{"id":546772,"date":"2026-03-19T12:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/546772\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T12:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:57:10","slug":"enduro-world-champ-elly-hoskin-on-her-fresh-ambitions-for-the-season-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/546772\/","title":{"rendered":"Enduro world champ Elly Hoskin on her fresh ambitions for the season ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elly Hoskin still doesn\u2019t have a laundry detergent sponsor<\/a> so she\u2019s judicious about when she rides her mostly white enduro world champion\u2019s kit. She revealed that little tidbit in a wide-ranging conversation for the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast. The chat was shortly before the announcement by her bike sponsor, Devinci, that Hoskin would be part of the brand\u2019s Movement group<\/a>. That news means Hoskin, who calls herself a pro privateer, has more support in the season to come. Her setup continues to evolve, as does her mountain biking discipline.<\/p>\n

A conversation with an enduro rider can\u2019t help but veer into the topic of the sport\u2019s health. It\u2019s faced many challenges throughout the past few seasons as Warner Bros. Discovery and the UCI took charge of the discipline\u2019s top series for 2023<\/a>. Hoskin seems optimistic for what lies ahead.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Hoskin racked up a slew of successes: two Enduro World Cup wins, a victory at Crankworx Whistler, the world championship gold, as well as the national enduro title. Not bad for a rider in her first year as an elite rider.<\/p>\n

In this in-depth interview, which has been edited for length and clarity, Hoskin looks back at her breakout 2025 season and ahead to new goals in 2026. She also discusses racing here at home compared with abroad, wrenching on her own bike, race prep and strategies, and why she sometimes doesn\u2019t know whether to say \u201cbeanie\u201d or \u201ctuque.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can catch the full interview on the podcast, starting at 20:00.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

SUBSCRIBE Apple Podcasts<\/a> | YouTube<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | Spotify<\/a> | Simplecast<\/a> | RSS<\/a><\/p>\n

What does a world and national enduro champion do in her off season?<\/p>\n

Quite a lot of skiing. Yeah, not as much biking as you think. This is my off time, my rest time. I just reset and do the work that makes the rest of the season as easy as I can make it, really. It\u2019s working hard, but you know, when training is kind of the only thing you got to do, it\u2019s a pretty easy job.<\/p>\n

Is there crocheting in the mix?<\/p>\n

Yes, of course. Yes.<\/p>\n

What are you crocheting right now?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got a beanie, another beanie in the works. I pretty much only do beanies now. I have a sweater that\u2019s about a third of the way done that\u2019s been sitting for about a year.<\/p>\n

By beanies, do you mean tuques?<\/p>\n

Yeah, yeah, sorry.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re speaking with Canadian Cycling.<\/p>\n

I get corrected both times. I\u2019ve been corrected so many times for saying tuque that, yeah, beanies have it. But, yes, I mean tuque.<\/p>\n

OK, beanies for international readers, tuques for everyone else.<\/p>\n

Exactly.<\/p>\n

\"Elly<\/a>Elly Hoskin rides during the 2025 enduro mountain bike world championships in Valais, Switzerland at the Aletsch Arena\/Bellwald. Image: @svenmartinphoto<\/p>\n

You\u2019re in Squamish. You said you\u2019re skiing lots, but are you hitting the trails? Are you doing road rides? What does some of your training look like?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m in the gym a lot in the winter. That\u2019s probably my favourite part of training. There\u2019s still lots of big rides, but somewhat unstructured. I\u2019ll go until I run out of snacks or until I don\u2019t want to ride. I\u2019m sure my coach would love it if I did some more road riding. And there are big, long ski tour days\u2014really good for cross-training. I like to run, too.<\/p>\n

You have support from Devinci Bikes, Shimano and Fox, but you develop your own program. You call yourself a pro privateer. What does the support you have look like at races?<\/p>\n

It depends on the race. Overseas, like at a World Cup, I have support from Fox and Shimano to help me with my bike if something breaks. I\u2019ve become quite the mechanic over the years. I enjoy being the person who\u2019s set up my own bike. I can go to Fox and Shimano and ask questions, and then get them to show me how to do it. If I\u2019m in a pinch and I\u2019m like, oh, my God, everything\u2019s broken, they\u2019re there for me.<\/p>\n

I take a lot of my own setup on. I\u2019m the one driving myself around and cooking for sure. I have friends that I travel with. We kind of have this great little community. I\u2019ve learned to embrace that it\u2019s kind of like a little bit of a circus. You never know exactly what\u2019s going to happen. But I can be as dialed as I can. I trust that there\u2019s nothing I haven\u2019t handled before.<\/p>\n

Your relationship with Devinci is continuing, but evolving. Can you say a bit more about that?<\/p>\n

Yeah, I\u2019m really excited about that. In 2023, I rode for them for the first time just through a shop ambassador program here in Squamish. When I went to my first World Cup in Tasmania, I kind of went up to the team and I was like, \u201cCan I stay with you?\u201d They said sure. They let me crash with them. I was kind of just following them around all year. They slowly took me under their wing.<\/p>\n

