Sandra Gómez has won the first FIM Hard Enduro Women's World Cup. The AG Racing Team rider won the sprint and the main race at each of the first five rounds and had the title secure with two rounds to spare, before lining up for the final round on home soil at the 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain.
The Women's World Cup is new for 2026, with each rider's best six of the eight rounds counting towards the final ranking.
Five rounds, ten wins
Gómez set the tone at the 24MX Alestrem Hard Enduro in France, winning the prologue, sprint and main race for the maximum 33 points. She did the same at Extreme XL Lagares in Portugal and at Silver Kings in the United States.
At Forza Orza in Sweden she won both the sprint and the main race again for 30 points, then took a fourth maximum at Abestone in Italy. That made it five sprint wins and five main-race wins from five rounds.
At the Roof of Africa in Lesotho, she won the prologue and finished second in the sprint. She did not score in the main race, but her 12 points were enough: with two rounds left, no one could catch her. Sea to Sky in Türkiye was the only round where she did not score.
| Round | Event | P / S / M | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24MX Alestrem Hard Enduro, France | 3 / 10 / 20 | 33 |
| 2 | Extreme XL Lagares, Portugal | 3 / 10 / 20 | 33 |
| 3 | Silver Kings Hard Enduro, United States | 3 / 10 / 20 | 33 |
| 4 | Forza Orza, Sweden | 0 / 10 / 20 | 30 |
| 5 | Abestone Hard Enduro, Italy | 3 / 10 / 20 | 33 |
| 6 | Roof of Africa, Lesotho | 3 / 9 / 0 | 12 |
| 7 | Sea to Sky, Türkiye | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 |
At Hixpania, she picked up where she left off, finishing as the top woman in Friday evening's SuperEncierro.
Racing with the boys
Gómez races on the same tracks as the men, and for her, that is what makes the title matter.
“I'm so happy with this title because for me it means a lot,” she said. “I'm always racing with the boys and I'm happy racing with them… It's very difficult to fight every day with the boys, and this means I am the number one woman. So it's very important for me.”
Credit to the field
Germany's Eva Taeuber goes into the final day second. She scored at six rounds and took the maximum 33 at Sea to Sky. Iceland's Theodora Björk Heimisdóttir and Aníta Hauksdóttir have each scored at six rounds, and South Africa's Chay Blackman won the sprint at the Roof of Africa.
Building for the future
Five riders from four nations scored Women's World Cup points in 2026. Gómez knows the class has room to grow. “This championship is in its first year, and we have a lot of work to make it bigger and to have more girls,” she said.
She also knows who is watching. “I think it's very important for our sport also, and for the little girls to see that there is a future where they can grow and they can be big,” she said. “I think we are also creating a dream, and for me this is a dream that is becoming real right now.”
The team behind her
Gómez races for AG Racing Team, run by her brother, Alfredo Gómez Cantero.
“As team manager, I'm so proud of the season. The riders have been able to adapt so quickly to the Beta and the team,” said Gómez Cantero. “All the team members were giving their 100%, and finally all the work pays off.” He also thanked Beta for the factory support that gives the team's riders competitive machines.
Gómez dedicated the title to the people who backed her along the way. “I have to say thank you to all the sponsors, not only this year, but all the years to arrive at this point, because I understand it's very difficult to believe in a girl racing in this men's world,” she said. “My title is for all these people who were helping me from the beginning in hard enduro… all my family, my boyfriend, my brother, his team, all the mechanics, and all the people around me.”
AG Racing Team is supported by Beta, Leatt and Plews Tyres. Gómez's principal sponsors are AXO, Mitas, OnlyFans, Iberfurgo and AG Racing, and she is also backed by Clínica Cres, Alpinestars, DonJoy, SmartCarb, Roturacing, One Gripper, Astra, X-GRIP, Mahorsa and 24MX.
The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship is supported by official partners Plews Tyres, S3 and Factory Links.