Downhill and Cross-country Title Races Hotting up as the Series Heads to Lenzerheide in Swiss Alps

After four format action at Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland (Austria), the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series’ downhill and cross-country athletes return for their second UCI World Cup in as many weeks, having made the short journey west across the Austrian-Swiss border to the canton of Graubünden and the trails of Bike Kingdom – Lenzerheide (Switzerland).We look at everything you need to know about the Lenzerheide round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, including when the cross-country short track (XCC), cross-country Olympic (XCO) and downhill (DHI) events are scheduled to take place, who is racing, and how to watch.WHEN? The 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) starts with the Women U23 UCI XCC World Cup at 10:35 (UTC+2) on Friday, June 19 and concludes with the Men Elite UCI XCO Cup at 15:30 (UTC+2) on Sunday, June 21.Below are the key timings for race weekend. All times are UTC+2 (EDT+6/BST+1/CEST):Friday, June 1912:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Women Elite13:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Men Elite14:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Women Junior14:20 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Men Junior15:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Women Elite15:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Men Elite10:35 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women U2311:25 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men U2318:00 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women Elite18:50 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men EliteSaturday, June 2011:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Junior12:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Junior13:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Elite14:10 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men EliteSunday, June 2109:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women U2311:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men U2313:30 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women Elite15:30 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men EliteWHERE CAN I WATCH?There are several ways to catch all the action from Switzerland. The UCI Downhill World Cup* and the Elite UCI Cross-country World Cup races are available to watch live worldwide.Europe:Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Baltics, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, Ukraine – HBO Max / EurosportBelgium: HBO Max, Eurosport, RTL (only Men Elite downhill & Men Elite XCO races live)Czechia: HBO Max, Eurosport, Czech TVIreland: TNT SportsSwitzerland, Liechtenstein: HBO Max, Eurosport, SRF/RSIUnited Kingdom : HBO Max, TNT SportsAsia:Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Thailand - Eurosport WorldOceania:Australia: Stan SportNew Zealand: MTBWS TVSamoa: Eurosport WorldNorth America:Canada: FloSportsUSA: HBO Max / MTBWS TVMTBWS TV has now launched in the US, so fans will be able to watch the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series live on the streaming service. Racing will also still be available to watch on HBO Max.Central America: MTBWS TVSouth America: MTBWS TV and Direct TV (only XCC Elite races)Africa: MTBWS TVAll other territories: MTBWS TV*The UCI Downhill World Cup Qualification Day can be followed on live timing and across social media. The men’s and women’s Junior UCI Downhill World Cup races will be available on HBO Max (in all available territories) and MTBWS TV via subscription. The Elite finals will be shown on one of the above channels or streaming services.RIDERS TO WATCHIn downhill, the series looks wide open in the Elite men’s category with three different riders victorious in the first three rounds – two taking their debut UCI World Cup wins and one, Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity), returning to the top of the podium for the first time since 2022.Iles has looked back to his best this year and has become the de facto leader of the Specialized Gravity team with teammate Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) out for the foreseeable future with injury.The Canadian sits second in the standings though behind Amaury Pierron (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) – the 2018 UCI World Cup overall winner adding a second podium of the season to his collection in Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland. The Frenchman won in Lenzerheide in 2025 and has racked up three UCI World Cup wins at the venue in his career, so don’t be surprised if he adds number four this weekend.Others to keep tabs on include first-year Elites Max Alran (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) and Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/TRP), reigning UCI Downhill World Champion Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Henri Kiefer (Canyon DH Racing).The women’s contest, meanwhile, is beginning to take shape just three rounds in, with Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) proving untouchable so far. She continues her 100%-win record in 2026, extending her advantage in the overall standings to 271 points over second-place Myriam Nicole (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction).Lenzerheide hasn’t historically been a happy hunting ground for Höll though. While she won the Junior UCI Downhill World Championships at the venue in 2018, her best result has been third (2021, 2025) since she joined the Elite class.Nicole has three UCI World Cup wins in Lenzerheide although the Frenchwoman hasn’t stood on the top spot since Loudenvielle-Peyragudes in September 2024. Others to watch out for are Marine Cabirou (Canyon DH Racing), Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing / TRP) and Harriet Harnden (AON Racing).Either side of the downhill action is the Friday’s XCC and Sunday’s XCO, with each series shaping up nicely after three fierce rounds of racing.Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) and Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) lead the respective XCC overall classification, and both riders have recorded two UCI XCC World Cup wins already in this series.Neither is guaranteed to have it their own way in Lenzerheide though. Frei is likely to face stiff competition from Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing), Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and a resurgent Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon), while Azzaro’s main rivals will be Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing), Dario Lillo (Giant Factory Off-Road Team - XC) and Simon Andreassen (Orbea Fox Factory Team).On Sunday’s XCO, Rissveds and Martin are the riders who will line up with the red number one plate. UCI XCO World Champion Rissveds has picked up from where she left off at the end of 2025, recording two second places and a win from the opening three rounds. Frei and Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) are the only two riders to have gotten the better of the Swede in the Olympic distance race this year, while Pieterse and Keller are the only other likely candidates to truly test the 2016 Olympic champion.Martin meanwhile is without a win in 2026 but finds himself at the top of the men’s table through consistency – the Frenchman recording three consecutive second place finishes so far this season. It appears to be only a matter of time before he records his second UCI XCO World Cup win, but Lillo and Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) will take confidence from the fact that they’ve had the edge on the Cannondale Factory Racing rider in 2026.Reigning XCO-XCC overall champion Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) is also back between the race tape this weekend after being out since the opening round in MONA YongPyong (South Korea) with a broken collarbone.

All four formats were in action this weekend, as the UCI Enduro, Downhill, Cross-country Short Track (XCC) and Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cups converged on Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland (Austria) for the first of two quadruple of the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series.The racing kicked off on Friday with a wet and wild XCC and didn’t let up until the final stage of Sunday’s UCI Enduro World Cup.Only one rider – Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) – retains a 100% win record for 2026, while there were first-time UCI World Cup victories for Simon Andreassen (Orbea Fox Factory Racing) in XCC, Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) in XCO, and Winnifred Goldsbury in the UCI Enduro World Cup.But the winning riders only tell a small portion of the story from Austria. From a historic first in Downhill where the women’s Elite race closed the program, to dealing with a surprise disqualification in the Elite men’s XCO, here are some of the behind-the-scenes highlights from this week’s THE B LINE.HÖLL ROLLS ONVali Höll is following in the footsteps of the mountain biking greats Anne-Caroline Chausson and Rachel Atherton by going three-from-three in 2026, but the Austrian was over the moon to have won in front of a passionate home crowd.“It’s so cool to win at home. It’s the best thing in the world,” she said to Josh Carlson.“It’s cool to see Leogang become more of a hotspot for Downhill and the crowd every year is bigger. Lina [Frener] won in the Juniors category, so the future of Downhill is also Austria.”KIEFER PLEASED WITH PODIUMHenri Kiefer (Canyon DH Racing) has had a slow start to 2026, but things aligned for the German rider in Leogang as he followed up third in qualifying with third in finals.“The season kicked off, I didn’t start well, but I’m so stoked. Leogang is a fast track and pushes your limits so you have to expect some small things. This place means a lot because the family is always coming here. It’s like my home race. I live in Austria now, near Innsbruck, I’m an ambassador for Leogang, it all worked out so well. It’s a dream scenario.”CABIROU MAKES HISTORY IN MOMENTOUS DAY FOR WOMEN’S DOWNHILLSaalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland also witnessed history on Saturday with the women’s Elite field taking to the mountain at the end of the session and swapping with the men’s contest for the first time. For fastest qualifier Marine Cabirou (Canyon DH Racing), it also meant closing out the racing with the last race run of the day.“It’s pretty amazing, and it was pretty amazing to live that once in my life. It was insane to see everyone go at the top and feel alone. I think it’s amazing for women’s sport to do that at least once per year.