The following year, they disbanded their enduro team. But they said they really want to keep me on. That\u2019s when I started piecing together my own program. I was getting bikes from them. My suspension was a separate deal through Fox. I had my shop deal here and everything else was individually contracted. It was a lot to organize, but I learned a lot on the business side of things.<\/p>\n

Then this year, Devinci is bringing me onto its Movement. Its riders are Yoann Barelli, Georgia Astle and Steve Vanderhoek. The other main purpose of the Movement is to support a community grant that distributes funds to trail societies or grassroots teams. We\u2019re just basically the face of it. Really, we all go our different ways. But it\u2019s really cool because we\u2019re all based here in the Sea to Sky. We get to hang out once in a while. The group includes a coach and a free rider. Georgia\u2019s doing Rampage. I\u2019m racing in enduro. It\u2019s really cool that we all connect over bikes.<\/p>\n

Does being part of Movement mean any new or different duties for you?<\/p>\n

Probably not. They\u2019ve taken a few responsibilities off my plate just by organizing some sponsors that I wouldn\u2019t have had. For example, we have Maxima, which I\u2019ve never even thought about contacting. But now I get to have grease for my bikes, which are desperate for it. I\u2019ll be riding for SDG, Maxima and Abus.<\/p>\n

\"Ella<\/a>The 2025 enduro world championship medallists: Ella Conolly (sliver), Elly Hoskin (gold), M\u00e9lanie Pugin (bronze). Image: @davetrumporephoto<\/p>\n

Returning back to racing, tell me about the importance of studying trails. How do you prepare for the descents you face throughout an enduro event?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pretty meticulous, I\u2019d say. First look at the trail. I try to ride it as intuitively as possible. I only really stop if there\u2019s something where I\u2019m like, that felt awful, I should probably go figure that out. If there\u2019s significant line choice, I\u2019ll watch a few people go through and make my own decision.<\/p>\n

Obviously, I use a GoPro and study my footage in the evening. I make notes as well. Even before we get to the venue, I\u2019ll have a peruse on TrailForks and YouTube to try to get an idea of what the dirt\u2019s going to look like. Is this in the alpine? How can I make my practice day as easy as possible before I even get there? I mean, we ride six to 10 tracks over a weekend. You\u2019re not going to know every rock and root, but I like to try\u2014or at least try to remember sections so I can know if I\u2019m three quarters of the way down. It\u2019s a lot of study.<\/p>\n

I have a very thick notebook that I travel with.<\/p>\n

A paper notebook?<\/p>\n

Yeah, I got it right here.<\/p>\n

Look at that. It seems that\u2019s not just random scribbles. You have subheadings and bullet points.<\/p>\n

\"Elly<\/a>Elly Hoskin celebrates at the 2025 Crankworx Whistler Open Enduro. Image: @joewakefield<\/p>\n

Can you tell me about some of the strategies that go into enduro racing?<\/p>\n

Take the world championships. There was a good variety of stages: some flat with kind of flowy trails where the mud was awful you couldn\u2019t carry speed. We had an old downhill track. There were a few 10-plus-minute stages and some really short ones. I knew some of those were going to play to my strengths. It was very motivating on the ones that I knew I could do as much damage on to then minimize losses later.<\/p>\n

Where are your strengths?<\/p>\n

I\u2019d say my overall fitness. I come from XC and I still cling to that. I like to think that I like to suffer even though that bit ended before I graduated high school. But I think my tolerance for suffering is pretty high, and my tolerance for fear is kind of low. I don\u2019t like to scare myself so much on the really technical features. I\u2019d rather be more cautious and just pedal my way out of things.<\/p>\n

How would you compare the health of grassroots enduro, the enduro that\u2019s close to where you live, with the health of enduro at the UCI\/pro level?<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s pretty comparable. I mean, obviously both are relying on an industry that\u2019s taken a big hit in the past couple of years. It makes sense that there\u2019s been a bit of a struggle from organizations to provide races. I\u2019m really excited to see that the Canadian enduros are back this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also cool because it\u2019s being run by a friend of mine. He\u2019s my age, in his early 20s<\/a>. I feel like it\u2019s great timing with this kind of generational change. We have a young person running the Canadian Enduro League. We have younger people coming up on the world circuit.<\/p>\n

On the topic of generational change, there are some notable riders who have either retired or are stepping back from racing. I\u2019m thinking of Jesse Melamed<\/a>, ALN<\/a>, Ed Masters<\/a> and Jack Moir<\/a>. How do you think that will shape the character of the racing this year?<\/p>\n

Where there\u2019s gaps, there\u2019s room for people to step up. I think that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s going to happen. I think what we\u2019ll probably feel a lot is the lack of their presences because they all did quite a bit of media around the races with their YouTube channels and videos. There will be different people stepping up into those roles. It\u2019ll be really interesting.<\/p>\n

With changes come renewal, and I\u2019m looking forward to it.<\/p>\n

On the topic of media, I remember at Bielsko-Bia\u0142a you were willfully ignorant of your place in the standings by design. You didn\u2019t want to know how you were doing. But you got suspicious when cameras started coming up to you and people were asking you questions. Do you think now that you\u2019re world champion that you won\u2019t be able to maintain your information blackouts?<\/p>\n

