Finale Outdoor Region (Italy), the spiritual home of enduro, hosts the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike Enduro and E-Enduro World Championships this weekend (16-18 October). Six rainbow jerseys are up for grabs (Men Elite, Women Elite, Men Junior and Women Junior in Enduro, plus Men Elite and Women Elite in E-Enduro) at what promises to be a memorable end to the 2026 season.
Friday 16 October gets the weekend under way with both the official practice sessions and the opening ceremony, before the E-enduro titles are decided on Saturday 17 October and the enduro riders take centre stage on Sunday 18 October to close the season.
The E-enduro course
Saturday’s E-enduro course covers 63.2km, with 1,665m of pedalled climbing and 2,087m of descent across the six timed stages. Built around the dense trail network in the lower part of the region, it starts with Toboga di Canova, a 2.24km descent with 28m of climbing and 256m of elevation loss. Riders then tackle Megaroller, the longest stage at 6.69km, and also the opener for Sunday’s enduro race, featuring 37m of ascent and 907m of descent. Next comes E-Voland, a 2.68km stage that links very different segments, alternating technical terrain with physical and flowing sections as it climbs 124m and drops 328m.
Stage four, Ruggetta, covers 2.18km, with 25m of ascent and 216m of descent. It is followed by Toboga Power, the shortest stage at 1.21km, with 25m of climbing and 83m of descent. Using part of the historic Toboga trail, it branches onto a new section nicknamed Travel Gum, packed with tight turns and repeated accelerations. The course concludes with a slightly shorter version of DH Men, the classic that also closes Sunday’s enduro race, with 2.31km, 22m of ascent and 297m of elevation loss.
E-enduro Men: Dailly the man to beat
France’s Adrien Dailly is the reigning UCI E-Enduro World Champion and starts as the favourite to retain his title. This season, the 30-year-old won the French National E-Enduro Championship and claimed the overall title in the 2026 UCI Enduro World Cup without pedal assistance.
Dailly’s compatriot Damien Oton should also be in the mix after taking bronze at last year’s UCI E-Enduro World Championships and finishing third at this year’s French Nationals. Fellow Frenchman Kevin Miquel has pedigree of his own: he won the inaugural UCI World Championships for E-enduro in 2024 and returns after sitting out the 2025 edition. Portugal’s Tiago Ladeira is also one to watch. Fourth at the UCI World Championships in Switzerland last year, he has since been crowned Portuguese Champion.
E-enduro Women: Swift to defend her crown
In the Women Elite race, New Zealand’s George Swift returns to defend the title she won in 2025. This season she finished third in the European E-MTB Enduro Tour, with podiums in Castino, Méribel and Nauders. France’s Claire Chabbert arrives with momentum on her side, having won the series outright and finished fourth at the French Nationals.
Another serious threat comes from Chile’s Florencia Espiñeira Herreros, runner-up at the UCI World Championships the last two years and overall winner of the 2024 UCI E-Enduro World Cup. Great Britain’s Tracy Moseley, a true mountain bike legend, completes a formidable field. A former UCI Downhill World Champion and three-time Enduro World Series winner, she continues to show her class on an E-bike, taking bronze at the UCI World Championships in 2025 and claiming this year’s British E-Enduro title.
The enduro course
The enduro UCI World Championships course covers 76km, with 2,131m of pedalled elevation gain and 2,349m of descent across the six timed stages. It starts with Megaroller, the longest stage at 6.69km, featuring 907m of descent. After that imposing opener, riders move on to Oribago, a shorter 930m stage with 161m of descending, followed by Little Dog, a brand-new stage that packs 330m of descent into 1.73km.
Stage four, Groppo, is another short, sharp test at just 960m, with 158m of elevation loss. Riders then face Blitz, one of the most physical stages on the course, which links sections first built for the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Cup and drops 496m over 4.13km. The course concludes with DH Men, one of the classic trails of racing in the region, a 2.35km descent featuring 297m of elevation loss.
Enduro Men Elite: a Rude awakening?
American Richie Rude returns to defend the title he won in Switzerland last year. On a long, demanding day of six technical stages, few riders are better equipped to come out on top. Despite only having raced downhill this season and Sunday being his first Enduro race of 2026, few would bet against him on trails where he has already won a UCI Enduro World Cup round (2024) and an Enduro World Series round (2018).
Two big names are missing from the start list. Last year’s silver medallist, Poland’s Sławomir Łukasik, is out injured, while Adrien Dailly, who beat Canada’s Lief Rodgers to this year’s UCI Enduro World Cup overall title, will focus solely on defending his E-Enduro crown. That makes Rodgers one of the men to watch. The young Canadian led the UCI Enduro World Cup rankings heading into the final round but is still chasing his first Elite victory, and there would be no bigger stage on which to claim it.
Australia’s Ryan Gilchrist, third in the 2026 UCI Enduro World Cup overall standings, is another serious contender, and his victory at the round in Aletsch Arena-Bellwald (Switzerland) showed he has what it takes to challenge for the UCI world title. France’s Alex Rudeau, the 2024 UCI World Champion, will be eager to bounce back. He opened the UCI World Cup season with victory at Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France) and took third at La Thuile – Val d’Aosta (Italy), but a difficult end to the campaign saw him slip from first to sixth overall.
Enduro Women Elite: Conolly’s unfinished business
Great Britain’s Ella Conolly starts as the clear favourite after securing back-to-back UCI Enduro World Cup overall titles in 2025 and 2026. With three wins and two runner-up finishes from six rounds this season, she has been the benchmark for the field. The rainbow jersey has so far eluded her, however. Last year in Switzerland she missed out by just four seconds, and victory in Finale would complete an unprecedented double of the UCI Enduro World Cup overall and UCI World Champion titles.
France’s Mélanie Pugin was Conolly’s closest challenger in this year’s World Cup. She won at Val di Fassa, Italy, and finished runner-up at both Loudenvielle-Peyragudes and La Thuile – Val d’Aosta, and after reaching the podium at the 2024 and 2025 UCI World Championships, she will hope her consistency can finally deliver gold. Compatriot Morgane Charre will arrive brimming with confidence after winning the season-ending round in Morillon, Haute-Savoie (France).
Canada’s Elly Hoskins returns as defending UCI World Champion after beating Conolly to the title last year, and she showed her form by finishing second at Aletsch Arena-Bellwald this season. French legend Isabeau Courdurier, the 2024 UCI Enduro World Champion, cannot be discounted either. Her 2026 campaign has been less consistent, but her Championship pedigree and technical prowess make her a constant danger.
Junior Enduro: the next generation on the start line
Junior rainbow jerseys are also awarded in enduro. In the Men Junior race, Spain’s Hugo Marti Montessinos starts as the favourite after winning the final UCI Enduro World Cup round in Morillon. Australia’s Harper Nelmes, winner at Val di Fassa, is another serious challenger, while France’s Jules Janniaud, runner-up to Marti Montessinos in Morillon, is also capable of a podium finish.
In the Women Junior race, Slovenia’s Nežka Libnik is the rider to beat. The reigning Junior UCI World Champion arrives in form after winning the UCI World Cup season finale. France’s Elena Frei, who won at Aletsch Arena-Bellwald, could challenge her, while New Zealand’s Romy Williams has shown she is capable of reaching the podium.
With six rainbow jerseys on the line across two formats, Finale Outdoor Region’s varied trails are set to deliver a dramatic climax to a memorable 2026 season.