The curtain comes down on the 2024 mountain bike enduro season with the first-ever world championships in Italy this weekend.

It also signals the end of the fulltime professional racing career of kiwi luminary Rae Morrison.

The 35-year-old, who again finished in the top-10 world rankings this season, has decided it is time to move on, although she will not be lost to the sport. The Nelson-based rider still hopes to race when time allows, as she moves to a new coaching role with the LIV Racing professional women’s cross-country team.

“It is not a retirement as such, but stepping back from fulltime on the World Cup circuit. I might cherry-pick the odd race that fits into my other schedule and ones where I can do pretty well,” said Morrison.

Raised in Paraparaumu, Morrison was encouraged into sport by her parents who enjoyed triathlon and multisport, and while she tried team sports, running and swimming, she fell in love with mountain biking.

“We had one mountain bikie between me and my two brothers but I lived on it and it basically became mine.”

She joined the Kapiti Coast club and loved downhill although her parent’s suggested cross-country was less risky.

“I did ok in under-23 although never amazing. I had a couple of podiums behind the likes of Rosara Joseph and Karen Hanlen as an elite but I enjoyed downhill more and that is where my passion lay.”

She studied as a physiotherapist and had moved to Auckland where she had no car, so cross-country remained as her predominant activity at work and play.

Morrison then moved to Rotorua on placement as a physio and after winning the new Super D series, she was introduced to enduro.

“I knew straight away that this was my scene. It had the fitness of cross-country and the technical descents of downhill – and you got to ride your bike all day. Sign me up.”

It coincided with a physiotherapist role in Nelson, the capital of enduro in New Zealand.

“In Nelson it was very competitive for gravity – a lot of them raced enduro and it was a real battle which was good for my development.”

When the global Enduro World Series started, Morrison knew it was an itch she needed to scratch.

Ironically it was adversity that changed her direction. She had a massive crash in Rotorua, dislocating her hip and fracturing her pelvis. Morrison was air-lifted to hospital where she spent two weeks and a year to fully recover.

“At that time I was on the pathway of my career, buying a house and the journey down the standard path. The accident shook me and I decided I wanted to go overseas and give the Enduro World Series a go.

“If I failed, then I failed. But I had to give it a go. If I did not, then I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life.”

Her year of recovery allowed time to plan and save, although reality proved a shock.

“I went with a friend and we lived and travelled in an old van which we fitted out with beds. The dream changed when it rained for six weeks in a row. We were living on a tight budget, eating two-minute noodles in the cold and damp … and trying to compete in a world series.

“I thought to myself - what have I done? Trying to race a world series, not eating properly, living in a van with all the gear getting hammered. I got help with support from home and fund-raising but it proved an environment where it was very hard to get results.”

However the trials and tribulations also had longer-term benefits.

“While there were moments when I didn’t want to be there, I learned so much from those experiences, about the sport and about myself.

“I did well enough in the last two races to ditch the van and go out on my own. Then I managed two fifth placings at the end of the season. Based on those results, I got an offer to join a pro team for the following year.”

That was the start of Morrison’s professional career with French team Lapierre based in France, and the following year, she moved to LIV Racing where she has been for a decade.

“The experiences taught me resilience. It was character-building. When stuff got hard even later on in my career, I had developed the coping mechanisms and experience to work through things.”

Morrison has experienced the development of enduro as a professional sport both at home and on the professional circuit.

“When I started no-one knew you. There was no support. You had to make it on your own. The small group of riders in my time all had to experience tough times, rough living and then graduate to factory teams as a result.

“A lot of juniors now have support from brands and the backing of their parents which is good to see. The junior riders are stronger because the access is easier and there are less barriers to get overseas. There is a strong bunch of New Zealand riders coming through.”

When Morrison began her professional life, she looked to the likes of Rosara Joseph, Anka Martin  and Taranaki brothers Wyn and Eddie Masters who were doing enduro as well.

“I saw them doing the van-life and succeeding and then becoming factory riders. I would find it humbling if I inspired any of the younger generation to give it a go to make a career in the sport.”

New Zealand’s leading enduro rider Charles Murray, who finished third overall in this year’s elite men’s world series, says he was motivated by Morrison’s exploits.

Morrison has been in the top-10 in the world since 2019 – aside from two Covid years – as well as enjoying wins in Crankworx Enduro and Air DH, the first-ever New Zealand elite enduro title, second in the Super Enduro in Italy in 2018 and this year finishing top-10 in the world series.

It seems fitting that her fulltime racing career comes to an end as the sport celebrates its first-ever UCI Enduro World Championships.