After four back-to-back weekends of racing, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series returns this weekend for the fifth consecutive time with Endurance and Gravity action as the UCI Cross-country Olympic, Cross-country Short Track, Downhill and Enduro World Cups all take to The Epic Bikepark parkours of Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland, Austria.

We look at everything you need to know about the Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series races, including when the cross-country, enduro, 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 Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland, Austria starts with the UCI Downhill World Cup Qualifications at 12:30 (UTC+2) on Friday, June 6 and concludes with the Men Elite UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup at 15:00 (UTC+2) on Sunday, June 8.

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

Friday, June 7

•  12:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Women Elite
• 13:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Men Elite
• 14:15 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Women Junior
• 14:40 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Men Junior
• 15:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Women Elite
• 15:50 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Men Elite

 

• 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
• 18:10 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men Elite

Saturday, June 8

• 12:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Junior 
• 13:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Junior
• 14:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Elite
• 15:00 – 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
• 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 off-road action unfold at Austria’s only WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series venue of the 2025 season.

For the UCI Enduro World Cup, there will be a course preview featuring the route and its key sections, practice day and race day video highlights on the official YouTube channel, key race moments on social media and live timings on the official WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series website.

Follow the UCI Downhill World Cup Qualification day on live timing and across social media. 

For the third UCI Downhill World Cup, fourth UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup and fourth UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup of the season, you can watch the finals live anywhere in the world. Both the men’s and women's Junior UCI Downhill World Cup 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:

North America

Canada – Flobikes

USA  – Max

South & Central America: MTBWS TV

Asia

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

China – Zhibo.tv (only Elite Downhill races live)

Other Asian territories – MTBWS TV

Oceania

Australia – Stan Sport

New Zealand – MTBWS TV

Africa

Angola, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cape Verde, Cote d'lvoire, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial, Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Niger, Reunion, Rwanda, South Africa, Eswatini, São Tome and Principe, St Helena and Ascension, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Seychelles, Socotra, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia - Supersport

All African territories – MTBWS TV

Europe

Andorra – MAX, Eurosport

Austria – discovery+, Eurosport and ServusTV ON (only Elite Downhill races live)

Belgium – HBO Max, Eurosport and LN24 (only Men’s Elite XCO race live)

Bosnia & Herzegovina – Max, Eurosport

Bulgaria – Max, Eurosport

Croatia – Max, Eurosport

Czechia – Max, Eurosport and CT Sport

Denmark – Max, Eurosport

Faroe Islands – Max, Eurosport

France – Max, Eurosport and La Chaine l’Equipe (only Women’s Elite XCO race live)

Germany – discovery+, Eurosport

Hungary – Max, Eurosport

Ireland – TNT Sports

Italy – discovery+, Eurosport

Moldova – Max, Eurosport

Montenegro – Max, Eurosport

Netherlands – HBO Max, Eurosport

North Macedonia – Max, Eurosport

Norway – Max, Eurosport

Poland – Max, Eurosport

Portugal – Max, Eurosport

Romania – Max, Eurosport

Serbia – Max, Eurosport

Slovakia – Max, Eurosport

Slovenia – Max, Eurosport

Spain – Max, Eurosport

Sweden – Max, Eurosport

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

Türkiye – Max, Eurosport

United Kingdom – discovery+, TNT Sports

All other European territories – MTBWS TV

RIDERS TO WATCH

The Epic Bikepark is home to some well-trodden paths for most Endurance and Gravity competitors – the Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland venue has been a mainstay on the UCI Downhill World Cup circuit since 2010, featured on the UCI Cross-country World Cup calendar between 2021-2023 and hosted the UCI Downhill and Cross-country World Championships in 2012 and 2020.

Although it only made its enduro debut in 2023, the UCI Bike Region of Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland is sure to put on a show once more, with riders pushed to their limits on the testing, handcrafted trails.

In downhill, Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Valentina Höll (YT Mob) won at the venue in 2024, but neither of the reigning overall title holders have had it their own way so far this season.

Although Bruni won the series opener in Poland, a poor showing in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (where he finished 15th) means he enters this weekend on the back foot and sits behind friend and career rival Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) in the UCI World Cup Standings. Pierron appears back to his 2019 best, but the French pair will also have to contend with Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) – the Canadian clinching his third UCI Downhill World Cup on Sunday and the first since a season-ruining injury that ruled him out for the whole of 2024.

Höll meanwhile is yet to win this season – the first time she hasn’t tasted victory in the opening two rounds since 2022. Her second in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes still makes her a favourite in Saalfelden Leogang - Salzburgerland, where she has won the last two editions, but the Austrian has a resurgent Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) as a clear title challenger – the Brit following up her win in the opening round with third place in France.

Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Factory Racing) meanwhile got the win in the Pyrenees and will be looking to keep pushing her more established rivals this weekend.

The men’s enduro competition is also hotting up nicely – Daniel Booker and Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Racing) have shared the spoils at the first three rounds of the series. While Łukasik leads the overall, Booker’s two UCI Enduro World Cup wins prove that the privateer means business, and it will be interesting to see the David vs Goliath battle play out on Austria’s largest Bike-Region Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn trails.

Ella Conolly meanwhile has seized the initiative in the women’s enduro field. The Brit had finished second in the opening two rounds and it was no surprise that she took her debut UCI Enduro World Cup win in Loudenvielle in dominant style. Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) is her closest challenger and will be looking to use her superior experience to try and halt Conolly’s dominance.

Finally, three riders are in red-hot form in the Endurance formats – Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) leading both the men’s Elite XCO and XCC UCI World Cup Standings, while Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) and Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli) lead the women’s Elite XCO and XCC UCI World Cup Standings respectively.

Blevins’ teammate Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) sits in second in both UCI World Cup Standings and is the only rider to get the better of the American this year, while Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) and 2023 Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland winner Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon) should put up some resistance in the Olympic-distance race.

Maxwell’s main competition meanwhile is likely to come from 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) – the Dutch rider also the only person to get the better of Richards in the XCC in 2025.

Racing gets underway on Friday, June 6 in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland.

Full schedule and event details are available HERE.