The weekend's two consecutive races will start in Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York (USA) this Friday (October 3), before crossing the border into Canada for the historic 30th UCI World Cup Mont-Sainte-Anne and the final stage of the series.
WHEN?
The 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series stage in the Lake Placid Olympic Region (USA) will begin with the cross-country Under 23 women's short track at 09:45 (UTC-4) on Friday 3 October and will conclude with the Olympic World Cup race cross-country UCI Men's Elite at 15:30 (UTC-4) on Sunday 5 October.
Below are the main times for the race weekend. All times are UTC-4 (BST+5/CEST +6):
Friday 14th October
· 9:45 – UCI World Cup Cross-country Short Track | Women U23
· 10:35 – UCI World Cup Cross-country Short Track | Men U23
· 16:20 – UCI World Cup Cross-country Short Track | Elite Women
· 17:00 – UCI World Cup Cross-country Short Track | Elite Men
· 12:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Women's Elite Qualifiers
· 1:00 PM – UCI Downhill World Cup | Men's Elite Qualifying Round 13
· 14:00 PM – UCI Downhill World Cup | Junior Women's Qualifiers
· 14:20 PM – UCI Downhill World Cup | Junior Men's Qualifications
· 15:05 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Women's Elite Qualifiers
· 2:30 PM – UCI Downhill World Cup | Men's Elite Qualifying Round 15
Saturday October 4
· 11:30 a.m. – UCI Downhill World Cup | Junior Women's Finals
· 12:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Junior Men's Finals
· 13:00 PM – UCI Downhill World Cup | Elite Women's Finals
· 14:10 PM – UCI Downhill World Cup | Elite Men's Finals
Sunday October 5
· 09:00 – UCI Olympic Cross Country World Cup | Women U23
· 11:00 – UCI Olympic Cross Country World Cup | Men U23
· 13:30 PM – UCI Olympic Cross Country World Cup | Elite Women
· 15:30 PM – UCI Olympic Cross Country World Cup | Elite Men
WHERE CAN I WATCH?
There will be several ways to follow the progress of the only UCI World Cups in cross-country and downhill in the United States for the 2025 season.
The UCI Downhill World Cup qualifying day can be followed in direct and on social media.
For the ninth edition of the UCI World Cup for Olympic Cross-Country, Short Track Cross-Country, and Downhill, you can follow the finals live from anywhere in the world. Both the men's and women's UCI Junior World Cup races will be broadcast live on discovery+ (with paywall), HBO Max* (with the sports add-on), and MTBWS TV (included in the subscription), while the Elite Finals will be broadcast on one of the following channels or streaming services:
Italy – discovery+, Eurosport
RUNNERS TO WATCH
Downhill, the battle between Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) e Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) is set to end at the last minute after the top spot in the overall standings at Bike Kingdom-Lenzerheide. Although neither runner took home the final spoils – victory went to Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) – Bruni's fifth place against Goldstone's 25th were enough to propel the Frenchman to the top of the overall standings with two rounds to go. Super Bruni knows what it takes to close out an overall series from here, but UCI Downhill World Champion Goldstone will be hoping to bounce back and reduce the gap to 100 points before the home showdown in Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada).
The women's general classification is also in the balance, with Valentina Hell (YT Mob) which increased its lead over Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) at 137 points in the Bike Kingdom-LenzerheideAs in the men's race, neither title contender won in Switzerland: Tahnee Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) scored her third UCI World Cup victory of the season, narrowly edging out Nina Hoffman (Santa Cruz Syndicate) by six hundredths of a second. The British rider is third in the overall standings and now fifth in the overall standings for all-time race winners, but her inconsistencies this year and her 300-point gap to Höll leave the race down to two contenders with two races to go.
Alongside the downhill, the XCC on Friday and the XCO on Sunday take place, both series are still to be decided.
Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) ed Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) lead their respective UCI XCC series, but the two athletes had very different weekends at Bike Kingdom-LenzerheideBlevins' season has been one of two halves: the American was literally unbeatable for the first five rounds, while in the final three races he finished 2nd, 17th, and 26th. A top-30 finish is enough to secure the overall victory, but he'll be aiming for a top-level performance in front of his home crowd. His teammate and back-to-back UCI XCC World Champion Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) won last time out and is the rider most likely to spoil the party for Blevins.
Meanwhile, Richards appears to have overcome a mid-series slump and reaffirmed his position at the top of the standings with a second-place finish at Bike-Kingdom. LenzerheideThe 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Champion in the XCC category now has a 110-point lead over the current rainbow jersey, Alexandra Keller (Thömus Maxon), while the winner in Switzerland, Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO), is third, another 100 points behind. The British rider could clinch the overall standings on Friday, but she needs to win and have other results in her favor.
A win on Sunday could also seal the XCO title for Blevins, but he will need a 330-point margin over his teammate. Martin Vidaurre Kossman (Specialized Factory Racing) is looking to make it definitive at Mont-Sainte-Anne: his lead currently stands at 290 points. As in XCC, the American's season seems to have gone to waste, and his 27th place at Bike Kingdom-Lenzerheide It was his second-worst performance of the series. Alan Hatherley (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) is currently the in-form rider, having followed up his victory at the UCI XCO World Championship in Crans-Montana, Valais (Switzerland), with a win at Bike Kingdom-LenzerheideHowever, he will not participate in the final two races, which excludes him from the competition.
In the women's field, Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) could mathematically seal the deal if she were to do the XCO-XCC double, but the New Zealander will have to get the better of the UCI XCO Mountain Bike World Champion Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) and the UCI XCO World Cup winner at Bike Kingdom-Lenzerheide Keller for a chance to secure his country's first overall series.
Competitions will begin on Friday, October 3, at the Olympic Region in Lake Placid, New York.
The full program and event details are available HERE .
