Jesse Melamed might not be slowing down on the race course, finishing second overall in the 2025 enduro World Cup series, but he is scaling back his ambitions. The Canadian announced his surprise “semi-retirement” from racing on the UCI Grit and Glory YouTube series chronicling the season.
Jesse Melamed’s semi-retirement: stepping back without slowing down
What does a “semi-retirement” mean? Well, Melamed says he’ll still be racing just not every World Cup weekend. Which is good news for Canadians who still want to cheer on the accomplished Canadian in the future.
“I know how much I’ve given this and to show that I am where I think I can be, that’s all I really wanted,” Melamed says in his announcement. “I never wanted to overstay my welcome. I think this might be my last full World Cup season.”
While Melamed may be stepping back a bit, he isn’t exactly slowing down. As mentioned, he finished second overall in the 2025 series. Only Yeti-Fox’s Slowomir Lokasik could hold off the flying Canuck. That overall result included a win in Leogang and three additional podium finishes over the season.
2025 also saw Melamed take a swing at World Cup downhill racing. When enduro season wrapped up, the Canyon rider switched his usual race rig out for a Sender and lined up at Mont-Sainte-Anne and Lake Placid. While he didn’t make it out of the fiercely competitive qualifiers, it was great to see Melamed taking on the new challenge.
A long and storied career
Melamed is taking a half step away from what is already a long and storied career. The 33-year-old Sea-to-Sky local came to enduro early in the disciplines ascendance and worked his way up the ranks over the years.
That steady rise culminated in a championship title with the Rocky Mountain team in 2022. Off of that success, Melamed joined Canyon Cllctv for the 2023 season. With multiple World Cup and EWS wins to his name, as well as his overall title and several national championships titles here in Canada, Melamed has already cemented his name as one of enduro’s most prominent and accomplished figures. Whatever he accomplishes going forward will only add to that story.