After an Enduro series finale in Morillon, Haute-Savoie, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series stays in the French Alps with the UCI Cross-country and Downhill World Cups taking to the nearby trails of Les Gets, Haute-Savoie.

We look at everything you need to know about the Les Gets, Haute-Savoie round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, including when the Cross-county Short Track (XCC), Cross-country Olympic (XCO) and Downhill events are scheduled to take place, who is racing, and how to watch.

WHEN?

The 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) starts with the Women Under 23 Cross-country Short Track at 09:45 (UTC+2) on Friday, August 29 and concludes with the Men Elite UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup at 15:00 (UTC+2) on Sunday, August 31.

Below are the key timings for race weekend. All times are UTC+2 (EST+6/BST+1/CEST):

Friday, August 29

09:45 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women U23
10:35 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men U23
18:00 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women Elite
18:40 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men Elite
12:45 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Women Elite
13:15 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Men Elite
14:25 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Women Junior
14:50 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Men Junior
15:45 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Women Elite
16:10 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Men Elite

Saturday, August 30

10:50 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Junior
11:15 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Junior
12:10 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Elite
13:10 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Elite

Sunday, August 31

09:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women U23
11:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men U23
13:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women Elite
15:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men Elite

WHERE CAN I WATCH?

There will be several ways to watch the action unfold at the last French rounds of the 2025 season.

The UCI Downhill World Cup Qualification day can be followed on live timing and across social media.

For the seventh UCI Cross-country Olympic, Cross-country Short Track and Downhill World Cups of the season, you can watch the finals live anywhere in the world. Both the Men Junior and Women Junior UCI Downhill World Cup races will be broadcast live on discovery+ (in front of paywall), HBO Max* (in front of the sports add-on) and MTBWS TV (included in subscription), while the Elite finals will be shown on one of the below channels or streaming services:

North America

Canada – Flosports

USA – HBO Max

South & Central America

All Central and South American territories – MTBWS TV

Caribbean – Rushsports

Asia

Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand – Eurosport

China - Zhibo.TV (Only Elite Downhill races live)

All other Asian territories – MTBWS TV

Oceania

Australia – Stan Sport

New Zealand – MTBWS TV

Africa

All African territories – MTBWS TV

Europe

Andorra – HBO Max, Eurosport, ATV

Austria – discovery+, Eurosport

Belgium – HBO Max, Eurosport, LN24 (Only Elite XCO races live)

Bosnia & Herzegovina – Max, Eurosport

Bulgaria – HBO Max, Eurosport

Croatia – HBO Max, Eurosport

Czechia – HBO Max, Eurosport, CT Sport+ (only Elite XCO and XCC races live)

Denmark – HBO Max, Eurosport

Faroe Islands – HBO Max, Eurosport

France – HBO Max, Eurosport and La Chaine L’Equipe (only Elite XCC and XCO races live)

Germany – discovery+, Eurosport

Hungary – HBO Max, Eurosport

Ireland – TNT Sports

Italy – discovery+, Eurosport

Moldova – HBO Max, Eurosport

Montenegro – HBO Max, Eurosport

Netherlands – HBO Max, Eurosport

North Macedonia – HBO Max, Eurosport

Norway – HBO Max, Eurosport

Poland – HBO Max, Eurosport

Portugal – HBO Max, Eurosport

Romania – HBO Max, Eurosport

Serbia – HBO Max, Eurosport

Slovakia – HBO Max, Eurosport

Slovenia – HBO Max, Eurosport

Spain – HBO Max, Eurosport

Sweden – HBO Max, Eurosport

Switzerland – MTBWS TV , SRF/RSI (only Elite XCO and XCC races live online)

Türkiye – HBO Max, Eurosport

United Kingdom – discovery+, TNT Sports

All other European territories – MTBWS TV

RIDERS TO WATCH

In Downhill, all eyes are on the battle between Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity). The pair have shared the spoils so far this season – Goldstone leading Bruni four wins to two – but the Frenchman’s victory in Pal Arinsal (Andorra) last time out brought an end to the Canadian’s record winning streak. With four rounds remaining in the series, every point and place takes on even greater importance in the title race.

Whatever happens, it’s likely to be an all-French affair with the last non-native to win at Les Gets, Haute-Savoie, Steve Peat back in 2002. Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction), Thibaut Daprela (Rogue Racing - SR Suntour), Bruni and Benoît Coulanges (Scott Downhill Factory) have all won at the venue since it rejoined the UCI Downhill World Cup circuit in 2019, and are all in with a shot during Saturday’s finale.

While the home riders haven’t been as dominant in the women’s field, expect Marine Cabirou (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) and Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) to give the partisan crowd something to cheer about.

Elsewhere, series leader Valentina Höll’s (YT Mob) search for a win continues but with four second-places this year it’s only a matter of time for the Austrian, while Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) and Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) look the most likely to challenge the reigning UCI Downhill World Champion for top spot.

Either side of the Downhill action is the Friday’s XCC and Sunday’s XCO, with both series getting interesting as they near their conclusion.

Previously, it was hard to look beyond Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) and Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the XCC, but both riders’ winning streaks came to an end at altitude in Pal Arinsal. While the pair will be aiming to bounce back, they’ve shown that they’re not infallible.

In the men’s field, Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) became the only rider to get the better of Blevins all year, and he’ll be fired up to repeat the feat in front of a home crowd. Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) meanwhile showed that she shouldn’t be overlooked in the overall series, and will be aiming to catch series leader Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli) on a course where she won in 2024.

On Sunday, Martin and Blevins will once again be in contention, while the American’s teammate Martin Vidaurre Kossman (Specialized Factory Racing) will be targeting a return to the XCO podium. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is another likely to be contesting the win as the Dutchman switches to mountain bike ahead of his tilt at next weekend’s XCO race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. The race will also be Nino Schurter’s (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) penultimate UCI XCO World Cup – the Swiss G.O.A.T announcing that he plans to retire at the next round in Bike Kingdom - Lenzerheide (Switzerland). The 39-year-old has won at Les Gets, Haute-Savoie twice in his storied career, including at the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, and few would bet against him making it a fairytale ending with a third this year.

In the women’s field, attention falls to a rider at the other end of her career – Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team). The New Zealander is enjoying her breakthrough year with two wins and four second places so far and appears to be unassailable in the overall series. A result in France would make the title a foregone conclusion.

The rider with the best shot at stopping her is Pieterse. The Dutchwoman returns to mountain biking after a quiet Tour de France Femmes by her own standards, and will be hoping to get back to winning ways after a disappointing weekend in Pal Arinsal.

Racing gets underway on Friday, August 29 in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie.

Full schedule and event details are available HERE.

RICK

Owen

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