Racing at the Limit — Ella Conolly on Fatigue, Worlds and Hidden Tech

Downtime - The Mountain Bike Podcast

Downtime MTB

Sports, Leisure, Fitness, Health & Fitness, Hobbies, Wilderness

4.9 • 628 Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2026

⏱️ 78 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

2025 was a season that looked incredible on paper for Ella Conolly… but underneath, it was anything but straightforward.

Ella was dealing with fatigue through much of the year, including at World Champs, where despite that, she still managed to finish second in the world.

We sat down to talk through her 2025 season in full, including racing on an unreleased Cannondale bike, and adapting mid-season to new RockShox suspension ahead of its official launch.

We also get into the changing face of World Enduro, the rise of new talent, and where the sport feels like it’s heading.

This isn’t just a conversation about results, it’s about what sits behind them: the compromises, the performance, and what it takes to stay competitive when things aren’t perfect. So sit back, hit play and check out this episode with Ella Conolly.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube here.

You can follow Ella on Instagram @ella_conolly.

Podcast Stuff

Sponsoring Partners

Fox Racing

Fox have just launched a fully updated Flexair range of jerseys, pants, shorts and gloves. Their lightest and most breathable gear ever. You can check out the complete range over at foxracing.com.

Loam Pass

Picture this, over 70 epic mountain bike destinations across North and South America. Two free days at each, a third at half price, and no blackout dates. Just you, your bike, and an endless world of trails. Even better, there’s loads of new spots to explore this year, including Highland in New Hampshire and KRB in New Mexico.

Well that’s what you get with Loam Pass. For just $250, you unlock over 100 days of riding across top bike parks, shuttles, and trail systems. Whether you’re chasing park laps or finding hidden gems, it’s got you covered.

But don’t hang around, that early bird price ends May 1st 2026. Head to loampass.com, grab your pass, and start planning those road trips.

Cannondale

This episode is a paid partnership with Cannondale – check out the Bad Habit over at cannondale.com.

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Photo – Cannondale

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I woke up one day and felt like I'd been hit by a train.
0:02.4	I had such insane brain fog that I couldn't put sentences together.
0:06.4	Am I just going to wait forever until I feel normal?
0:09.2	And is that going to come?
0:10.4	Oh, this is so embarrassing.
0:12.1	That's like an elite racer.
0:13.5	You'd think I'd do a bit better.
0:19.0	Hey, everyone.
0:19.9	I'm Chris Hall, and this is the downtime podcast, the podcast for the true fans of
0:23.8	Gravity mountain biking, taking you deeper into the sport than anywhere else. This episode is sponsored
0:28.6	by Fox Racing and Lone Pass, but more about them later. If you enjoy listening to the show,
0:33.3	I'd love it if you consider supporting what we do over on Patreon. In another year where brand support is hard to come by at the levels we really need, it's great that some of you are helping us keep this thing going and bringing new fresh episodes each week. As we head into race season and start our pre and post race shows, that gets even more critical. For less than the price of a cup of coffee a month, you can help out over at patreon.com for slash downtime podcast.
0:54.8	Don't forget to give us a follow. It's as simple as hitting that button in your podcast app now
0:58.7	or head into downtimepodcast.com for slash follow. You can also give us a follow on
1:03.0	Instagram, Facebook and TikTok too, where we're at downtime podcast. And for the real inside line,
1:07.7	you can join our newsletter at downtimepodcast.com, forthslash
1:10.9	newsletter.
1:12.3	All right, this episode is a paid partnership with Cannondale, so thanks to them for making
1:16.0	this conversation with Ella possible.
1:17.9	This was a season that looked incredible on paper for Ella Connolly, but underneath it
1:22.1	was anything but straightforward.
1:23.8	Ella was dealing with fatigue through much of the year, including at World Champs, where despite that, she still managed to finish second in the world. We sat down to talk
	...

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