4 things to know about Trek Factory Racing Enduro in 2024

The 2024 season will be all about change and growth for Trek Factory Racing Enduro. The team is in a very different place than it was entering 2023. 

The team is saying goodbye to a legend in Pedro Burns, and hello to a promising young star in Emily Carrick-Anderson. Hattie Harnden returns after taking third overall for the second year in a row on the Enduro World Series/World Cup circuit. That may sound like consistency, but the truth is that Harnden is pushing herself all the time, learning new tricks like World Cup Downhill racing. 

The squad may consist of just two riders, but they will be giving us loads to talk about. Harnden is looking to push up the podium. Carrick-Anderson is out to have a blast in her first dive into the deep end of World Cup racing. The calendar is densely packed and features brand new venues in Poland and Switzerland. This squad will be keeping us on our toes all season long.  

We’re just a month-and-a-half out from the World Cup opener in Finale Ligure. We can’t wait to get started. To get you prepared, here’s four things you need to know about TFR Enduro in 2024.

Harnden is one of the most consistent performers on the World Cup circuit. Last season, she didn’t experience the high-end glory she did in 2022 when she won back-to-back races in Whistler and Burke, but she got on the podium twice on her way to finishing third overall behind Isabeau Courdurier and Morgan Charre. 

She has taken the number “3” with her on her bike and custom helmet as a reminder of how far she’s come as a racer in a short time, and what she can still accomplish beginning this year. The task won’t be easy, however, with the women’s enduro field getting faster every year as more young riders filter up to the elite ranks.

“I’m keen to move up the overall podium this year. To be honest, I’m doing everything,” Harnden says. “I’m training hard. I’m riding loads, I’m in the gym, I’m out in the wet in the UK. I’m doing everything I possibly can to do as well as I’m hoping to do.”

To illustrate both Harnden’s dedication and talent, she took part in Trek Factory Racing’s gravity and cross country training camps this offseason. That fact speaks to both her versatility as a rider, and the skills needed to be competitive in today’s enduro field. 

Harnden has never been shy about trying new things, and her foray into downhill racing last year was a revelation for her. She finished top 10 in her World Cup debut in Lenzerheide, won a British national title, then finished the season with a fifth place in Mont-Sainte-Anne.

She won’t be able to get to as many DH races as she hoped in 2024 due to the compact nature of the enduro calendar, but she is still planning to do a British National Series race before the World Cup starts, then British National Championships, and World Cup races in Val di Sole and Mont-Sainte-Anne, with hopefully a World Championships bout in the midst.

“Racing downhill last year was super cool,” Harnden says. “I’ve always watched downhill over the years and always wondered if it was something I would be physically able to do. And I guess I proved that to myself last year, that it is something I can do and be competitive in.”

Harnden’s confidence to throw herself at new challenges is what makes her a special athlete. And it’s what makes her one of the riders to watch at every race she starts, no matter what bike she’s on. 

“Although I can ride a bike [laughs], I like to think I can ride a bike, you have to be willing to start from the bottom again,” Harnden says. “And I think some people find that hard, but I quite enjoyed the process of not having any expectations, just riding my bike, enjoying the ride, and just doing as well as I could.”

Emily Carrick-Anderson hasn’t been racing very long, but like Harnden, she’s a whiz no matter what bike she picks up. 

She took on cyclocross, XC, downhill and enduro racing in 2023 and thrived across the board, but she shined during her forays into Enduro World Cup racing as a guest in the TFR Enduro pits. She finished second in the U21 category twice, and missed the wins by whisper-thin margins — 0.520 seconds in Loudenvielle, and 0.110 seconds in Châtel. 

