Inside UCI's E-EDR: Why E-Enduro Racing Hasn't Taken Off
The UCI World Cup stop in Pietra Ligure in May drew nearly 140 men to race in the EDR category. At the same venue, only 27 men lined up to race e-EDR. Even more telling, was the absence of a women’s E-EDR category. Despite the massive spike in e-mountain bikes, globally, its racing format is still fighting to be relevant.
The Enduro World Cup (EDR) series, formally known as the Enduro World Series (EWS), has long been a proving ground for riders of the highest caliber to compete. The e-EDR was introduced to capture the boom in e-mountain bikes. So far, the discipline has not matched the hype that people once thought it would. Rider participation is inconsistent, women’s categories are often absent, and the discipline is falling behind in fan engagement. But with e-bike sales at an all-time high, there is a lot of room for the format to grow.
E-EDR is similar to traditional enduro, except that riders are on electric mountain bikes. There are anywhere from 5-9 stages at a given venue, and the race is usually split between two days. Only the downhills are timed. The unique difference between a regular EDR course and an e-EDR course, is the one ‘power stage.’ A power stage, as described by the UCI MTB World Series’ website, is a timed technical climb. They say it is a short stage but it “tests a rider’s ability to blend riding skill with their bikes drive unit output.” One of the biggest challenges in the e-EDR format is the tight start times that don’t give racers much time for traverses. Riders are forced to gas it up every single traverse to make their start time. The challenge that comes with this is battery management. In early formats of e-EDR there were scheduled battery changes. After talking with Alex Lupato, winner of the Pietra Ligure e-EDR, he said that you cannot change the battery. “As long as you managed the battery properly, you could finish the race without issues.” He also claimed the best way to handle the tight transfers was to train hard at home. Racers are forced to use every bit of their bike’s abilities to get the job done.
In 2020, the EWS launched a new category of enduro racing on e-bikes called EWS-E, featuring three rounds in Europe. In December of 2022, the UCI issued a press release announcing that from 2023 onwards the Enduro World Series (EWS) would now be an official UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. EWS subsequently joined the UCI becoming the EDR and taking the electric format with it; e-EDR.
Participation in the e-EDR format is very inconsistent. During the 2025 season, no men’s race had over 30 riders, and no women’s race had over 5 riders. Some races did not even have women’s categories. Low racer turnout can stifle the growth of the discipline. E-Bike sales are up globally, so why isn’t this discipline exploding? In the words of Alex Lupato, “The teams should have believed in it more.” Initially lots of brands were hesitant to dump lots of money into their e-EDR teams. After all, there are less than 30 racers per event. It’s just that enduro and e-enduro aren’t as engaging as downhill is. Furthermore, the remote nature of the sport and multiple tracks means that EDR and e-EDR events are not as well-televised as downhill. This doesn’t allow for a fan base to develop as they are only left to watch 20 minute highlight videos, as opposed to live action during the race weekend. “If the media doesn’t give proper coverage, it’s going to be hard for this discipline to have a real future,” claimed Lupato.
The truth is, traditional EDR isn’t suffering at all. The number of racers in the men’s category is consistently over 100 at every stop. The problem is that e-EDR just cannot match those numbers yet. There needs to be more support from brands to build a team and get riders to the events. With e-bikes driving the mountain bike industry forward, brands should invest more money to support racers and the start list will grow. Beyond brand engagement, the UCI needs to evolve the format to give fans and racers a reason to care about e-EDR. With an increase in support and coverage, the e-EDR has the potential to grow into a premier discipline which will only help to drive ebike design and innovation forward.
