[Images by Bosch eMTB]

From the outside, it could seem as though electric mountain bike racing came in with an official hair-raising shock, and then fizzled out as if the plug had been pulled on an old TV set – as WBD effectively did by dropping e-Enduro from World Series; yet e-bike sales are soaring, and even the top XCO and road pros ride them too. 

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To get the inside line on off-road e-bike racing, and to find out if electric dreams are turning to nightmares – in racing terms, we caught up with Tracy Mosely, a legend of all things mountain bike and a former World Downhill and Enduro Champ, who is also a champion for e-bike racing.

ORCC: What's your current role and situation with riding and racing eMTB? 

Tracy Moseley: I’m a Global Ambassador for Bosch eBike Systems, and also an ambassador for Trek Bikes. Now I’m celebrating my 30th season of riding and racing bikes by racing the European e-MTB Enduro Tour, along with other select events.

I’m also filming a three-part YouTube series following my season, and will also be working at some events for Trek Factory Racing at World Cups as an athlete liaison and assistant manager. 

ORCC: What did the arrival of eMTB in enduro mean to you, and what avenues did it open up? 

TM: The arrival of eMTB enduro racing in 2020 gave me a new challenge and opportunity to return to the racing circuit, in more of a part-time role as a racer, and with the joy of racing again after having my son Toby. It also allowed me to take on new skills, to learn, and also try to help in the evolution of a new MTB racing discipline by being a voice on the e-bike Advisory Group. This is as someone at the races, and who has experienced all of the different types of e-bike racing that we’ve seen over the last five years, using my years of racing to help shape the future of the discipline.

ORCC: With the UCI World Series "pausing" E-Enduro, what are your feelings and reasoning on this, and what impact do you think it's having on the discipline and its future?

TM: The World Series for MTB has seen so much change over the last few years, and it was hard for a new discipline like E-Enduro to be given the time, the space, and energy to evolve. It wasn’t working by just adding it into normal enduro races, and actually, I think for the long-term of the sport, it’s maybe not going to prove a bad decision for the greater good of eMTB.

E-Enduro_Tour_#1_Ambleve_2025_S3R4641_LowRes.JPG, by Liam Mercer

It's given the sport space to grow and offered the new European e-MTB Enduro Tour the opportunity to take its place, and now we are seeing great e-bike specific race stages, and there’s more opportunity for different formats and course designs to be tried and tested over the year. 

There are also loads of other opportunities to race your e-bike. With a lot of events nationally, and so lots of racing is happening on e-bikes, and without the World Series.

ORCC: The UCI/WBD introduced the Enduro Open to the World Series, which is great to have, though it seems strange not to have the World Series too. Will this new approach help to grow or to bring prominence to the discipline?

TM: I’m not sure the Open Series is going to help the discipline and its progress, as it’s only allowing riders to ride the existing enduro course on an e-bike, but not with specific e-bike stages. For some people who just want assistance in getting around the normal enduro course, this is a nice opportunity, but for me personally, e-bikes are capable of much more, and combining technical climbing and descending into stages is what I think is important. 

I also think there should be some pressure on battery management, time to reach stages, and bigger days out on more trails, which we could add into the mix to separate e-bike racing from regular enduro. This is not happening, or possible, at the World Series level at the moment. I also don’t feel as though enduro is getting as much publicity as it could, with sitting alongside downhill and cross-country race weekends, and so the racing is unlikely to get any airtime. I think that local grassroots racing is where the sport is most alive and well, and this is where I feel the growth of eMTB enduro will come from.

ORCC: With so much of the bike industry backing e-bikes, and with the initial big, high-profile arrival of eXCO racing, it looked set for a bright future, although the numbers and profile of the field soon dropped off there dramatically. Why do you think this was?

TM: I think eMTB racing is something that the industry wanted to reflect the growing number of e-bike sales. Though I feel like there will be a lag in the number of sales, and in the popularity and rise of racing.

Tracy Moseley 4.jpg, by Steve Thomas

There has been so much change since eMTB racing was introduced, with the Covid years and the subsequent shake-up of the bike industry, and then the knock-on effect of reduced sponsorship and support for events and athletes. Also came the takeover of World Cup racing by WBD, which has also created so much change. There isn’t the bandwidth to also grow a new discipline in with that mix. 

I also feel that the pace of e-bike development has been so rapid, and that there has been so much change in those five years, with battery size, weight, motor power, and bike weight. I think that only now are we starting to see the beginning of some regulation structure on the upper limits and capping of the maximum power, etc. Until we have reached the ceiling for some of these parameters, fair racing is hard to attain, as there are so many variables and challenges to monitor. 

With that said, I think we’re now seeing those limits and rules, and scrutineering at races, and this will all help the discipline to evolve and be attractive to more people.

ORCC: From the competitive side of things - where, and in which MTB disciplines do you think electric does, and doesn’t, fit in?

TM: I really feel that eMTB needs its own unique courses, which are not trying to be regular XC, DH, or enduro-based. eMTB is a new race discipline, and it needs to sit alongside the other disciplines in its own right. Using the unique partnership of human and motor technology allows us to ride different terrain, opens up new areas and riding potential, and this needs to be showcased in a different way.

I’m really enjoying watching this progression, and it will be exciting to see where we are in a few more years, as regulations and course design get more refined. 

ORCC: There was, and still is, with many cyclists, something of a reluctance to accept e-bikes. Have you seen this change over the past few years? 

TM: As with any new technology, there is always resistance, and it takes time for adaptation. I know that for me personally, the 1x drivetrain and wheel size changes seemed unnecessary at the time, but look now - I wouldn’t be without them!

There will always be haters in life, though I think there is a shift for acceptance, as for many e-bikes have opened up opportunities for social health and wellbeing on so many levels. I think the biggest hurdle to overcome is the attitude of those on regular bikes and other trail users. Whether on an e-bike or not, it’s how you ride your bike and how you interact with others that makes it a pleasant experience, and a sustainable experience for the trails and other users.

People need to put their egos in a box, learn to ride within their limits and ability, to keep their Strava records for the races, to be courteous, responsible, and thoughtful to other humans. The outdoor space would be a much nicer place if they did, and whatever bike you are on wouldn’t make any difference if we all thought about our behaviour and interaction with nature people.

ORCC: What do you see as the short-medium term future for eMTB, and what could be done to give it more prominence?

TM: I’m excited for the future of eMTB - both short and long term. I think we’re on the cusp of achieving some regulations that will make sure e-bikes are restricted to being within the world of a bicycle - and that we don’t enter the realms of ‘motorised vehicles’, as that would be the end of eMTB in an offroad trail setting as we know it now.

Tracy Moseley downhill, by Steve Thomas

We need rules and regulations, and an agreement as to what we want to achieve with an eMTB, and we need all humans out there to think, to educate themselves around behaviour, their interactions with others and with nature, to think of the bigger picture – that of the future of our sport, our hobby, and the places we want to enjoy.

If we can change the mindset of people, e-bikes will become just one form of transport, and the sport can exist and will be here to stay.

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