The Women’s 2023 UCI Downhill World Champion and Australian icon are both raring to go after big results in Fort William

The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series rolled into Bielsko-Biała this weekend, with the stars of the UCI Downhill, Enduro and E-Enduro World Cups taking to the trails of Poland for the first time in UCI World Cup history.

A new venue brings with it a lot of unknowns, but at the pre-race press conference on Thursday, May 16, both Valentina Höll (YT Mob) and Troy Brosnan (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Downhill Team) were looking forward to getting to grips with the Beskid Mountains’ brand new downhill track after successful weekend in at the UCI Downhill World Cup in Fort William a fortnight ago.

“[Starting] the season with a win is something I honestly did not expect because I have a new bike, a new team, so I thought maybe I needed a bit more time to grove in and find my mojo, but it was already there,” said Höll. “The more time I spend on my new bike, the better and more comfortable it will be.”

She added that this season, the competition is tougher than ever, while she expected some surprises come Sunday’s finals. “Everyone is on pace. In Fort William, the top five podium has never been that close together, which is also super exciting. But also with the new venue, I believe we’ll see new faces on the podium, especially with how different the track is to Fort William. The younger riders like Phoebe [Gale] or Gracey [Hemstreet] will love this track with all the jumps and it just suits their riding style.”

BROSNAN BACK ON TRACK

Brosnan, who piloted his new Canyon Sender to second place in Fort William, said that he was happy with his progress after two disappointing years where he was “putting in so much work and not getting the results”. But the three-time UCI Downhill World Cup winner he’s not settling for second best. “Placing second in the final felt like a win. But as a racer, I’d like to go that one step higher.”

He suggested that the addition of electronic suspension gave him an advantage last time out and would continue to do so throughout the remainder of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. “It’s the future of this sport. Electronic suspension is what’s going to win races from here on for a long time. I don’t think it’s going to be perfect for every track, but the development that you can potentially do in this field is massive.”

MOSELEY LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR ESPIÑEIRA

Bielsko-Biala is also hosting the second UCI Enduro and E-Enduro World Cups of the season following last week’s opener in Finale Outdoor Region. Tracy Moseley, who finished second in the E-Enduro event in Italy, revealed that she wouldn’t be racing all of this year’s UCI World Cups, removing one of Florencia Espiñeira’s (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) main rivals for the overall title.

“I’m not going to be at all the races this year,” said Moseley. “I’m just picking a few and I chose this one particularly because it’s a new venue. After all the years, it’s nice to go new places.”

She added that she expected it to be quite a level playing field in Poland. “No one knows the terrain, no one really knows these trails. Everyone I’ve met in the forest today has been like ‘oh my god, I can’t believe this is happening’. It’s exciting for us to come somewhere new and it’s brilliant for somewhere like this to have the world’s best riders come and ride their home trails, so it’s great for the sport.”

The UCI E-Enduro World Cup starts at 8:30 (CEST) on Saturday, May 18, while live coverage of the UCI Downhill World Cup kicks off at 12:45 (CEST) on Sunday, May 19. 

Find out how to follow the action here.