“My highlight is winning the qualifying because it was the first time in my life, and I finished second after starting last. Finally, I start to feel myself again on the bike so I’m happy with that. It gives me a lot of confidence. I was feeling good in South Korea but I crashed in the race run so I lost a bit of confidence. It was a bit hard to find the pace in Loudenvielle and to push again, but finally I feel good again and confident on the bike so it will be good for the next one.”NEWKIRK A FAN OF THE SWITCHAnna Newkirk (Frameworks / TRP Racing) was also a fan of the women’s race swapping with the men’s field, although noted how it left her with more time than she is used to on race day.“It was really cool getting to drop so late in the day. I dropped at 3pm. I normally race at 1pm or 12:30pm depending on how I qualified. It was so cool getting to go so late and having such a big crowd was really awesome as well.“What time I put my race run down doesn’t really matter to me. I guess it’s the same with start order – I don’t care if I drop first. I’ve never dropped last but I’ve dropped second to last a handful of times now. I don’t really care when I drop. I’m racing against myself.“I guess one thing that was pretty different was having so much time to overthink everything. We had five hours between practice and finals, so I was just sitting there thinking all day. I tried to take a nap and instead of napping I was just going through the track again over and over in my head.”ILES HAPPY TO BE OUT OF THE ONE WIN CLUBAnother Elite winner in Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland was Finn Iles (Specialized Factory Racing). The Canadian has been on an upward trajectory this season and his victory was the first since his debut in 2022.“I didn’t expect it today. It feels good to get it done. Second time feels a lot different. It feels like we put a lot of work to get here. Four years, five seasons since I won in MSA. It’s been a long time.“I can’t say thank you enough to the team I have around me. The bike is a machine and I think Loïc [Bruni]’s been second in Korea, Jordan [Williams] was third in Loudenvielle and for me to win it means a lot. The biggest thing we did was trust what we already knew about the bike. We’ve done so much testing so we can predict what the conditions are going to be like and how the bike is going to react to those predictions. The boys made a big change after practice day. They softened the rear end, we stiffened the fork and we added air to the main chamber. “Last year was such a downer. I just struggled through everything. I was dealing with injuries to my back, so I never felt like I could train or ride properly. I can’t say thank you enough to Specialized, all the people around me, my girlfriend, my family for just helping me build myself back up into who I know I can be, and to be at the top feels amazing. I hope I can stay here and just build upon myself, build confidence, focus and continue to make this bike faster than it already is. All the stuff I went through last year has just made me a better athlete. It’s made me look at all the small details”.MARTIN, RILEY AND ALDRIDGE SHARE THOUGHTS ON VARIED RACE WEEKENDThe cross-country riders took to the Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland trails either side of the downhill action, and Ashleigh Wilmot caught up with Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing), Bjorn Riley (Scott-SRAM MTB Race Team) and Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) after the dust had settled on a feisty XCO that saw second-place finisher Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) disqualified for taking the wrong line through the tech zone and Martin and Riley bumped up to second and third respectively as a result.“My first feeling is I was sorry for him because he did the wrong thing, but it’s not nice to be disqualified,” said Martin.“I had no clue. I thought I was fourth,” added Riley. “I felt like it was super cool, but the same as Luca [Martin], at the end of the day if you’re in [Azzaro’s] position, it’s a big bummer. It’s a hard one. It’s still really cool to be third.”Aldridge meanwhile had to settle for 35th, but the Brit was returning from a chest infection so was realistic about his result.“I tried to manage my effort. When you’ve had a chest infection for the last two weeks and you’re still coughing, your body’s not at 100% and you can’t push the same. The short track I thought was going to be fine and then I lasted about 15 minutes and blew my doors off. I still came 17th, so that was still good. [For the XCO], I was on cruise control, managing my effort, but the last two laps were pretty tough. I enjoyed it. It’s cool to be here, and the descents are really good fun.”Talk then turned to hobbies, with Martin and Riley sharing a passion for rally cars, while Aldridge likes to spend his off-season trail building for his bikes.“I’m lucky at home, I’ve got some good places to build trails near me,” added Aldridge. “The mountain is my canvas and my art. I go out and can really make it feel how I want to. You can make the trail and then ride it after with your mates. I built my own cross-country course so I can go and train on that.”All three will be in action again this weekend in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) with the racing coming thick and fast over the coming weeks.“It’s great because you can be so lazy,” said Riley. “Now, it’s about recovering, getting your easy spins in, a few intervals and then other than that, you just go and eat food and get physio. It’s nice to have a flow. The hardest thing is managing form. You need to have a bigger block every couple of weeks but you have six weeks and it’s full gas. Your form is hard to hold."