No, I even felt it toward the end of the year. You just have to be more accepting of it. Your right to a lack of information is other people\u2019s right to have it as well. You can\u2019t stop people from telling you. Also, it feels kind of good. You\u2019re like, oh, yeah, they\u2019re interviewing me? Something must be going well.<\/p>\n

To bring it back to strategy, I think I let a few stages go by without knowing. Then I\u2019ll have someone tell me if I\u2019m looking at a podium or a top-five. How many seconds I have to the person behind me. And that\u2019s about all I need to know. I think that\u2019s enough to decide if I really need to turn it on.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the chance that we get re-seeded on the last stage. In that case, it\u2019s really important to know. At worlds, for example, I was sitting in second, going into the last stage. I had\u2014I want to say\u2014two or three seconds to first and four or five seconds to third. I kind of made the decision that not podiuming meant a lot more than not winning. I was conservative. Do not lose the podium. Then, let the cards fall where they may. All you can do is your best, and you let everyone else do the same.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m guessing you\u2019re going to face more media attention throughout the year with your rainbow jersey. Have you already planned for that?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve definitely thought about it\u2014more how it\u2019s going to affect my mental state on race days. I guess we\u2019ll have to see. But it is fun. I do like to chat. So yeah, I don\u2019t really mind.<\/p>\n

What is the most misunderstood thing about enduro?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to say. I think probably that it\u2019s a \u201cloose discipline.\u201d People are just like, \u201cOh, yeah, we\u2019re going for a bike ride.\u201d The training and preparation that my peers and I do is massive, and it is dialed. We\u2019re doing everything we can to be the best athletes that we can. Enduro is this big adventure sport. That\u2019s the charm. It\u2019ll never lose that. The spirit of enduro is pretty loose. I think we\u2019re kind of embracing that. And then also, you know, we\u2019re pushing to have it be taken seriously as well because the margins are tight and the fields are deep. If you\u2019re not not showing up prepared, you\u2019re not going to make it.<\/p>\n

I find that really interesting because I remember when the EWS started, a lot of the chatter around it was like, \u201cOh, it\u2019s kind of like what you do anyway. It\u2019s the authentic style of mountain bike racing: moseying on up to the top and then ripping it down.\u201d It\u2019s funny how that persists, and you find yourself kind of challenging it.<\/p>\n

To make that transfer time, you have to be fit. You not only want to make it to the top and not be cracked, but you want to have energy for six more stages. But yeah, we are sharing snacks and we\u2019re talking to each other and we\u2019re playing Would You Rather and we\u2019re hiking our bikes and we\u2019re doing it efficiently. It\u2019s hard but there\u2019s this beautiful balance. I think it\u2019s really great.<\/p>\n

At the same time, it is the most relevant discipline compared with what the average person would do on the weekend. They\u2019re pushing their bike with their friends, having a snack at the top and then dropping in for a top-to-bottom lap. I don\u2019t know how many people are going for six of those on a Saturday, but I sure enjoy it. From a marketing perspective, that\u2019s the bike that most people would choose to buy. If you\u2019re going to have one bike, you\u2019d probably want it to go up and down.<\/p>\n

Has anything changed for you since you\u2019ve become world champion?<\/p>\n

Yes and no. I think any doubt that I had about my capacity for my training and my effort has been\u2014not extinguished, but definitely put to rest a bit. I have a lot of trust that I really don\u2019t think I need to do that extra set. You know, I\u2019m probably good.<\/p>\n

I see a lot of world champ gear and paraphernalia, even just around my house. We have my world champ jerseys on the wall. And I\u2019m like, wow, OK. There\u2019s not a day that goes by where I forget or I\u2019m not reminded by someone or something. It\u2019s an honour, but it gets followed by a desire to prove myself, to keep growing and look to other things that I can do.<\/p>\n

At the same time, I\u2019m just, I\u2019m so proud of it. It may very well never happen again, as much as I would love it to. I\u2019m going to try my hardest to make it happen again.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve joked about needing a detergent sponsor to keep the white kit with the rainbows on it clean. How\u2019s that going? Do you have a detergent sponsor yet?<\/p>\n

No, but I definitely choose the days I wear my white pants wisely.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t follow that old rule of white only after Easter and not after Labour Day.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be May through October this year.<\/p>\n

What are some of the races that you are targeting in 2026? You\u2019re going to be doing the World Cup series, but what else are you looking at?<\/p>\n

I think a big goal this year would be the series overall. I\u2019ve never done that before. So why not? World champs is the last race of the World Cup season, so that\u2019ll be interesting. It\u2019s after our nationals as well, which is another race I\u2019ll be doing. There\u2019s Crankworx Whistler. I always love to do the Squamish Enduro. It\u2019s a pretty awesome event that we have here. I\u2019m going to Sea Otter for the first time. At the end of the year, in October, I\u2019m doing my first Trans race, TransSierra Norte, which I am so excited about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elly Hoskin still doesn\u2019t have a laundry detergent sponsor so she\u2019s judicious about when she rides her mostly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":546773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,80421,1700,82],"class_list":["post-546772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-elly-hoskin","tag-mtb-features","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}