We caught up with Xanthe Robb who recently returned from Europe after competing in the Enduro World Series.
What is the Enduro for someone who is new to the world of mountain biking?
It’s sort of like hybrid between cross country racing and downhill racing. You are out for 6-7 hours on a course and you pedal up the hill (but are not timed for that) and then race down the hill. You typically have 5-7 stages in a day and the ‘stages’ are the downhill portions of the race.
How did the opportunity come about for you being a competitor in the Enduro? Did you have to qualify for it?
I had to qualify through our national championships. I actually qualified in 2023 and that put me through to the first few races of the 2023 season (which were in Tasmania) so I got to go over for them. Then the points from that qualified me through to this season. I was lucky that I got to go do a few races last year because that allowed me to then race the full season this year.
When did you head over to Europe?
I was there from mid-May to mid-July.
Did you have a team that travelled with you?
I was mainly just travelling on my own or just with some friends, I kind of just made it work. There are a lot of people from New Zealand that go over but we are all individually supported athletes so we just kind of do our own thing.
Was there anyone else from Nelson that was also competing?
Kiran Taylor (Year 13 国产麻豆精品) was competing as well, and there was another boy Aiden (who goes to NMIT) who went over, so we did a bit of travelling together. There were also three other women from Nelson that were racing in the Elite category.
Did you have a favourite place that you visited?
My favourite venue was probably Finale; that was the first round that we did. It was on the Italian coast and was really pretty. My favourite race was probably Bielsko-Biala in Poland or Leogang in Austria.
How many races did you compete in?
I finished three and then I crashed on the fourth one, and so I wasn’t able to finish the fourth or race the fifth round, which was a bit of a bummer!
How is the recovery going?
It’s going alright, I’m just starting to get some movement back into it (my hand) now, so that’s like five weeks post crash. I had a concussion at the same time, so I’m also just monitoring that, but everything is getting better!
Last question! Now that the Enduro is finished, what is next on your to do list?
Not sure at the moment, I’m just making sure I pass the year and finish off school. I’m keeping my options open… probably not going to uni, just going to work, so hopefully there will be a few more biking opportunities next year!
I don’t know if i want to do a full season again or not, I’m just trying to figure out my priorities. It’s a lot of work and money and it’s hard if you’re not fully supported in a team.
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