Grit & Glory.

Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Ella Conolly both won three UCI Enduro World Cups each over the seven-round series to wrap up their first overall titles.

Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Ella Conolly both won three UCI Enduro World Cups each over the seven-round series to wrap up their first overall titles before the final race weekend in Morillon, Haute-Savoie (France). Conolly wasn’t the only privateer to impress in 2025, either, with Daniel Booker almost writing his own underdog story with two UCI Enduro World Cup wins.

he 2025 UCI Enduro World Cup was always set to be a year of transition. Both of the 2024 UCI Enduro World Cup overall winners, Richard Rude Jr (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Harriet Harnden (Aon Racing - Tourne Campervans) were focusing their attention on Downhill, and would only compete at UCI Enduro World Cups where there was no clash in the Gravity calendar. Isabeau Courdurier’s absence in the women’s field would also make it a more open affair, giving other riders an opportunity to shine.

But it wasn’t just the favourites who had a different look for 2025. The courses themselves were a different proposition – four rounds going back to the sport’s roots and splitting the action across two days and UCI World Cup’s first-ever night stage. Coming out on top would require even greater consistency, and the ability to manage races – both mentally and physically – across multiple days. And it was a challenge that appeared to suit Łukasik and Conolly down to a T.

ŁUKASIK STEPS OUT FROM RUDE’S SHADOW

Sławomir Łukasik was the nearly-man of 2024. The Polish rider came agonisingly close to clinching his first UCI Enduro World Cup in front of his home fans at Bielsko-Biała (Poland), and often had to settle for second place behind teammate Richie Rude. But with the American absent for four out of seven rounds, the 32-year-old sensed his chance.

He wasn’t able to get off to a winning start in Pietra Ligure - Finale Outdoor Region (Italy) – Australian privateer Daniel Booker edging him to the top spot by less than a second, but come Bielsko-Biała, Lukasik wasn’t going to let a debut UCI Enduro World Cup win slip through his fingers again. He dominated on home soil, winning by more than six seconds to Jack Moir (YT Mob), and leapfrogged Booker into first in the overall – a position he wouldn’t relinquish again all series.

Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France) and Saalfelden Leogang-Salzburgerland (Austria) would see him off the pace but still able to secure podium finishes with third to further his advantage in the title race, but it was the follow two rounds that would see him ram home his dominance.

In Val di Fassa - Trentino’s (Italy) first UCI Enduro World Cup, no one could get close to the Pole over the two days, with Rude the next best almost 14 seconds in arrears. The following week, in La Thuile – Valle D’Aosta (Italy), he clinched his third UCI Enduro World Cup in emphatic fashion – finishing fourth fastest on the floodlit NightFall stage, pipping Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity) by 0.05 seconds to the win. His victory also meant that he had built an unassailable lead with one round still to go, where he could afford to finish 24th.

CONOLLY PROVES PRIVATEERS CAN RIVAL FACTORY TEAMS

Ella Conolly was another rider who was still looking for a UCI Enduro World Cup win at the start of the 2025 series. The Brit had come close, but the likes of Harnden and Courdurier always had the edge and experience when it mattered most.

It was Harnden who started the season in style – the defending UCI Enduro World Cup overall series winner crushing the field in Pietra Ligure - Finale Outdoor Region, winning five out of seven stages and finishing third in the others. But 24 seconds back in second was Conolly, and with Harnden set to be switching to Downhill in Bielsko-Biała, the Brit looked like she had a good shot. It wasn’t to be – Conolly again having to play second fiddle, this time to Elly Hoskin – but her consistency saw her take top spot in the overall, and, like Łukasik, she would never look back.

The stars aligned for Conolly in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes as she went fastest in four out of five stages and finished second in the other, crushing the competition by more than 40 seconds to win her first UCI Enduro World Cup. The privateer made it back-to-back in Saalfelden Leogang-Salzburgerland, again posting a health 16-second advantage, while she made it a hattrick of wins in Val di Fassa to make the overall series a seemingly foregone conclusion with two rounds still to go.

The 27-year-old narrowly missed out on making it four-in-a-row the following weekend in La Thuile – Simona Kuchynková (Cube Action Team) building enough an advantage on the second stage to hold on to first by 2.08 seconds – but her sixth-consecutive podium of the series was enough to claim the overall series.

Her advantage meant that she could afford not to start the final UCI Enduro World Cup of the series to focus on the UCI Enduro World Championships instead, where she finished second behind Elly Hoskin.

ADAMS AND ALMUEIS DOMINATE IN JUNIOR CLASS

The UCI Enduro World Cup aligned with the other Gravity formats with an overall Junior class that was restricted to riders aged 18 and under.

In the women's field, Lacey Adams (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) was a dominant force throughout the series, finishing on the podium at all seven rounds and picking up a hattrick of wins in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France), Saalfelden Leogang-Salzburgerland (Austria) and Val di Fassa - Trentino (Italy). The Australian finished with a comfortable 200-point lead over teammate Chloe Bear (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) to claim the series, while privateer and Pietra Ligure winner Lucile Metge finished third.