Enduro World Series announced for 2013

The all-new Enduro World Series, in association with the Enduro Mountain Bike Association (EMBA), will offer seven events taking place in Italy, France, Canada and the US between May and October of 2013. EMBA released details of the its new series calendar on Tuesday.

"Since the series was announced on November 22, we had a really short time frame to pull together the 2013 Enduro World Series calendar. EMBA has worked incredibly hard to produce a calendar that includes the biggest enduro races in the best locations, on the best trails in the world," said Chris Ball, Managing Director of the Enduro World Series. "We're really excited about our 2013 events and we are proud to embrace the Enduro Des Nations event in France, the birthplace of the sport."

The Enduro World Series was created in October of 2012 with the aim of uniting the world's mountain bike enduro racing community. It links the largest mountain bike enduro events in the world and exists as a rider-focused organization with the self-stated goal of "delivering the best racing and most relaxed atmosphere possible".

The news of series comes with the growing popularity of enduro racing, a relatively new mountain bike race format which is simliar to the style many mountain bikers ride when on group rides with friends. Although interpretations of the new format vary by event and promoter, typically, racers are timed on designated (mostly) downhill sections and then ride together at pleasure pace in between timed sections.

The Trans Provence race is one of the best-known examples of the new enduro format.

The UCI had considered expanding its involvement in mountain biking by including a world series of enduro races under its umbrella, but decided - at least for 2013 - not to do so. EMBA's Director Chris Ball formerly worked as a Technical Delegate for the UCI.

For more information, visit www.enduroworldseries.com or www.facebook.com/EnduroWorldSeries. Registration for series events will be available in early 2013.

2013 Enduro World Series
May 18-19: Superenduro PRO - Punta Ala, Italy
June 29-30: Enduro Series - Val d'Allos, France
July 6-7: Crankworx Les 2 Alpes - Les 2 Alpes, France
July 27-28: Colorado Freeride Festival - Winter Park, United States
August 10-11: Crankworx Whistler - Whistler, Canada
August 24-25: Enduro Des Nations - Val d'Isere, France
October 19-20: Superenduro PRO - Finale Ligure, Italy