Two New Zealand enduro riders will look to secure championship podium placings in the final round of the UCI MTB World Cup series in Morillon, France over the weekend.

Charlie Murray (Specialized Gravity) is currently in second place in the elite men, while Alexandra’s Cooper Millwood (Yeti Development NZ) is second in the junior men going into the two-day finale for enduro.

It is part of 10 days of UCI MTB World Series action in the Haute Savoie region in the alps of eastern France.

While the enduro competition concludes this weekend, the downhill and cross-country competition next week in the same region will form round seven of 10 races in their respective world cup contests.

For all three disciplines, the Haute Savoie mountain bike gala forms a dress rehearsal for the UCI MTB World Championships starting in two weeks in nearby Valais region of Switzerland.

There are 11 kiwi riders in the final round of enduro, with much interest on the elite and junior men.

Murray cannot catch leader Slawomir Lukasik (Poland) for the title but lies just 20 points ahead of Canada’s Jesse Melamed for runner-up.

“I need to stay consistent and keep lots of energy for the weekend which will be a key factor with nine stages over two days. My approach is to go all-out and leave everything out there on the track,” said Murray.

“It could get pretty exciting with some new stages and some rain in the forecast. Looking forward to a strong performance to cement a good placing this weekend and in the overall.”

Millwood is in a more comfortable position in his debut season on the world series. While he cannot catch leader Melvin Almuies from France, the Alesandra rider is 235 points clear of the third rider.

Murray is super-impressed with the teenager from Alexandra.

“Cooper has had a fantastic season and it will be good to see how he gets on in the junior men. Fingers crossed he finishes on the overall podium because he deserves it. He has been consistent. He’s learned a lot and shown a lot of good racing particularly for someone so young.”

The World Series will also farewell a well-respected rider this weekend with the Pivot Factory professional Matt Walker competing in his final enduro world cup competition.

The 35-year-old, who is based in Queenstown when in New Zealand, has enjoyed a long career including a breakthrough Enduro World Cup win in Italy in 2023 and is a two-time national downhill placegetter. Walker showed his continued abilities with a sixth placing at the recent Enduro World Cup in La Thuile.

There are two days of competition with four stages on day one and five on day two with a combined elevation of nearly 4900m of descending and 80kms of liaison.

The 11 New Zealand riders competing are:

Men, elite: Edward Masters (Pivot Factory), Joe Millington (Yeti Development NZ), Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity), Lachie Ross (Upper Hutt), Matthew Walker (Pivot Factory).

Junior: Cooper Millwood (Yeti Development NZ).

Female, elite: Winni Goldsbury (Specialized Gravity), Xanthe Robb (Nelson), George Swift (Yeti Fox Factory).

Junior: Indy Deavoll (Queenstown), Iley Nunns (Wellington).