maes was building an unassailable lead, winning a second stage of the day to lead Greg Callaghan in the overall by nine seconds. Rude was showing why he has been at the top of the sport for almost a decade though, finishing third on the stage to remain third in the overall while Murray and Lukasik floundered.
STAGE 5: TOURTERES
After a long uphill liaison, the heavens opened just as the women’s field started their attack on the final stage of the day.
It would feel like the longest 2.35km of Harnden’s life, who led the series by 14 points coming into the stage. With her time advantage, she would simply need to finish less than one-and-a-half minutes in arrears to Courdurier to give herself the best shot at winning her first overall series title.
Courdurier dropped in ahead of the Brit and was leading the stage at the bottom with Harnden still on course. But as soon as the Trek Factory Racing rider crossed the line
almost 20-seconds up on Courdurier, the destination of the overall series had been settled – the pair ultimately separated by only 21 points. On the day, it was Charre who would come out on top for her second UCI Enduro World Cup win of the season, while the Frenchwoman leapfrogged Ella Conolly into third in the overall.
Speaking after the race, Morgane Charre said: “I really like these conditions – it’s really fun. I got better and better with the rain – I’m so stoked to get the win. It was eight seconds to Melanie [Pugin] before the last [stage], but I love this stage and I usually do quite well.”
2024 UCI Enduro World Cup overall series winner Harriet Harnden said: “I feel like I’ve finally cracked it. Beating Isabeau [Courdurier] is insane. She’s unstoppable, so it’s really special. I just wanted to ride like myself, just be me – if it was meant to be, it was meant to be. It turned out pretty good. I can’t believe it still. It feels super special. I don’t know what 2025 is going to hold yet, but I hope it will be something close to this. It doesn’t happen often and I’m just going to enjoy the moment.”
While the women’s overall was all to play for until the very last stage, the men’s was more of a foregone conclusion. Rudeau would take the win on the stage, with Maes’ second place enough to consolidate first on the day – the Belgian’s first win since 2021. But Mr Consistency himself, Richie Rude, finished third on the stage and second overall to claim his fourth overall series title.
Speaking after the race, Martin Maes said: “I had a funny feeling when I woke up this morning that I could do it. It’s the end of an era for Orbea and myself. Today went perfect – I didn’t taste the ground once and I just rode the best I could. I think the conditions were incredibly hard – some very deep ruts and super wet ground. It was a tough race, but I think flat pedals helped me today.”
Richie Rude (Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team) said: “Slawomir [Lukasik] and Charlie [Murray] were there all season. It was a good battle. It feels amazing. I’ve had a really good season this year – it’s been one of my best so far. I wasn’t off the podium all year, which is pretty crazy. I’m so stoked and it feels great to back up last season and charge this whole season. Starting the season strong reassures you that whatever you did in the off-season is paying off. Winning in Finale, being strong in Poland and doing well in Leogang, carrying that momentum. Some days where I didn’t feel as strong, I was still there fighting for it. I think those moments are the ones that assured me that I was still on pace. The Switzerland race, I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I wanted to do well there and have that little bit of leeway here. That was a tough course – so many rocks, so many things could have gone wrong. I stayed consistent and didn’t have any problems.”
CHRISTIE PIPS FISHER TO TITLE BY TWO POINTS WHILE KUCHYNKOVA SHOWS CONSISTENCY AS SHE’S CROWNED UNDER-21 CHAMPION
Emily Carrick-Anderson (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) showed that the future’s bright for British Enduro by claiming the win in only her second U21 UCI Enduro World Cup all season.
Simona Kuchynkova would finish second – the Slovakian claiming the overall title in the process.
In the Men’s Under-21 event, Czechia’s Jakub Pivnicka backed up a podium finish last time out with a fairly consistent performance to take the win over Joe Millington (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) by 1.4 seconds. There was drama in the overall though as series leader Bailey Christie (Theory Racing) almost threw it away by finishing 25th in Loudenvielle - Peyragudes – Jt Fisher (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) three points and four seconds on the day away from taking the title.
Tomorrow sees the turn of E-enduro and Downhill athletes as the Gravity action continues at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Loudenvielle – Peyragudes, presented by Facom. Who will come out on top between Ryan Gilchrist (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Manuel Soares José Borges (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Enduro Team)? And who will qualify fastest for Sunday’s Downhill finals?
