Australian rising star Jessica Gardiner is celebrating her third place finish in the Women’s category of the Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship, cemented during the season finale in France earlier this month.

It’s been a breakthrough season for the talented 20-year-old on the world stage aboard a Sherco, and she won her first ever Friday Super Test at St Flour’s finale.

Treacherous conditions saw Gardiner a non-point scorer on Saturday, which relegated her to third in the standings, however she bounced back on Sunday with fourth position to secure the overall championship podium result.

“I’m still pinching myself,” Gardiner reflected. “Despite the rollercoaster of the weekend’s final rounds I secured my first EWC series podium finish. I am super happy to be able to stand on the podium and thank everyone who helped me get my third place result.

“I am overwhelmed and so grateful for the commitment of my sponsors, family and everyone who has helped me at the races in Australia and overseas. It has been a year of ups and down, with lots of lessons learnt the hard way. This year is just the start for me and I’m determined to improve on my results next year.

“I’m so grateful to everyone who has shown their support from my sponsors and family and friends to everyone who encourages me on my Facebook page. It means more to me than you can imagine.”

A gutsy effort on Sunday was enough to seal third in the series, displaying her will to succeed after the disappointments of the day prior.

“It was shattering to know that I had lost second place, but the event wasn’t over and I had to focus on putting in a good result to hold on to overall third place,” Gardiner added.

“Thankfully the circuit was heavily revised for Sunday’s racing so I just put my head down and concentrated on the finish!”

With the final rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championship held the same weekend, Ballard’s Motorex Team rider Gardiner ended that season in second after missing the Dungog event.

Gardiner will now join up with the Australian team at this year’s International Six-Day Enduro (ISDE) event in Sardinia to be contested on 30 September-5 October.