powturn

@gregmonty: Sorry, but this event is getting lost in the weeds: it has no reason to exist as a micro-enduro. The climb *must* be one of 4 *timed* stages for it to truly determine the best *overall* mountain biker. The e-bikes must go so the climb actually means something in athletic terms and there is a level playing field for equipment. It must also be one the majority of the field can actually pedal up without dismounting, but with technical features on which the most skillful and strongest riders can earn a meaningful time advantage. I'd love to get behind a new format that would legitimately determine who has the best combination of fitness and skills, but I will *never* watch something where people with motors are "competing" against actual mountain bike athletes demonstrating *their own* physical abilities.

@JCW70zcUEqb: good Lord, they're killing of the Skyline bike park to focus on their *luge* tracks? Thought it was ignominious enough that MTB locations in N.America have been falling victim to pickleball...

Same! It was really cool to revisit the best shots of the year for the annual POY competition. It is awesome that Illume is there to recognize the photogs, but if you step away from PB for a couple days you could miss this announcement, and for that matter all of the photo entries most of us have never seen either!

^This. Vienna + slowmo = so much win! Haven't had Billy Joel on my speakers in decades...

@the-smith: Maybe I'm the only viewer they lost this year, but when Melamed, Moir, Rude, Maes, Booker, Murray, ALN & more decided UCI Enduro wasn't worth racing in 2026, I concurred that it wasn't worth following. Even for those who didn't give up on spectating, and didn't mind the industry cancelling most sponsorship, the struggles have been impossible to ignore, not least since UCI announced they were pulling the plug.

Was gonna say, beating LMS & Richie for rainbow stripes def lends some cred to a discipline that has been struggling since most of the top guys left for DH or retirement. Will be interesting to see if the new Crankworx Enduro Series can breathe some life back into Enduro.

Was thinking the same, but Zink made it crystal clear why moving forward doesn't work: it's not just less practice time, it also means digging gets rushed / goes unfinished and then 5+ people go to the hospital in a single year. Timeline locked in when riders arrived 11 days ahead of the event. Moving it back is not an option when builds wash away in a deluge. And there we have it: cancelled.

They have known this storm was coming for days. Can we talk about why on earth they did not move both men's and women's finals forward a day?

Die ewige Widerkehr des Immergleichen. Kann's mir nicht mehr ansehen.

@mikekazimer: thanks for the article Mike! You're right, complaining about the judging just cooks the wonder and joy out of the event. I also share your mixed emotions about the severity of injuries. Here's hoping the positive spirit of the event prevails!