The Enduro Pioneers

THE FOUNDATION AND FORMATION OF ENDURO MOUNTAIN BIKE RACING…

…can be accredited to three figures – Fred Glo, the backbone; Enrico Guala, the voice; and Chris Ball, the face – all three who individually and collectively brought “the spirit of enduro” to life and the world.

Between them, enduro mountain bike racing was founded, forged, and formally brought to a global stage.

Fred Glo, the formidable and soft-spoken Frenchman, hails from the small village of Gassin in Provence, Southern France. He was a decorated Enduro motorbike racer and got his first mountain bike in 87. It was in these mountains of the French Riviera, overlooking the Mediterranean that Fred pioneered Enduro racing on mountain bikes.

“The date that we all need to remember as the milestone for the history as we know it is 2003, and the creation of the Tribe 10.000 in Val d’Allos.”, recounts Enrico Guala.

“Racers had to face 10.000 meters of vertical descent over two days of racing, multiple lift runs on the ski resort’s old chairlifts, and racing on “stages” designed to connect incredible alpine trails with pedaled sections, including climbs. The sum of the timed stages over two days of racing will determine the winners.

Tribe 10000 was about speed, improvisation, endurance, consistency, but most of all, being able to read the ever-changing terrain and “hold” the handlebar for 10,000 meters of fast and technical descents.

Two years after the first TRIBE 10000 in 2005, Fred created the French Enduro Series, the first enduro national series based on a series of events throughout the year, awarding the first champions at the end of the season. This was another milestone in the discipline’s development.

 

Enrico Guala, affectionately known as “The Pope of Enduro,” is a charismatic, larger-than-life personality who injected the passion and energy needed to take enduro racing to new heights.

Born and raised in Liguria, Italy, Enrico co-founded SuperEnduro in 2008 with Franco Monchiero, Marzio Bardi, Francesco Marzari, and Cristiano Guarco.

“Enrico contributed largely to the success of the EWS (Enduro World Series) and, more broadly, to the spread of Enduro racing at the international level,” says Fred Glo. Enrico is a “communication” man, in the literal definition of this word. He loves real people. It’s never an effort for him to spend time discussing (with his hands sometimes) explaining and sharing his passion for Enduro MTB. ​​In 2011 and 2012, Enrico and Fred joined forces to put on the following two Trophy of Nations (TON) events in their respective home countries. The first set of TON races was held in Sauze D’Oulx, Italy, and Val D’Allos, France, and the second pair was in Sauze D’Oulx and Valloire, France.

 

Chris Ball, the visionary Scotsman with a passion and dedication to mountain biking that is second to none. Chris was racing downhill at the World Cup level until 2007 when he shifted his focus to developing the sport by implementing an athlete coaching program, which would bring in some world championship medals.

His career then took him to the UCI where as Technical Delegate and Sport Coordinator for all Gravity disciplines, he moved downhill World Cup forwards with the introduction of the Junior World Cup and steered the discipline into a live broadcast era, ultimately ushering in Red Bull TV.

With this, Chris brought the critical ingredients and experience needed to formalize enduro racing.

When he eventually met up with Enrico and Fred in Finale Ligure late in 2011 and a bottle of the finest red later, the trio was ready and poised to bring enduro mountain bike racing to the world. Chris worked to gather all “enduro type” event organizers at UCI in January 2012, creating the rules for the sport and the first calendar. The decision of UCI to postpone the launch of the Enduro Series pushed him to leave UCI and, together with Fred Glo and Enrico Guala, create the Enduro World Series (EWS).

The EWS launched in December 2012 and began in Punta Ala, Tuscany, in May 2013.

In 2013-2022, we witnessed the Enduro World Series going global. Over 55 events were held in 12 countries on four continents. The sport of international enduro racing was defined and growing steadily and with great management. Chris led the small Scottish-based company, providing the vision, leadership, and structure to grow and become a stable platform for everyone involved. Riders, venues, and products have been the protagonists of the racing format everyone wanted to race.

In 2019, he secured a landmark partnership agreement with the UCI for the Enduro World Series, ushering in anti-doping, ratifying National Championships globally, global neutral governance of the sport, and formally including enduro in the UCI rule book. In 2022, he spearheaded a vision to combine all major mountain bike formats. Elevating Enduro to UCI World Cup status and combining with Downhill World Cup and Cross-Country World Cup under the new UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Supported by one of the largest sports broadcasters in the world, Warner Bros. Discovery. Bringing the sport of mountain biking into the mainstream media with a long-term vision for growth. Within his new role at WBDS, the latest achievements are: In 2023 launch of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series and the new UCI Enduro World Cup

2024 the first official UCI World Championships for the Enduro discipline will be launched.

What Fred, Enrico, and Chris established in Enduro racing resulted in a melting pot for product innovations like dropper seat posts and 64-degree head tube angles, a new career trajectory for aspiring athletes, and putting locations like Madeira, Santiago, and Derby on the bucket list map amongst the greats of iconic, global mountain biking destinations.