Ellecosta and Łukasik hold slender leads after UCI Enduro World Cup Race Day 1 in Val di Fassa - Trentino

In its third season as broadcaster, promoter and organiser, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports drove the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series to new records across broadcast, digital and social platforms, and on-site fan attendance*.2025 reached a true turning point with significant updates to UCI Regulations, including major changes to the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup qualification system and the introduction of WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Teams. These reforms build on a groundbreaking long-term partnership between WBD Sports and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) launched in 2023, unifying most major mountain bike formats under a single brand for the first time.During 16 race weekends in 10 countries across three continents, 64 UCI World Cup winners were crowned, with new overall champions emerging in all-but-one Elite category, highlighting the heightened competitiveness and excitement driven by the latest reforms. On the industry side, 30 mountain bike manufacturers secured UCI World Cup victories through their trade teams during the season with Canyon leading the table, closely followed by Cube and Specialized.The 2025 season also welcomed an exciting new long-term partner venue in La Thuile – Valle D’Aosta  (Italy), which hosted the first-ever UCI Enduro World Cup night race, alongside the introduction of a thrilling Downhill course at a 2024 newcomer venue Lake Placid Olympic Region (USA) and the return of several iconic venues across South America, North America and Europe.NEW BENCHMARKS SET FOR VIEWERSHIPFor the third consecutive year, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series saw record-breaking worldwide TV viewership. WBD’s channels and platforms (HBO Max, Eurosport, discovery+ and TNT Sports) accounted for the majority of the audience, generating over 87 million cumulative views across the season. This growth was fuelled bythousands of hours of racing broadcast on over 25 partner TV and streaming channels, extending the series’ reach to fans in over 150 countries and territories worldwide.As part of the reform, the UCI and WBD Sports also worked closely with the teams to deliver greater exposure and enhanced marketing opportunities. Broadcast graphics were upgraded to maximise on-screen visibility and increase the media value for teams, athletes and brands, incorporating elements such as headshots, race bike images, team logos, colours, career numbers and national flags. These enhancements helped raise awareness among millions of fans watching worldwide, while creating a more cohesive and recognisable visual identity across events and media platforms.In parallel, WBD continued to enhance its broadcasts to help viewers better understand the racing and provide deeper context for fans at home, with accessible, data-driven insights such as heart-rate zones and athlete strain metrics during races — all powered by WHOOP.In 2025, WBD also invested in a portfolio of non-live cycling content, with the launch of two new, original documentaries – Grit and Glory: Enduro Mountain Bike Racing, an inside look at the 2025 UCI Enduro World Cup season, and Race Bikes, a deep dive into the sport’s fastest machines.FAN-LED GROWTHWBD takes storytelling beyond live broadcasts, capturing every moment on and off the track through comprehensive digital and social coverage.During the 2025 season, more than 250,000 new users followed the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series official accounts (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube), bringing the total follower count to 1.25 million. This season, social channels have continued to bring fans closer to the action whilst attracting new audiences to the sport, surpassing one billion impressions since the start of the WBD Sports era in 2023.This interest carried over into the expanded media coverage of the series on owned and earned platforms. The new official WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series website (an essential hub for all news, previews, reports and athlete profiles) saw record-breaking volumes of traffic in 2025, generating 5 million total page views (+233% vs 2024) taking the total to more than 10 million since the series’ inception in 2023.Along with the millions of viewers watching at home and online, a record 440,000 fans attended on-site, with 97% of those surveyed saying they would return to another WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series event in the future. More than 100,000 descended on Haute-Savoie alone over two weekends of racing in Les Gets and Morillon.Chris Ball, VP Cycling Events at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “The third year of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series has exceeded all expectations. What began as an ambitious vision a few years ago has now become one of the most thrilling spectacles on the international sporting calendar. With the continued support of the UCI, which has embraced our ambition for change, we have introduced reforms that are genuinely transforming the sport and elevating the experience for both athletes and fans.We are proud to see these results reflect the positive response to the changes we believed in from the outset, and we remain confident that we will continue to drive growth and innovation with every new season.”UCI President David Lappartientsaid: "From the opening rounds in Brazil in April, to four months of racing in European destinations, before returning to the American continent for the final two rounds - in the USA and Canada – the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series was an enormous success. Thanks to our collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports we have taken this leading mountain bike series to new heights, both in terms of sporting interest and international popularity. We will continue to work together to build on this success and ensure that both mountain bike athletes and fans can continue to look forward to innovative and exciting season-long competitions.”EYES ON 2026The 2025 season marked the most significant overhaul in mountain bike since the inception of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in 1991, reshaping the sport’s landscape, raising professional standards across the series, and elevating elite teams to new levels and new audiences worldwide. Building on these strong foundations, the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series aims to deliver another record-breaking season across all four formats.The 2026 season kicks off in May with the Race of South Korea – marking the return of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup to the Asian continent for the first time in 25 years. The series will also make first-time stops at Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah (USA) and Downhill’s spiritual home of Whistler Mountain Bike Park, British Columbia (Canada), delivering on decades of anticipation from fans, teams and athletes alike. And this is just a taste of things to come, with 14 race weekend across three continents, nine countries, including two quadruple headers and a series finale in the US at the iconic Lake Placid Olympic Region.*Figures from January 1st – November 1st 2025

Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Ella Conolly both won three UCI Enduro World Cups each over the seven-round series to wrap up their first overall titles before the final race weekend in Morillon, Haute-Savoie (France). Conolly wasn’t the only privateer to impress in 2025, either, with Daniel Booker almost writing his own underdog story with two UCI Enduro World Cup wins. The 2025 UCI Enduro World Cup was always set to be a year of transition. Both of the 2024 UCI Enduro World Cup overall winners, Richard Rude Jr (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Harriet Harnden (Aon Racing - Tourne Campervans) were focusing their attention on Downhill, and would only compete at UCI Enduro World Cups where there was no clash in the Gravity calendar. Isabeau Courdurier’s absence in the women’s field would also make it a more open affair, giving other riders an opportunity to shine. But it wasn’t just the favourites who had a different look for 2025. The courses themselves were a different proposition – four rounds going back to the sport’s roots and splitting the action across two days and UCI World Cup’s first-ever night stage. Coming out on top would require even greater consistency, and the ability to manage races – both mentally and physically – across multiple days. And it was a challenge that appeared to suit Łukasik and Conolly down to a T. ŁUKASIK STEPS OUT FROM RUDE’S SHADOW Sławomir Łukasik was the nearly-man of 2024. The Polish rider came agonisingly close to clinching his first UCI Enduro World Cup in front of his home fans at Bielsko-Biała (Poland), and often had to settle for second place behind teammate Richie Rude. But with the American absent for four out of seven rounds, the 32-year-old sensed his chance. He wasn’t able to get off to a winning start in Pietra Ligure - Finale Outdoor Region (Italy) – Australian privateer Daniel Booker edging him to the top spot by less than a second, but come Bielsko-Biała, Lukasik wasn’t going to let a debut UCI Enduro World Cup win slip through his fingers again. He dominated on home soil, winning by more than six seconds to Jack Moir (YT Mob), and leapfrogged Booker into first in the overall – a position he wouldn’t relinquish again all series. Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France) and Saalfelden Leogang-Salzburgerland (Austria) would see him off the pace but still able to secure podium finishes with third to further his advantage in the title race, but it was the follow two rounds that would see him ram home his dominance. In Val di Fassa - Trentino’s (Italy) first UCI Enduro World Cup, no one could get close to the Pole over the two days, with Rude the next best almost 14 seconds in arrears. The following week, in La Thuile – Valle D’Aosta (Italy), he clinched his third UCI Enduro World Cup in emphatic fashion – finishing fourth fastest on the floodlit NightFall stage, pipping Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity) by 0.05 seconds to the win. His victory also meant that he had built an unassailable lead with one round still to go, where he could afford to finish 24th. CONOLLY PROVES PRIVATEERS CAN RIVAL FACTORY TEAMS Ella Conolly was another rider who was still looking for a UCI Enduro World Cup win at the start of the 2025 series. The Brit had come close, but the likes of Harnden and Courdurier always had the edge and experience when it mattered most. It was Harnden who started the season in style – the defending UCI Enduro World Cup overall series winner crushing the field in Pietra Ligure - Finale Outdoor Region, winning five out of seven stages and finishing third in the others. But 24 seconds back in second was Conolly, and with Harnden set to be switching to Downhill in Bielsko-Biała, the Brit looked like she had a good shot. It wasn’t to be – Conolly again having to play second fiddle, this time to Elly Hoskin – but her consistency saw her take top spot in the overall, and, like Łukasik, she would never look back. The stars aligned for Conolly in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes as she went fastest in four out of five stages and finished second in the other, crushing the competition by more than 40 seconds to win her first UCI Enduro World Cup. The privateer made it back-to-back in Saalfelden Leogang-Salzburgerland, again posting a health 16-second advantage, while she made it a hattrick of wins in Val di Fassa to make the overall series a seemingly foregone conclusion with two rounds still to go. The 27-year-old narrowly missed out on making it four-in-a-row the following weekend in La Thuile – Simona Kuchynková (Cube Action Team) building enough an advantage on the second stage to hold on to first by 2.08 seconds – but her sixth-consecutive podium of the series was enough to claim the overall series.  