Race Day Photo Epic: Maydena Enduro World Cup 2023

Isabeau Courdurier and Luke Meier-Smith have taken first blood in the inaugural UCI Mountain Bike Enduro World Cup.

France’s Courdurier showed the consistency and form that has already landed her two championship titles on the steep, testing trails of Maydena as the 2023 season launched in the Australian state of Tasmania. While Meier-Smith burst into the all-new UCI Mountain Bike World Series with a win in his first senior race, fighting off strong challenges from a hugely-competitive field that featured the best enduro riders in the world as well as some stars of downhill dipping their toes into the format.

The tough six-stage race that opened proceedings took place among Tasmania’s stunning eucalyptus trees high above the Derwent Valley and saw riders cover some 54km, climbing more than 1,200m and descending nearly 3,000m.

Courdurier started the day with a win but she was pushed hard by reigning UCI Downhill World Champion Valentina Höll who would go on to win the next two stages with a textbook technical display. Höll though would crash on stage three and lose her a huge amount of time, while Courdurier turned it up a notch to win two more stages. French rider Morgane Charre would end up pushing the 2022 champ hardest with her downhill skills suiting the steep chutes and jumps that characterize the loose Maydena terrain. And a return to her fantastic early-2022 form would leave a resurgent Ella Conolly in third, despite a derailed chain on the final long stage of the day.

In the men’s race, it was a Tasmanian local and Maydena Bike Park trail builder, Dan Booker who won the first stage but a dominant Meier-Smith - who is reigning Australian downhill champ - was second and would go on to win three stages and never be outside the top four. Meier-Smith is also no stranger to the trails in Maydena as his family has a house here that he and his younger brother use as training home base in the off season. Booker kept the pressure on all day, never finishing worse than third on any stage to finish the day just five seconds off Meier-Smith’s blistering pace. Another Australian downhill star, Connor Fearon, would make it a home-nation podium sweep finishing third.

Reigning champ Jesse Melamed would have a day of mixed fortunes appearing to be on the pace but suffering a burped tire, and a huge moment off a step-down on stage three, before fading towards the end of the race after hitting a tree on stage 4 to eventually finish 19th.

The U21 women’s category saw a win for Canada’s Emmy Lan who chose the final stage to leapfrog Erice Van Leuven after the Kiwi rider had led all day. Canadian Elly Hoskin finished third. The U21 men saw a win for Tasmanian local Sascha Kim who took three stage wins. Remy Meier-Smith was second after also taking three stage wins and Will Hynes in third making it another all-Australian podium.

Team of the day were Forbidden Synthesis with Giant Factory Off-Road second and Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team in third. The UCI Mountain Bike Enduro World Cup stays in Tasmania for round two, when it returns to the inimitable trails of Derby next weekend, (March 31 - April 1).