The Brazilian venue is hosting the first of its back-to-back UCI Cross-country World Cup rounds this weekend, and if its debut last year is anything to go by, fans and riders are in for some amazing racing.

After a six-month break, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is back with a bang as the Endurance contests open their 2025 accounts with two weekends of consecutive racing in Araxá, Minas-Gerais, Brazil. 

Located in the country's southeast, 600km south of the capital Brasília, the area is world-renowned for its spa, mountains and waterfalls. Last year, it added mountain bike to that list, with Araxá putting on a UCI World Cup to remember. 

Its red clay course and tropical backdrop truly set it apart from the rest of the venues on the calendar, and with a fifth of the UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) and Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup series to be decided on its trails, points secured in Brazil could make all the difference come the season’s end in October. 

BAR-TO-BAR RACING 

Araxá set high standards in its WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series debut in 2024, putting on one of the most memorable races of the season – Simon Andreassen (Orbea Fox Factory Team) coming out on top in a four-way sprint for the line to decide the Men Elite UCI XCO World Cup round. Fans will be hoping for more of the same this time out, and the XCO and XCC courses should deliver – both combining flat, high-speed sections with fast, gravity-fuelled descents.

While the venue is going to be the same for the next two weeks, this weekend’s results shouldn’t make round 2 a foregone conclusion either – course designers are keeping the riders on their toes with a modified XCO course to navigate next week. 

EARLY SEASON FORM-FINDER 

The first round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series can always be a bit of a lottery with predictions. While some riders will have got between the race tape in smaller contests in the weeks leading up to this weekend, these aren’t necessarily true indicators of form, with some using it as part of their training to peak for Brazil and others returning from off-season injuries or surgery. 

Last year, Andreassen clinched that iconic XCO win, while Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) achieved an XCO-XCC double. The former is on a new team for 2025, although he looks up to speed on his Orbea with a win in the MTB French Cup in March, while Batten hasn’t raced since a crash at the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships last September ended her 2024 season early, and she is staying in the US rather than travelling to Brazil for the first two rounds. 

One rider looking to prevent Andreassen securing back-to-back wins in Araxá is Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing). The Frenchman won the UCI XCC World Cup round at the venue last year and will be hoping score maximum points to improve on his second in the XCO overall in 2025. He will face stiff competition though from his team-mate Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing), Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Facing) and the G.O.A.T, Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team). 

In the women’s field, all eyes will be on Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) to see whether the reigning UCI XCO and XCC World Cup overall winner has recovered from surgery in time to mount a defence of her titles. Meanwhile, Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) has experience of podiuming in Araxá, and Loana Lecomte (BMC Factory Racing) will aim to continue her end-of-season form with her new team. 

Outside of the obvious favourites, two other riders worth keeping tabs on are Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) and Kira Böhm (Cube Factory Racing). The reigning U23 UCI XCO World Cup overall winners did the XCO-XCC doubles in Araxá in 2024 and have already shown they can mix it with the Elites – Böhm winning a CIMTB race in Araxá against a strong South American field as recently as last weekend. 

In the XCC meanwhile, specialists with plenty to prove include Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) and the UCI XCC World Champion Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli). 

Racing gets underway in Araxá on Saturday with the U23 short track – full schedule and events details are available here.