Her advantage meant that she could afford not to start the final UCI Enduro World Cup of the series to focus on the UCI Enduro World Championships instead, where she finished second behind Elly Hoskin. ADAMS AND ALMUEIS DOMINATE IN JUNIOR CLASS The UCI Enduro World Cup aligned with the other Gravity formats with an overall Junior class that was restricted to riders aged 18 and under.  In the women's field, Lacey Adams (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) was a dominant force throughout the series, finishing on the podium at all seven rounds and picking up a hattrick of wins in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France), Saalfelden Leogang-Salzburgerland (Austria) and Val di Fassa - Trentino (Italy). The Australian finished with a comfortable 200-point lead over teammate Chloe Bear (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) to claim the series, while privateer and Pietra Ligure winner Lucile Metge finished third.    Melvin Almueis went two better in the men's competition, winning five out of the seven rounds, with second-place (Bielsko-Biala) and sixth-place (La Thuile) the only times the Frenchman wasn't stood atop the podium come the end of a race weekend. If that wasn't enough, the privateer also won the Men Junior UCI Enduro World Champion title in Valais (Switzerland), and with the 18-year-old ineligible for the junior class next year, it will be interesting to see how he fares against the elites. 

Trentino, a staple region on the WHOOP UCI MTB World Series calendar, has been awarded hosting rights for the 2031 Cycling Super World Championships.Announced in Kigali, Rwanda following a vote during the UCI’s annual congress, the event will follow a series of world-class events to grace the region over the next six years that also includes the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and the 2028 Winter Youth Olympics.The 2031 edition of the UCI Super World Championships will span two weeks and unite all major cycling disciplines in one location, including road, track, mountain bike, gravel, BMX, trials, enduro, granfondo, indoor cycling, cycling e-sports, pump track, and bike polo. More than 10,000 athletes are expected to participate across 20 disciplines, with over 200 rainbow jerseys on the line in elite, youth, para-cycling, and masters categories.“This result rewards Trentino’s proven ability to host world-class events,” said Maurizio Fugatti, President of the Autonomous Province of Trento. “We are extremely proud that the UCI has entrusted us with organizing the 2031 Super World Championships.”Andrea Abodi, Italian Minister for Sport and Youth“The awarding of this ‘World of Worlds’ to Italy for 2031 – said Minister Andrea Abodi – is another wonderful international recognition of our ability to present a bid rich in content and opportunities, capable of combining an excellent project with the credibility of a team of institutions that have worked together over time for a common goal. Trentino, together with Veneto for the velodrome being built in Spresiano, confirms itself as a land of sport, the land of cycling par excellence, with all the requirements needed to guarantee a fantastic world-class event, both technically and in terms of the emotions this land can offer. These will be six years of joint work with the Autonomous Province of Trento, Trentino Marketing, all the municipalities involved, and the Italian Cycling Federation, aiming to add many other cultural and social contents to the sporting dimension, making the world cycling festival unforgettable. The Government will work to ensure a positive legacy in three areas: promoting cycling in schools, developing infrastructure for the various cycling disciplines, and improving safety for those who ride bikes for sport or leisure. I wish good work to everyone from now on for this exciting new chapter in Italian sport, congratulating President Fugatti and his team for achieving this prestigious goal and thanking UCI President David Lappartient for the trust he has placed in us.”Luciano Buonfiglio, CONI President“With pride and satisfaction, I welcome the awarding of the 2031 UCI World Championships to Trentino. Today a unique territory has been rewarded, and once again Italy’s ability to organize major sporting events has been recognized. This is the result of fantastic teamwork between institutions, the Federation, and local organizations. This ‘Super Worlds,’ which brings together all disciplines, will provide an extraordinary showcase for our country and its sporting and cultural heritage, fueling the passion for two-wheeled sports that has always inspired Italians.”Cordiano Dagnoni, President of the Italian Cycling Federation“We are particularly pleased with the awarding of the 2031 UCI Super World Championships to Trentino, which rewards the ability of a region that has demonstrated in recent years that it can welcome and organize every cycling discipline in the best possible way, consistently achieving excellent participation levels. At this point, we just need the new velodrome, which the Federation is working on together with the UCI: it will be a facility worthy of a world-class event. As a country and as the Italian Cycling Federation, we are particularly proud because this confirms our reliability as organizers and our high-quality standards, now universally recognized.”