Richie Rude and Elly Hoskin are the new Enduro World Champions

The 2025 MTB World Championship kicked off this Monday, September 1st with Enduro and E-Enduro, delivering the first six rainbow jerseys across various disciplines and categories. Elly Hoskin in the women's elite category and Richie Rude in the men's category were the standout performers of the day.

Richie Rude and Elly Hoskin claim the rainbow jerseys in elite enduro

American Richie Rude, who has barely competed in enduro this year after focusing on DH, surprised with a spectacular victory. The current 2025 World Cup champion, Polish rider S?awomir ?ukasik, led after four stages, closely followed by Rude and French rider Alex Rudeau.

Everything was decided in the final descent, with Rude giving it his all and securing a 2.5-second lead over ?ukasik to take home the gold. Canadian rider Elliot Jamieson completed the podium.

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"I've only done two enduros this year. Being at the top is incredible," said Rude. "I knew I had to give it my all in the final stage... and I did."

At 21 years old, Canadian Elly Hoskin claimed her first rainbow jersey after an exciting day of racing. Winner of two rounds of the 2025 World Cup, Hoskin started strong but lost over 30 seconds in the middle stages. The final battle was against British riders Ella Conolly (overall 2025 World Cup champion) and Harriet Harnden (winner in 2024), and veteran French rider Mélanie Pugin, who at 35 years old was fighting to bring glory back to her country.

Hoskin attacked again in the last two stages and posted the best time in the decisive stage, beating Conolly by 9 seconds to take the gold. Conolly settled for silver, while Pugin earned a well-deserved bronze.

"I pushed to the maximum in the last two stages. When I knew I was in second, the most important thing was to maintain that position... and it worked," declared the Canadian rider.

Adrien Dailly and George Swift are the new E-enduro World Champions

The absence of the 2024 champion, Estelle Charles, opened the door to an unpredictable race. With partial victories for Tracy Moseley (GBR) and Florencia Espiñeira Herreros (CHI), the key was the consistency of New Zealand's George Swift, who only won one stage but never dropped out of the top 4. With that steady pace, she claimed the gold. Espiñeira took silver and Moseley, bronze.

French dominance was overwhelming in the elite men's category. Seven of the top eight spots were French, with a completely French podium. Veteran Adrien Dailly took the title by winning four of the eight stages, followed by Hugo Pigeon and Damien Oton. Only Portuguese rider Tiago Ladeira managed to break the French dominance, finishing fourth.

Historic first junior titles in enduro

For the first time, rainbow jerseys were awarded in the junior enduro category. In the men's category, French rider Melvin Almueis, the clear favorite and UCI ranking leader, fulfilled expectations and was crowned champion. Noé Forlin (SUI) and Gabriel Sainthuile (BEL) completed the podium.

In the women's category, 17-year-old Slovenian Ne?ka Libnik dominated with four wins out of six stages. Winner of the two rounds she competed in the World Cup, she confirmed her talent with the gold. Elise Porta (FRA) took silver and Elena Frei (SUI) bronze.

The action continues at the World Championships, with the next major final scheduled for September 4th with the electric XCO disciplines. Here you can check the full schedule of the World Championship.