For the past few years, it has often felt as if enduro has been heading in one direction: backwards.
At the elite level, the UCI Enduro World Cup has struggled to maintain momentum. Factory support has dwindled to the point where only five dedicated enduro teams are registered for the 2026 season, with many of the sport’s biggest names now racing on self-supported programmes.
Closer to home, the picture hasn’t looked much brighter. Several long-running British enduro events have disappeared in recent years, with the Welsh Enduro Series announcing the end of its run ahead of 2026, joining the likes of PMBA and Tweedlove on the list of casualties.
Against that backdrop, Ard Rock feels almost like a contradiction.
More than a race
I raced the Ard Rock Enduro this weekend, squeezing in practice around capturing content for BikeRadar and ultimately finishing 220th overall out of 801 starters after a small crash and missing Friday’s practice – enough excuses, right? Even so, the result almost became secondary to what was happening around the event.
Because Ard Rock isn’t just a race anymore, it has grown into a mountain bike festival.
Thousands of riders and spectators packed into Swaledale for a weekend that blended racing with an industry expo, live music, food vendors, demo bikes, kids’ activities, airbag jump sessions, giveaways and bike brands demoing their latest offerings. It felt and looked busy everywhere.
The trade area was packed with British brands, many of which were using the opportunity to talk to customers face-to-face.
Richard Jones, marketing and events manager at Extra UK, said: “It’s the busiest we’ve been on the stand, and speaking to passersby, it seems many of them aren’t even racing this weekend.”
Unlike other races, riders weren’t just turning up, tying a number board on and leaving after the final stage. They stayed around, watched friends race, browsed the stands, listened to music and generally treated the weekend as a holiday centred around mountain biking.
That’s something other grassroots events have arguably been missing.
Many races are just that: races. You arrive, practise, compete and drive home. Ard Rock creates reasons to stay all weekend, whether you’re racing, supporting a friend or there simply for the vibes.
Perhaps most encouragingly, it didn’t seem to matter what people were riding this weekend.
Traditional enduro bikes mixed with eMTBs, youngsters queued for the airbag jump while experienced racers analysed tyre choices, and families wandered around the expo.
The future of enduro racing probably isn’t going to be rescued by the World Cup alone.
Professional racing remains in a difficult place, both financially and from a visibility standpoint, despite the amazing images coming from the night stages of the La Thuile round earlier this month.
Grassroots participation has to be the foundation, and events need to offer more than a stopwatch if they’re going to persuade riders to give up an entire weekend.
Ard Rock appears to have figured that out.
Of course, one successful festival doesn’t suddenly fix everything. Britain still needs more local enduro races, more regional series and easier entry points for riders who don’t want to travel hundreds of miles for an event.
The UK calendar is leaner than it was five years ago and rebuilding it won’t happen overnight.
But if there was one takeaway from this weekend, it’s that people haven’t fallen out of love with enduro – they just want events worth turning up for.
Ard Rock shows the appetite is still there. The challenge is now making sure the rest of the British grassroots enduro scene can grow alongside it.
