After four consecutive weekends of racing, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series returns this weekend for the fifth consecutive time with Endurance and Gravity races, with the UCI World Cups Cross-country Olympic, Cross-country short track, Downhill and Enduro who will compete in the Epic Bikepark in Saalfelden Leogang, in Salzburg, Austria.
WHEN?
The 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series stop in Saalfelden Leogang, Austria, will kick off with the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup qualifiers Downhill at 12:30 (UTC+2) on Friday 6 June and will conclude with the UCI Olympic World Cup (XCO)Cross-country Elite Men at 15:00 (UTC+2) on Sunday 8 June.
Below are the main times for the race weekend. All times are UTC+2 (EST+6/BST+1/CEST):
FRIDAY 7 JUNE
UCI Downhill World Cup
- 12pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Women Elite
- 13pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Men Elite
- 14pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Women Junior
- 14pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Men Junior
- 15pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Women Elite
- 15pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Men Elite
UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup
- 15:45 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women U23
- 16:25 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men U23
- 17:30 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women Elite
- 18pm – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men Elite
Saturday June 8
- 12pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Junior
- 13pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Junior
- 14pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Elite
- 15pm – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Elite
Sunday June 9
- 08:00 – UCI Enduro World Cup
- 09:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup – Women U23
- 11:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup – Men U23
- 13pm – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup – Women Elite
- 15pm – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup – Men Elite
LIST OF ENROLLMENTS DOWNHILL
ENDURO ENTRY LIST
CROSS COUNTRY ENTRY LIST
DEPLOY THE TRAINING FOR THE FANTAMTB AND YOU WIN
WHERE CAN I WATCH?
There will be several ways to follow the off-road action at Austria’s only venue for the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series.
For the UCI Enduro World Cup, a route preview with the course and its main features, video highlights of the free practice and race will be available on the official YouTube channel, key moments of the race on social media and live timing on the official WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series website.
Follow the UCI World Cup Qualifying Day Downhill in real time and on social media.
For the third UCI Downhill World Cup, the fourth UCI Short Track World Cup (XCC) cross-country and the fourth Olympic World Cup cross-country UCI of the season, you can follow the finals live from anywhere in the world. Both the UCI Junior World Cup races Downhill Both the men's and women's finals will be broadcast live on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel, while the Elite Finals will be broadcast on one of the following channels or streaming services:
North America
Canada - Flobikes
USA - Max
South & Central America: MTBWS TV
Asia
Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand – Eurosport
China - Zhibo.tv (Elite only) Downhill live races)
Other Asian territories - MTBWS TV
Oceania
Australia - Stan sport
New Zealand - MTBWS TV
CYCLING TO KEEP AN EYE ON
The Epic Bikepark is home to some very popular trails for most Endurance and Gravity competitors: the venue in Saalfelden Leogang, Salzburg, has been a mainstay of the UCI World Cup circuit Downhill Since 2010, it has been included in the UCI World Cup calendar Cross-country between 2021 and 2023 and hosted the UCI World Championships Downhill e Cross-country in 2012 and 2020.
Although it only made its enduro debut in 2023, the UCI cycling region Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburg will certainly once again provide a spectacle, with riders pushed to their limits on the challenging and well-groomed trails.
In the downhill, Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Valentina Höll (YT Mob) won here in 2024, but neither defending champion has prevailed so far this season.
DEPLOY THE TRAINING FOR THE FANTAMTB AND YOU WIN
Although Bruni won the opening race of the championship in Poland, a disappointing performance at Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (where he finished 15th) means he is starting this weekend on the wrong foot, behind his friend and career rival Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) in the UCI World Cup standings. Pierron seems to be back to his best in 2019, but the French pair will also have to contend with Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate): the Canadian won his third UCI Downhill World Cup on Sunday, his first since an injury that sidelined him for the entire 2024 season.
Höll, meanwhile, is yet to win this season – the first time she hasn’t tasted victory in the opening two races since 2022. Her second place in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes still makes her one of the favourites in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburg, where she has won the last two editions, but the Austrian has a very fit Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) as a clear title contender: the Briton followed up her opening race win with third place in France.
Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Factory Racing) took the win in the Pyrenees and will look to continue to give her more established rivals a run for their money this weekend.
The men’s enduro competition is also heating up, with Daniel Booker and Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Racing) having split the spoils in the first three races of the series. While Łukasik leads the overall standings, Booker’s two UCI Enduro World Cup victories prove that the privateer means business, and it will be interesting to see the David vs. Goliath showdown on Austria’s biggest trails, the Bike-Region Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn.
Ella Conolly, meanwhile, has taken the lead in the women’s enduro race. The Briton had finished second in the first two races and it’s no surprise that she took her first UCI Enduro World Cup win in Loudenvielle with a dominant performance. Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) is her closest challenger and will be looking to use her greater experience to try and stop Conolly’s dominance.
Finally, three athletes are in great form in the Endurance formats: Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) leads both the men's UCI Elite XCO and XCC World Cup standings, while Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) and Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing – Pirelli) lead the women's UCI Elite XCO and XCC World Cup standings respectively.
Blevins' teammate Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) is second in both UCI World Cup standings and is the only rider to edge the American this year, while Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) and 2023 Saalfelden Leogang-Salzburg winner Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon) are expected to put up some resistance in the Olympic-distance race.
In the meantime, Maxwell's main competition will likely be local favourite and last race winner Mona Mitterwallner (Mondraker Factory Racing XC), reigning overall series winner Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) and UCI XCO World Champion Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck), with the Dutch rider also set to be the only one to get the better of Richards in XCC in 2025.
DEPLOY THE TRAINING FOR THE FANTAMTB AND YOU WIN
