End of an Era… Final EDR of 2026 with a twist.

The final EDR of the season, and what a way to finish it!

I was heading into the final round sitting 7th in the series with a pretty big gap either side of me, but I was still looking for a really strong result here in Morillon. We had a break before this race, so I used the opportunity to come over early, do some pre-riding and testing, and get comfortable on the tracks. I was feeling amazing on the bike and was really looking forward to race week.

Then things took a slight turn…

*Not sure what I was allergic too but it didn’t like me*

The Wednesday before race week, Dad arrived in Europe to join me for the rest of the trip. We have another two months in Europe after this race before World Champs, so it was awesome to finally have him over here.

Unfortunately, on the very same day I ended up having an allergic reaction and came down with a pretty severe rash over my body. Not exactly the best way to welcome Dad to Europe! I spent the next few days doing absolutely bugger all and trying to get myself back to normal.

Thankfully, by the weekend I was starting to feel better and managed to get out for a small ride, which was a good sign heading into the final round.

Race Week

On Monday we drove across to Morillon and set up camp in the NZ Federation pit area for the week. Tuesday was a light pedal to freshen the body up, followed by some much-needed bike work on Wednesday. The bike was definitely due some love after a pretty hectic season.

*Lucky me Fox serviced my suspension !!*

Thursday was Practice Day 1 of 2 and it was HOT. We started just after 10am and pedalled up the valley to the gondola before dropping into Stage 1.

From there it was another 40-minute pedal/push up to Stage 2. And Stage 2 was absolutely mental. Super dry, dusty and incredibly physical. Definitely one of those stages where you knew you were going to earn every second.

After a quick stop back through the pits, we pedalled over to Stage 3. This one was more of a bike-park style track with plenty of flow and some pedalling thrown in for good measure. Good fun, but bloody hard work!

*factory set up - full rebuild chasing the creak*

We didn’t get to practice Stage 4, as it was the bottom section of Stage 8. With the condition of the track, the organisers decided they didnt want to ruin it any more so decided not to let us ride it separately and instead we’d learn it while practising Stage 8 the following day.

So we rolled back down to the village via the road and called it a day.

It had been over 30 degrees all day, so we went straight from the car to the river for a much-needed cool down. Later that afternoon it was back to bike work and watching GoPro footage to try and get everything dialled for the next day.

Friday was Stages 5–8 and started with a relatively gentle pedal up the valley to the gondola… before the pushing started.

We had a 400m climb to get to the top of Stage 5, and it was STEEP. After plenty of water stops we eventually made it to the top.

Stage 5 was, in one word, rough. It wasn’t particularly long though, so it was manageable. I’d ridden some of the sections before but was struggling to ride like myself and couldn’t figure out why.

Turns out I’d had my shock locked out.

Oops. 😂

A 50-minute pedal later and we arrived at Stage 6, which has to be one of the best tracks here. Last year it was full loam, whereas this year it had dried out to more hardpack, but it was still just as much fun.

Then came a pretty tight liaison across to Stage 7, and this one was brutal. There was a seriously steep chute and then a punchy climb up a fire road. While cruising up it during practice, all I could think about was how much pain I was going to be in on race day.

We stopped through the pits again for some food, grabbed a fresh bag of ice for the back of my neck to keep me cool on the next liaison, gave the chain some lube and headed back out.

Another hour-long pedal up the road took us back towards the gondola, with thunderstorms starting to circle around us. At this point we were pretty convinced the gondola would be closed, but somehow they were still running it.

So up we went.

Stage 8 was the longest stage of the weekend — a full top-to-bottom run of the hill — and it also gave us our first look at what Stage 4 would actually be like.

Another practice day done.

With another day of temperatures over 30 degrees, there was only one thing to do afterwards: get back in the river!

Then it was bike prep, GoPro watching and dinner. Dad cooked an absolute belter of a butter chicken while I worked on the bike and tried to get everything ready for race day.

*Evening sunset after another river dip*

Race Day

Saturday was race day, and I was ready to swing off it.

The schedule was tight all day and there was basically no room for error. There wasn’t really time for mechanicals, getting stuck somewhere, or even stopping to look at results. The only option was to keep moving, stay smooth and focus on riding fast.

And that’s exactly what I did.

I felt fast and consistent across all the stages and was really happy with how I was riding. So when I crossed the finish and found out I’d finished 9th for the day, I was pretty shocked.

The times were incredibly tight, but I definitely expected a little more from myself.

Back to the pits, reset and prepare for Day 2.

Sunday brought a reseeding, which meant I now had the GOAT of Enduro, Isabeau Courdurier, starting behind me.

No pressure at all…

Okay, maybe a little pressure. 😂

I couldn’t quite improve on Saturday’s result and finished another 9th for the day, leaving me 9th overall for the weekend.

While initially I was hoping for a little more, I’m still really happy with the performance. The times are incredibly tight and the speed of the women in Enduro right now is seriously impressive. It just shows how competitive the racing has become.

So that’s the final EDR of the season:

P9 for the weekend.

P7 overall in the series.

Goal achieved not to finish outside of the top 10!

And most importantly, another season of consistency in the books, now to find some more pace!

The End of an Era?

And then, just to twist things up a little, the UCI announced today that 2026 will be the final year of the Enduro World Cups under the current World Series format.

That means we were part of the final-ever EDR series.

World Championships will continue in 2026 and 2027 under the UCI, but unfortunately there will be no World Series heading into 2027.

Now, I don’t necessarily think this is as bad as it sounds.

Over the last few years the Enduro format has struggled under the UCI banner, and I think this could be the opportunity for Enduro to break free and find its own direction again.

It’s an exciting opportunity, and as riders we’re really keen to support the sport moving forward and help shape what comes next.

I’ll certainly be doing everything I can to help continue Enduro because, let’s be honest, this sport has completely shaped my life for the better. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it, and I want other people to have the opportunity to experience everything that Enduro can bring too.