The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series returns this weekend with Araxá, Brazil hosting the second round of the UCI Cross-country (XCO) and Short Track (XCC) World Cup seasons and concluding the back-to-back Brazilian doubleheader.

WHEN?

The 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Araxá, Brazil starts with the U23 Women’s UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup round at 14:00 (UTC-3) Friday, April 19 and concludes with the Men’s Elite UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup at 15:30 (UTC-3) on Sunday, April 21.

Below are the key timings for race weekend. All times are UTC-3 (EST+1/BST-4/CET-5):

Friday, April 19

•       14:00 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women U23
•       14:35 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men U23 

Saturday, April 20

•        12:00 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women Elite
•        12:35 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men Elite
•        15:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men U23

Sunday, April 21

•        10:30 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women U23
•        13:15 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women Elite
•        15:30 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men Elite

WHERE CAN I WATCH?

You can watch all the action from round two of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Araxá, Brazil wherever you are in the world. Both the men’s and women's UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup U23 races will be broadcast live on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel, but for all other races, tune in to one of the below channels or streaming services:

North America

Canada – Flosports

USA  – Max

South America*

Argentina – Claro

Brazil – TNT Sports YouTube Channel

Chile – Claro

Colombia – Claro

Peru – Claro

Oceania/Asia

Australia – Stan

China – Zhibo.tv

New Zealand – Staylive

Africa*

South Africa – Staylive

Europe*

Austria – Eurosport, discovery+

Belgium – Eurosport

Czech Republic – Eurosport, Czech TV

Denmark – Eurosport

France – Eurosport, L'Équipe

Germany – Eurosport, discovery+

Hungary – Eurosport

Ireland – discovery+

Italy – Eurosport, discovery+

Netherlands – discovery+

Norway – Eurosport

Poland – Eurosport

Portugal – Eurosport

Romania – Eurosport

Spain – Eurosport

Sweden – Eurosport

Switzerland – Eurosport, SRF

United Kingdom – Eurosport, discovery+

Rest of world – Staylive

RIDERS TO WATCH

Although a handful of last year’s top contenders didn’t make the trip to South America, it didn’t dampen the Mairiporã season opener’s explosion of colour, noise and unpredictable bar-to-bar racing. This weekend is set to be no different, and while Mairiporã was a great indicator of who has had a good off-season, there will be several riders looking to make amends in Araxá.

Jenny Rissveds (Team 31 Ibis Cycles Continental) will be aiming to do the Brazilian double in the women’s UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup, while Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) and Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) will be doing their utmost to stop the Swede taking the win for a second weekend in a row. In the men’s, only five seconds separated the top five in Mairiporã, Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) pipping Victor Koretzsky (Specialized Factory Racing) and Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) to the line. But you should never rule out Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) – the 10-time UCI World Champion keen to put last week’s crash on the second lap behind him.

In the UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup, Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing Pirelli) is the rider to beat in the women’s field after a dominant performance in Mairiporã. For the men, Koretzky will be looking to get back to the top of the podium after Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) broke his three-strong winning streak.

Full schedule and events details are available HERE.

You can find where to watch all of the racing action live in Araxá HERE.