Alex Rudeau is the guest on En Roue Libre Podcast
Episode in French.
Alex Rudeau (not Alexandre 😅) is a professional enduro mountain bike racer and the discipline’s world champion in 2024.
Nothing destined Alex for a career in enduro, let alone becoming world champion,
because his first competitions were on a trials bike and a trials MTB, from the age of six and a half.
But after 16 years spent in the sections, the rider from the Ardèche was looking for something new, fell in love with enduro, and his competitive spirit quickly pushed him to set himself some rather ambitious goals.
Alex’s journey is that of an elite athlete who, like many others, has reached the summit but also the depths,
and in this conversation he reminds us that champions are human above all, and that to perform at the highest level you first have to listen to and respect yourself.
In this episode, recorded on the sidelines of the Réunion Mégavalanche, expect to discover:
– Why, in his view, trials struggles to attract new riders even though it produces some of the most technical riders in the field.
– Why he persisted in enduro racing despite a difficult start.
– His boundless love for flat pedals, and why you won’t see him on clipless pedals any time soon.
– The behind-the-scenes of setting up his own team, and the sacrifices he had to make to run it alongside his season.
– His journey and the preparation that allowed him to win the first world champion title in the history of enduro in 2024, and how he experienced losing his title in 2025.
– His advice for athletes, elite or not, to avoid depression or burnout.
– His race strategy to try to dethrone Hugo Pigeon on the Réunion Mégavalanche podium.
– And plenty of other things.
Episode chapters:
00:00 Teaser
02:29 Introducing the guest
03:16 Summary
05:34 No regrets about clipless pedals?
07:12 First contact with the bike
08:18 First competition at six and a half
09:43 Understanding trials bikes and trials MTB
11:41 Trials, an under-publicised sport
12:53 Go ride trials!
15:04 His trials career
19:41 Female trials riders
21:41 The urge for change
24:52 Why enduro?
33:26 Flat vs clipless pedals
41:00 The Commençal Enduro Project
42:56 Where he has progressed the most
55:38 His 2024 world champion title
01:02:37 Setting up his team
01:08:07 His 2025 season
01:14:29 What he would do differently
01:15:44 His advice to riders who are struggling to cope
01:20:11 His 2026 goals
01:22:06 His experience of the Réunion Mégavalanche
01:26:57 His goal for the Méga
01:27:57 What we can wish him for the future
01:28:50 A next guest?
01:32:16 Thanks to La Case Bambou in St Gilles les Bains
01:33:43 Thanks to the UCC
01:33:54 Thanks to Florent Payet and the Enduro Marinès team
Try Shifter today and get 30% off your subscription with the code Enrouelibre30.
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Thanks to @uccsportevent6676, organiser of the Réunion @MEGAVALANCHEofficial, and to Florent Payet and the Enduro Marinès team for making this episode possible.
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