After a two-month break, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is back this weekend with a Gravity feast as the UCI Downhill World Cup and UCI Enduro and E-enduro World Cups take to the trails of Loudenvielle - Peyragudes, France.  We look at everything you need to know about the Loudenvielle - Peyragudes round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series races, including when the Enduro, E-enduro and Downhill events are scheduled to take place, who is racing, and how to watch.

WHEN?

The 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Loudenvielle - Peyragudes, France starts with the UCI Enduro (EDR) World Cup at 9:30 (UTC+2) tomorrow, Friday September 6 and concludes with the Men’s Elite UCI Downhill World Cup at 14:00 (UTC+2) on Sunday, September 8.

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

Friday, September 6
09:30 – UCI Enduro World Cup

Saturday, September

• 09:30 – UCI E-Enduro World Cup
• 12:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Women Elite
• 12:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Men Elite
• 14:15 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Women Junior
• 14:35 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Men Junior
• 15:45 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Semi Finals Women Elite
• 16:15 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Semi Finals Men Elite

Sunday, September 8

• 11:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Junior
• 12:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Junior
• 13:15 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Elite
• 14:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Elite

WHERE CAN I WATCH?

There will be several ways to watch the action unfold at France’s final UCI World Cup of the 2024 Series. For Friday and Saturday’s Enduro and E-enduro racing, there will be live timings on the official WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series website and highlights on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series’ Instagram and Facebook channels, with top stories from the race weekend to be published on the YouTube channel on Sunday 8th of September and broadcast on Eurosport 1 at 6:30 PM CET on Thursday 12th of September. 

For the penultimate UCI Downhill World Cup of the season, you can watch the finals live anywhere in the world. Both the men’s and women's UCI Downhill World Cup Junior races will be broadcast live on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel, while the Elite finals will be shown on one of the below channels or streaming services. 

In the UK and Ireland, they will also be broadcast on TNT Sports 3 for the first time. Pre-show starts at 12:45 CET, so set a reminder to join Ric McLaughlin live from France:

North America

• Canada – Flosports
• USA  – Max

South & Central America

• Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela – Staylive
• Puerto Rico – Max

Asia

• Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan – Staylive
• China – Zhibo.tv
• Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand  – Eurosport

Oceania

• Australia – Stan
• New Zealand – Staylive

Africa: Staylive

Europe

• Austria – discovery+
• Belgium – HBO Max, Eurosport 1
• Czech Republic – Max, Eurosport 1
• Denmark – Max
• France – Eurosport 1, L’Équipe TV
• Germany – discovery+, Eurosport 1
• Greece - Eurosport
• Hungary – Max, Eurosport 1
• Ireland – discovery+, Eurosport 1 and TNT Sports 3
• Italy – discovery+, Eurosport 1
• Netherlands – HBO Max, Eurosport 1
• Norway – Max, Eurosport 2
• Poland – Max, Eurosport 1
• Portugal – Max, Eurosport 1
• Romania – Max, Eurosport 1
• Slovenia – Max, Eurosport 1
• Spain – Max, Eurosport 1
• Sweden – Max, Eurosport 1
• Switzerland – Eurosport 1, Staylive
• United Kingdom – discovery+, Eurosport 1 and TNT Sports 3
• Rest of world – Staylive

RIDERS TO WATCH

The Louron Bike and Trail Park is a relatively new addition to the competition calendar for Gravity riders – the Loudenvielle - Peyragudes venue making its UCI World Cup debut in 2023, although it had hosted Enduro World Series races since 2021.

The venue has already shown it can deliver on the biggest stage, and if last year’s racing is anything to go by, we’re in for another epic weekend of racing.

In the Men’s EDR competition, all eyes will be on Richie Rude (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team). The American only has to finish 18th in the final round of the series to secure the overall title, and the only two riders who can mathematically overhaul him are team-mate Slawomir Lukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Charles Murray (Specialized Enduro Team). Both effectively need Rude to DNF to be in with a chance, but stranger things have happened.

Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) and Harriet Harnden (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) meanwhile will be battling it out for the women’s Enduro overall victory; given how close they’ve pushed each other all year, expect fireworks in the French Pyrenees. The 30-year-old Frenchwoman has added incentive though – Loudenvielle - Peyragudes is her last UCI World Cup before she takes a break from racing, and potentially the last shot she has of surpassing Cecile Ravanel’s record of three overall EDR titles. 

In the E-enduro, there’s also a tussle for the top spot between Ryan Gilchrist (Yeti/Fox Factory Racing) and Manuel Soares José Borges (Canyon Collective Factory Enduro Team). While he’s not in the running for the overall title, watch out for Damien Oton (Oolab Team) – the Frenchman finished second on home soil in Combloux, Haute-Savoie (France) and could look to go one better this time out. 

For the women’s E-enduro, Florencia Espiñeira Herreros (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) won in Loudenvielle - Peyragudes last year, so expect the 2024 overall series winner to be in contention. Those looking to spoil the Chilean’s victory parade include Tracy Moseley and Estelle Charles (Specialized Enduro Team). 

In Downhill, Valentina Höll (YT Mob) and Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) took the win at the debut UCI Downhill World Cup in difficult conditions on the Louron Bike and Trail Park course last year. Both lead the respective championships and are likely to be in the mix this time round, but there’s still time for twists and turns before the season concludes in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada in October.

Höll appears to be back to her best after securing a third consecutive UCI World Championship last weekend in Andorra, but Tahnée Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV FMD), Marine Cabirou (Scott Downhill Factory) and Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) are ready to pounce if the 22-year-old Austrian has a finals run slip.

Bruni meanwhile will be looking to bounce back after crashing in his UCI World Championships race run. The Frenchman will be under pressure from his closest rival for the overall series, Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction), while Loris Vergier (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) will be hoping to show off the rainbow stripes in style in his first outing as UCI World Champion. 

Racing gets underway tomorrow (Friday, September 6) in Loudenvielle - Peyragudes.

Full schedule and event details are available HERE.