After epic race weekends at the iconic locations of Fort William and Finale Outdoor Region, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series completes its hat-trick of back-to-back Gravity rounds with a UCI Downhill World Cup and UCI Enduro World Cup at a brand-new venue, Bielsko-Biała, in Poland.

We look at everything you need to know about the Bielsko-Biała round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series races, including when the 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 Bielsko-Biała, Poland starts with the UCI Enduro World Cup at 8:30 (UTC+2) on Friday, May 17 and concludes with the Men’s Elite UCI Downhill World Cup at 14:00 (UTC+2) on Sunday, May 19.

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

Friday, May 17

08:30 – UCI Enduro World Cup

Saturday, May 18

• 08:30 – UCI E-Enduro World Cup
• 12:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Women Elite
• 12:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Men Elite
• 14:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Women Junior
• 14:15 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Men Junior
• 15:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Semi Finals Women Elite
• 15:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Semi Finals Men Elite

Sunday, May 19

• 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 Poland’s first-ever UCI World Cup in Bielsko-Biała.

For Friday and Saturday’s 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 Monday, May 20.

It will also be possible to keep track of the Open Racing competitions on the live timings, with 235 amateurs taking on the Enduro of Bielsko-Biała on Friday, May 17 and the E-Enduro of Bielsko-Biała on Saturday, May 18.

For the second 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. Pre-show starts at 12:45 UTC+2, so set a reminder to join Ric McLaughlin and Aaron Gwin live from Poland:

North America

Canada – Flosports

USA  – Max

South & Central America: Staylive

Oceania/Asia

Australia – Stan

China – Zhibo.tv

New Zealand – Staylive

Africa: Staylive

Europe

Austria – discovery+

Belgium – Eurosport 2

Czech Republic – Eurosport Player

Denmark – Eurosport 2

France – Eurosport 2 and La Chaine L'Équipe

Germany – discovery+

Hungary – Highlights on Eurosport 1 at 19:15 UTC+2

Ireland – discovery+

Italy – Eurosport 2, discovery+

Netherlands – Eurosport 2, discovery+

Norway – discovery+

Poland – Eurosport 2

Portugal – Eurosport 2

Romania – Eurosport 2

Slovenia - Highlights on Eurosport 1 at 19:15 UTC+2

Spain – Eurosport 2

Sweden – discovery+

Switzerland – Eurosport Player

United Kingdom – discovery+, Women live on Eurosport 2, Men highlights on Eurosport 1 at 8pm CEST

Rest of world – Staylive

RIDERS TO WATCH

The Bielsko-Biała venue is a complete unknown for most of the Enduro and Downhill athletes, so everyone is coming into the second round of each of the Gravity competitions on a level playing field.

In the Men’s Enduro competition, one rider to watch is Slawomir Lukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team). The 31-year-old Polish rider was battling it out with teammate Richie Rude (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) for the top spot in the Finale Outdoor Region last weekend until a puncture on the final stage put an end hopes of his first UCI World Cup win. He still managed a respectable fifth place but will be hoping his luck holds out in Bielsko-Biała in front of a supportive home crowd.

Lukasik won’t have it easy though. The 2023 UCI Enduro World Cup overall series winner Richie Rude can make it back-to-back wins, Charlie Murray (Specialized Enduro Team) will be gunning for his first win after an impressive second place in Italy, while Jack Moir (YT Mob) looks set to return after sitting out the first round with a minor injury.

The competition in the women’s UCI Enduro World Cup is fiercer than ever, Harriet Harnden (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) ending Morgane Charre’s (Pivot Factory Racing) dominance in Finale and extending 2023 UCI Enduro World Cup overall series winner Isabeau Courdurier’s (Lapierre Zipp Collective) winless run at the iconic Italian venue. Expect Courdurier to seek revenge in Poland, with third-placed Ella Conolly (Cannondale Enduro Team) also hot on her heels. 

The UCI E-Enduro World Cup witnessed the changing of the guard in the Men’s competition in Finale Outdoor Region as the reigning overall series title holder Fabien Barel (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) didn’t start. Ryan Gilchrist (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) seized the initiative in the Frenchman’s absence, the 21-year-old winning four of nine stages and holding onto the top spot from stage three. The Australian’s dominance meant he was even able to take his foot off the gas in the final stage, aiding recovery coming into Bielsko-Biała.

In the women’s E-Enduro field, Florence Espiñeira Herreros (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) came away with the win in Finale, but Tracey Moseley pushed her all the way to the line – the pair sharing wins in eight out of nine stages. The British rider will be seeking revenge in Poland, while the only other stage winner in Finale Outdoor Region, Laura Charles, will be aiming to add more to her haul.

In Downhill, the reigning UCI World Cup overall winners Valentina Höll (YT Mob) and Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) showed at Fort William that they’re likely to be the dominant forces once more in 2024. But don’t expect the competition to turn into a procession with plenty of riders coming to Poland with a point to prove.

Tahnée Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV FMD), Nina Hoffman (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Camille Balanche (Dorval AM Commecal) look the most likely to knock Höll off her perch, while in the Men’s Elite, Troy Brosnan (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) looks back to his best and Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) goes into the second UCI Downhill World Cup of the season confident that he’s piloting a race-winning bike.

Racing gets underway on Friday, May 17 in Bielsko-Biała.

Full schedule and event details are available HERE.

You can find where to watch all the racing action in Bielsko-Biała HERE.