In 2024, the 19-year-old will be taking on five Enduro World Cup events in full TFR kit — Finale Ligure, Leogang, Aletsch Arena, Loudenvielle and Haute-Savoie — plus Enduro World Championships. That may sound like a lot, but if anyone can handle it, it’s Carrick-Anderson. She has been immersed in bike racing since she was little, thanks to her father, Crawford, who was a former Downhill World Cup rider, and more recently Tracy Moseley, who has mentored Carrick-Anderson as a member of T-Mo Racing. Carrick-Anderson is embracing the grind.

“When I was just racing full-on cross country, I was loving it obviously, but I didn’t really know how I would do as an elite athlete, or even as a U23 athlete. And then I started doing more enduro, and I figured out, ‘Wow, I’m actually quite good at this,’” Carrick-Anderson says. “I feel like all the enduro races are just a fun day on the bike. Like, you’re out for the whole day just riding around these beautiful places, and then getting to race down the hills and just chill out. I feel like everything about it’s just perfect.”

Read Carrick-Anderson’s introduction Q&A to learn more!

Unfortunately, TFR Enduro is also saying goodbye to a legend. The team is parting ways with Pedro Burns, but not without a lot of happy memories. Burns joined the team in 2018 after a strong showing as a U21 racer. In six seasons with TFR, he competed for top 20s in the Enduro World Series and was consistently the team’s biggest stoke machine. He is a walking Instagram reel.

“For me it’s a little bit sad to finish this time with Trek,” Burns said. “It’s been super, super good. I’m feeling super grateful about Trek and about the opportunity, and about everything I did with the team, the races and the experience. And for sure, I will go with Trek in my heart.”

Burns will be focusing on urban downhill racing with his new partners, in events like the Red Bull Cerro Abajo Series in which he excelled during the offseason with TFR. 

“It was a dream come true to be part of a factory team, and even more with Trek, which is a super high standard bike brand,” Burns said. “It was really unbelievable, and it was super cool to start with them here in South America. It was unbelievable to have the opportunity to travel around the world. Biking was a lot more like a professional hobby. I was working on my passion.”

Thank you for everything, Pedro. Grande.

The 2024 Enduro World Cup is going to be a high intensity affair, with racing coming in dense bursts. 

In a span of four weeks — from May 10 to June 9 — the season will open with three races in Finale Ligure, Bielsko Biala and Leogang. Rounds 4 and 5 will also take place in back-to-back weeks — in Haute-Savoie, and then in Aletsch Arena — from July 4 to July 14. Round 6, the season finale, will take place in Loudenvielle from Sept. 4-6. And in the midst of the action, World Championships will take place in Val di Fassa.

Bielsko Biala, in Poland, and Aletsch Arena, in Switzerland, are brand new venues in 2024. Neither has ever appeared on the EWS or World Cup circuit, throwing another twist at riders who have gotten comfortable with the regular annual stops.

The Bielsko Biala trail system is famous within Poland, and has hosted national level events in the past. The system is vast and the possibilities are endless in terms of course construction, but it’s particularly well-known for high speeds, natural terrain and technicality. Aletsch Arena is likely to throw a bit of everything at riders, from wooded sectors to open downhill bombs, but more importantly it may be one of the most gorgeous venues yet. The trails are situated around the Great Aletsch Glacier, and I mean, just look at it. 

Both new venues are exciting because they’ll put riders on their back heels. But per usual, Harnden is undaunted by the unknown.

“It’ll be a bit of a surprise,” Harnden says. “The best way is to look up YouTube videos and see if there’s anything good, but that’s also tricky because nothing ever looks the same on GoPro as it does in real life. It never looks as steep or as tricky as it often is. So there’s not a whole lot on the new venues, to be honest. I’m just gonna turn up, and it’ll be what it’ll be.”

With that, there’s nothing more to say really. In just about every way, this season will look like nothing that has come before for Trek Factory Racing Enduro. But if you needed to task two riders to roll with the punches of a hectic season, you couldn’t do any better than the versatile and cool-headed duo of Harnden and Carrick-Anderson. They’re ready for anything, and we’re ready to follow every step of their journey.