The second UCI Enduro World Cup round of this year’s WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series brought riders to the iconic slopes of the Epic Bike Park in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland (Austria).Riders completed 73.37 kilometres of racing across six demanding stages, including 2,000 metres of descending. The conditions were also a challenge with heavy rain showers throughout the day resulting in slippery conditions on the slopes.After finishing third at the venue last year, 19-year-old Winnifred Goldsbury showed her talent by winning the Elite Women’s race by an impressive margin of 24 seconds from defending overall champion Ella Conolly and Mélanie Pugin (Speed Project) in third.Defending Elite Men’s overall champion Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) took his first win of this season’s campaign by just four seconds ahead of Lief Rodgers in second, while Marius Tenet Berrat took third in a close finish.Speed Project won the mixed team competition and extended their lead in the overall team standings, ahead of Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team. In the Men’s Junior category Hugo Marti Montessinos recorded his second win of the season, while Nežka Libnik took the Women’s Junior honours.GOLDSBURY SHOWS TALENT IN MAIDEN ELITE UCI WORLD CUP WINIn just her second year as a Women’s Elite rider Winnifred Goldsbury conquered the slippery Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland slopes to make her own history. However, it was rival Ella Conolly who came into the race full of confidence after dominating the previous round at Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France).The 2.4-kilometre opening stage provided a rocky feel of what would follow. Goldsbury showed her talent and took an early 16-second lead, ahead of Mélanie Pugin (Speed Project) and Conolly was at 22.3 seconds. The battle continued into the longer 3.6-kilometre X Line section and Goldsbury again led the way, despite riding the stage with a puncture. Conolly used her previous experience of the stage to remain just seven tenths of a second behind, while Nadine Ellecosta placed a close third.The 1.7-kilometre long Matzalm Trail provided a test of bike handling with the course littered by chunky roots. Goldsbury had further issues after a small crash resulted in her losing four seconds. Elly Hoskins set her first best time on the stage of 4:53, with Conolly just two seconds behind the leading time. Pugin was another casualty of the difficult third stage as a crash saw her lose 16 seconds.Talented Slovakian rider Simona Kuchyňková (Cube Action Team) had a nightmare opening round in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes when a mechanical off the starting ramp ended her day. After losing time on the early stages Kuchyňková came charging back on the iconic Hangman test, finishing the 1.78-kilometre stage in 4:13.Goldsbury remained in overall control, despite seeing her early lead reduced slightly by Conolly. A short transition followed to the short but difficult 820-metre long Back to the Roots.Goldsbury showed her fearlessness nature as her time of 3:00 was 5.5 seconds faster than Pugin and 13.6 seconds better than Conolly. Despite finishing eighth on the short final stage Goldsbury had done enough to secure her maiden Elite UCI World Cup victory.Conolly finished runner-up and leads the overall standings after two rounds, while Pugin settled for third after suffering several crashes during the day.“To win my first Elite World Cup here means so much to me,” said Goldsbury. “This is where I won my first Junior World Cup. Coming back here and doing that well is crazy for me.”ŁUKASIK BATTLES BACK IN OVERALL TITLE DEFENCEDefending overall champion Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) was pushed all the way for victory on the slippery slopes of Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland. The Polish rider came into the round looking for redemption after crashing in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes and losing vital points.Frenchman Marius Tenet Berrat finished a career-best eighth position two weeks earlier on home soil. The 20-year-old looked to go even better on the Austrian slopes and posted a best time of 5:55 on the 2.4-kilometre opening section.