The 2026 UCI Mountain Bike Enduro and E-Enduro World Championships, hosted this weekend in Finale Ligure, Italy, produced two days of magnificent action with Germany’s Helen Weber and France’s Adrien Dailly winning the E-enduro world titles on the Saturday, and Germany’s Raphaela Richter and Australia’s Ryan Gilchrist winning the enduro rainbow jerseys on the Sunday.
Women E-enduro: Weber applies pressure from the start
Germany’s Helen Weber delivered a memorable display on Saturday as she stormed to victory in the women’s E-enduro event. The 23-year-old proved unstoppable as she won five of the six timed stages to claim her first E-enduro rainbow jersey.
Weber set the pace from the get-go on the opening Toboga di Canova stage, although the legendary Tracy Moseley (Great Britain) and France’s Laura Charles remained within touching distance. The tone changed on the longest stage of the day, Megaroller, which measured 6.6km and featured 907m of descending, when Moseley suffered a mechanical that cost the 47-year-old nearly two-and-a-half minutes. Weber capitalised, taking another stage win and extending her advantage, albeit Charles lost only six seconds.
Weber continued to dominate on E-Voland, stretching her lead to 54 seconds midway through the race, before proceeding to win the Rugetta and penultimate stage. Moseley finally ended Weber’s winning streak on the final descent but, by then, the German’s overall victory was assured.
Weber finished in 44:37.705 – more than 1:18 ahead of Charles. France’s Estelle Charles, the 2024 UCI World Champion, completed the podium in third. Moseley’s strong finish saw her take sixth place.
“A world title is something that you dream of,” Weber said after the race. “My team and I have worked so hard in the past three years to get where we are… I couldn’t be more stoked to end the season on such a high. Finale is the home of enduro. It’s where I started riding enduro 10 years ago on a hardtail. It feels like a full-circle moment.”
Men E-enduro: Dailly defends
France’s Adrien Dailly successfully defended his UCI E-Enduro World Championship title, capping a remarkable season with another rainbow jersey. The victory in Italy followed his success in the overall 2026 UCI Enduro World Cup standings weeks earlier.
Dailly made his intentions clear on the opening stage, Toboga di Canova, taking the win by five seconds. But it was the demanding Megaroller stage that proved decisive. The 30-year-old unleashed a world-class run, finishing 23 seconds quicker than his nearest rival and establishing a significant advantage over the chasing pack.
Fellow Frenchman Damien Oton mounted a challenge by winning the third stage, but Dailly responded on Rugetta to extend his overall lead. He remained calm and collected through the final two stages, allowing his rivals to take individual stage victories while protecting his advantage.
Dailly finished in 39:07.093 – almost 36 seconds ahead of Oton, with Belgium’s Martin Maes third.
“It was intense with some really long and physical stages,” Dailly commented. “I pushed hard on stage two to open up some gaps and from there I kept pushing all the way to the finish… I have great memories here. The racing is always tough and physical, but there’s such a good atmosphere in Finale. I first came here around 15 years ago, so it’s always special to come back.”
Women Elite enduro: down to the wire
Germany’s Raphaela Richter won the rainbow jersey in a memorable women’s enduro race in Finale Ligure. The 29-year-old made the perfect start, winning the Megaroller opening stage by three seconds over France’s Isabeau Courdurier.
Courdurier immediately hit back to take the overall lead after stage two, won by Great Britain’s pre-race favourite Ella Conolly. After stage three, Courdurier extended her overall lead over Richter to 1.642 seconds, before Richter struck back on stage four, posting 2:09.898 to regain first overall by just 0.443 seconds.
Italy’s Nadine Ellecosta won the 4.13km fifth stage (with 496m descending), Blitz, in 11:02.835, cutting Richter’s advantage to 3.722 seconds. Courdurier sat third overall, 9.394 seconds behind.
The seesaw battle rested on the sixth and final stage – DH Men, 2.35km with 297m descending. Incredibly, Courdurier won the final stage in 5:18.742, but Richter finished third and protected her overall lead to secure the rainbow jersey, just 1.575 seconds ahead of Courdurier. Ellecosta finished third.
Men Elite enduro: first stage and rainbow jersey for Gilchrist
Australia’s Ryan Gilchrist claimed the Men Elite enduro rainbow jersey, winning the six-stage race in 36:20.262.
The 24-year-old struck first on stage one, edging defending UCI World Champion Richie Rude (USA) by just 0.351 seconds. Stage two (just 930m long and dropping 161m) went to Australia’s Luke Meier-Smith, but Gilchrist finished second and retained the overall lead, 3.408 seconds ahead of Rude.
Meier-Smith also won stage three. As for Gilchrist, he didn’t make the stage top five, yet stayed in front overall, with Rude 4.555 seconds behind. Stage four was another short, sharp test: 960m and 158m of descending. Meier-Smith once again took the stage, Rude was second and Gilchrist third, leaving Gilchrist 2.601 seconds clear of Rude.
The race tightened on stage five (4.13km long and descending 496m). Canadian Elliot Jamieson won in 9:27.062, almost five seconds ahead of Gilchrist, but the Australian still led by 6.914 seconds with one stage remaining.
Rude won the final 2.35km stage in 4:36.944, Jamieson was second and Gilchrist fourth. That was enough for Gilchrist to seal the world title, adding to the UCI world title for pump track he won in 2024. Jamieson’s late charge secured him silver (4.860 seconds back) and Rude took bronze.
Junior enduro: Libnik and Marti Montessinos
Slovenia’s Nežka Libnik won the Women Junior enduro rainbow jersey ahead of the USA’s Daisy James (2nd) and France’s Chloe Cres Clement.
In the Men Junior competition, France’s Hugo Marti Montessinos took the honours with countryman Jules Janniaud second and Canada’s Nolan Weiss third.