5 Key Stats from Enduro Racers in the Pinkbike State of the Sport Survey

Welcome to the 2021 Pinkbike State of the Sport Survey. This anonymous survey is designed to help shed light on key issues affecting the professional field and elite competition. We surveyed the best riders in the world to hear their thoughts, ideas, concerns, and criticisms on mountain biking in 2021. We invited any rider who had finished in the Top 40 overall of their chosen discipline in either of the previous two seasons in either XC, enduro, downhill, or slopestyle & freeride, as well as notable non-competition riders and highly ranked juniors. We then published them in full and publicly. To read the introduction to the survey click here, and to see all the other currently published SOTS articles click here.

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The definition of enduro has steadily changed after a few seasons to both those inside the sport and on the sidelines. Gone are the days of the open face helmet strapped to a backpack, gone is the idea that these riders were any less talented or more risk-averse than their downhill counterparts, and gone is the notion that the EWS was gentle green pastures where downhill riders could come to ‘retire’. The sport has undergone a wave of rampant professionalism in merely a handful of years. So what’s the current state of enduro?

Of the enduro riders surveyed, everyone was from either Europe, Oceania, or North America, with one exception. Of those surveyed, 59% identified as male.

The results of these riders are very impressive. Of the elite field, nearly 11% had won an EWS, a further 35% have scored a career-high top five and an accumulative total of 68% have achieved a top 10.

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There are some interesting differences between Enduro and Downhill rider pay.



The breakdown of how much the riders are paid is available to read in full. In today’s survey snapshot, we’re talking solely about enduro racing. We have the confidence of the riders to protect their anonymity and won’t do anything that could undermine that trust. For that reason, we’re not publishing a full breakdown of in-discipline earnings but I will pull out these statistics - of the riders who nominated enduro as their primary discipline, 24% earnt between 0 - 5,000 USD annually. If we exclude juniors, that falls to 18% in the $0 - 5,000 bracket, 9% in the $5,000 - 10,000 and 16% in the $10,000 - 20,000 bracket. What’s interesting is that, compared to downhill, the average wage is higher. Nearly 50% of the elite EWS field surveyed make between $20,000 and $100,000 per year. Compare that with around 23% in the downhill.

So you can forget green pastures of which to be put out to stud, for your mid-pack rider who is used to gravity-fed and technically demanding racing the EWS may well be more of the proverbial (comparative) cash cow. However, that’s not to say there isn’t real money to be made in the downhill, where 9% of elite riders surveyed earn over $100,000 per year. This compares to 5% in Enduro.

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Riders Believe Races Shouldn’t Be Blind but Local Knowledge Carries an Advantage




At the other end of the spectrum, compared to blind racing, is the rider who lives near the race venue. Often, they have a level of knowledge that is hard to come near to over a whole weekend of racing, let alone one practice run. More track time will almost always correlate with faster times. The problem of riders knowing the trails is something that the organisation does take seriously but if people have ridden all the trails in the area it puts the organizers in a difficult spot.

The vast majority of riders don’t wish for the racing to be blind, but there is a concern that hometown riders do have an advantage.

Many riding regions have their own distinctive traits and quirks. The shakedown day was introduced two years ago to help riders get a taste of the trails, without riding the race track, but to say there’s not a disparity between pre-event experience would be unfair and untrue.


Going to new venues across the world not only has certain requirements in terms of infrastructure but it could be argued that racing in Europe is cheaper and more accessible for the majority of riders. Its seems to be about striking a fine balance between serving the traditional core of riders the venues that they can get to easily, as well as searching out the next big thing. In the open comments section, some riders voiced their approval for the EWS’ pattern of alternating Oceanian and South American rounds. Conversely, others argued that it's not right for so much of the racing of a World Series to happen on one continent.

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Many Riders Feel that Penalties aren't Consistently Applied




It's relatively rare to hear of rider penalties, at least in the coverage of the event. This may well suggest that the lack of consistency applies to instances that we don't hear about, as much as the ones that we do.

Whether it's course cutting, doping, or something such as illegal shutting, riders need to be able to have faith in the integrity of the application of the sport's rules. In our open comment section, people referenced instances where riders went unpunished for illegal shuttling, as well as instances of riders potentially cutting the course.

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Riders are Cautious after High-Profile Doping Cases



Enduro has seen controversial cases in recent years. Doping regulation was stepped up with the partnership announcement of the UCI and EWS and since then some riders have been sanctioned for infringements. But, even though there is now a far greater structure to catch doping offenders, there seems to be a lack of trust from the riders. This might not necessarily mean that there are riders who are doping and not getting caught, but it could mean that the way the sanctions are applied isn’t felt to always be appropriate.

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Despite Doping Fears, Riders Overwhelmingly Think Racing is Fair

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A Selection of Comments from the Riders

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Industry News Racing and Events Pinkbike State Of The Sport Survey