Łukasik was determined to have an improved performance in Austria and was three seconds back after the opening stage, along with Lief Rodgers. Meanwhile, Jt Fisher (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) was an early withdrawal after crashing on the first stage and was left frustrated following a promising practice session on Friday. Round 1 winner Alex Rudeau also had issues in the opening stage and lost 23 seconds to his title rivals.The second stage provided a mixture of terrain in 3.67 kilometres, including rocky and wooded sections, alongside a section of bike park with a good surface to help speed. Łukasik used his power and experience to post a fastest time of 7:23, some five seconds faster than Rudeau, while Tenet Berrat lost a further two seconds.Rudeau responded to the pressure and showed his bike handling ability again on stage 3 to post a quickest time of 3:54 over the 1.78-kilometre stage. Meanwhile, Łukasik only managed eighth on the stage some 10 seconds back and saw his overall lead cut to two seconds by Tenet Berrat, while Rodgers also remained in contention.The defending overall champion was tested again on the difficult 1.87-kilometre-long Hangman section. Łukasik rose to the occasion winning the stage by just one tenth of a second from Rodgers, while Tenet Berrat lost four seconds in the overall tussle. With little to separate the top three riders overall the fearsome Back to the Roots test the concentration of all the challengers. Rudeau was quickest clocking 2:24 over the 820-metre test, with Rodgers a close second and Łukasik losing three seconds and seeing his overall lead cut to four seconds.In the final stage Łukasik completed his performance by going fastest, while Rodgers secured a career-best runner-up spot overall. Tenet Berrat was also celebrating after clinching a first UCI Enduro World Cup podium with third. Rudeau recovered from a first stage crash to place sixth and keeps his lead in the overall heading into the third round.Race winner Łukasik said: “I’m so happy. I was so stressed after the last round. I felt pretty good in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes and I don’t know what happened. I knew Leogang is pretty good for me as I’ve known this place for many years from downhill and enduro. It’s finally getting number one after finishing twice in third place.”MONTESSINOS AND LIBNIK HOLD NERVES AND TAKE COMMANDING WINSHugo Marti Montessinos continued his domination of the Men’s Junior category by taking his second win from as many rounds. The Frenchman carried his confidence into the first stage and set the quickest time by five seconds. However, Italian Lorenzo Noferini responded on the 3.67-kilometre long X Line, with Montessinos losing 10 seconds and the overall lead to Czech rider Šimon Lehký. Montessinos responded and held his nerve on the iconic Hangman stage, posting the quickest time and finishing 10 seconds faster than Lehký. The Frenchman did not look back also winning the fifth and placing second on the last stage to secure the overall honours. Meanwhile, a battle behind saw German rider Quirin Bach place consistently to edge second place, finishing five tenths of a second quicker than Lehký in third.The Women’s Junior category was blown open after previous round winner Romy Williams failed to finish the opening stage and was out of the event. Nežka Libnik took control winning every stage and winning overall by 3:31. Swedish competitor Ella Mårtensson placed second and Emily Malin Hoyle was third.“The race was super fun,” said Libnik. “It was sketchy at moments, but it was very nice. I fell two times, but I got up and continued with the race. The views are so nice, I’ll definitely come back here.”The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will provide another weekend of packed action when it continues at Bike Kingdom – Lenzerheide in Switzerland between 19 and 21 June. UCI Downhill World Cup competitors will be joined by Endurance riders, who will compete in the UCI XCC and XCO World Cup. Meanwhile, Enduro riders will return to action at Val di Fassa – Trentino (Italy) on 26 to 28 June.