EDR-ing as a Privateer - Hanna Steinthaler

Why not spend a summer in Morzine? That’s exactly what I thought, and so off I went to the French Alps in preparation for the final big races of the Enduro World Cup in August.

But wait, not so fast. I still had to make a living, of course. Luckily I can work remotely 20 hours a week and have a lot of flexibility to fit it in around my race preparation.

My bike and body didn’t make it through the four weeks in Morzine completely unscathed though. A few bearing changes, rebuilds, and some impromptu rest days, thanks to a crash on my head, were all part of the menu.

P3 at the Swiss Enduro Series in Airolo and P1 at a French Cup gave me the confidence I needed going into the season finale.

At the end of August, I headed to the craziest enduro race I’ve ever been to - Loudenvielle Enduro World Cup.

Race day conditions were like a motocross track after the main event; utterly unrideable. But hey, it was the same for everyone and the organisers went ahead with the race. Go take a look at the chaos from the French Pyrenees.

Stage 1 was in torrential rain but turned out to be one of the easier stages. From Stage 2 onwards it just got wilder, with hiking many of the sections mandatory just to make it through. The bikes were so caked with mud they wouldn’t even roll and the ruts were so deep you’d get stuck. Absolute carnage! But honestly, kind of fun in its own way.

After all that carnage, I ended up with a pretty average P15. Not thrilled, but as the race was so tough I was just glad to get through it without major issues.

Shitty cam photo session with the castle of Loudenvielle in the background (c Moni Gasbichler)

Stage 1 in the rain was still somewhat rideable. The last section, as seen here, was some easy berms. But the upper part, across wide meadows and through steep, rooty forest, was gnarly.

I clipped a course marker on the last stage as I thought it was quicker than it was, ending up a little too far inside.

This was a simply epic way to end the season. The first-ever Enduro World Championships was happening and I got the chance to be there, representing my country.

The week started with a bit of recovery after the gruelling 16-hour drive from the Pyrenees. Once all recovered, it was on to the track walk, race prep, and a pretty standard schedule, or so we thought.

The opening ceremony on Friday kicked things off and everyone was beyond hyped for practice on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

But, on Tuesday we’d already got the official word that both the practice and race would be delayed a day due to the weather. Yep, it snowed!

Despite the freezing temperatures and buckets of the white stuff, the Italians did an amazing job and pulled off all five stages. Some stages were shortened to remove the first sections above the treeline, but the rest was still super rideable.

Of course, it was slippery, wet, physical, and technically challenging. But it’s the World Champs, it's supposed to be tough!

After a rough start on Stage 1, I managed to catch up throughout the race and finished the day in 12th, even snagging a top 10 in the final stage of the day.

I’m over the moon with my performance. Ending the season on a high feels so important for planning next year and sets me up with a good mindset, as I’m keen to take my setup to the next level.

Even though the season’s over, I already can’t wait to get stuck in and racing at the first World Cups next year. There’s just nothing better than living your passion!

A film by Heart & Hustle, that documents my coming to riding, and specifically enduro racing, is available to watch right now. As well as all the ins and outs from a season of World Cup racing on my Youtube channel.

Thanks for reading, and see you soon my friends.

Words: Hanna Steinthaler

Photos: Gregor Sinn, Andrin Janser, Mediamoni