Riders share their thoughts ahead of Aletsch Arena - Bellwald UCI Enduro World Cup

The 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series has been one for the ages with the first nine rounds serving up brand new venues, the return of fan favourites and adrenaline-packed racing across cross-country, downhill and enduro.While the dust settles on the first half of the series, riders and fans alike get a chance to take a break and reset over the northern hemisphere’s summer before ramping things up again as they build towards the final rounds.With all four formats’ overall titles in the balance, it’s all still to play for in the race to become a 2026 UCI World Cup overall winner. From tight tussles to seemingly foregone conclusions, here’s the state of play as the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series pauses for its summer break.UCI XCO WORLD CUP: MARTIN AND RISSVEDS ON THE MARCHLuca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) and Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) have been two of the most consistent riders in the Cross-country Olympic (XCO) format of the last 12 months, and both carried their strong form from the tail end of the 2025 season into this series.Rainbow jersey-wearing Rissveds hasn’t finished outside the top three all year and her XCO-XCC double at the last round in Pal Arinsal (Andorra) demonstrated the Swede’s dominance. Her lead in the overall over second-placed Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) stands at 347 points, so could afford to skip a round and remain in top spot.If results go her way, Rissveds could wrap up a first UCI XCO World Cup title as soon at the next round in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France), but the reality is that she will have to wait until the penultimate round at new UCI World Cup venue Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah (USA).Martin had been showing a similar level of consistency to Rissveds, but the Frenchman finished outside of the top two for the first time this year in Andorra, rolling home in 22nd. Although it didn’t affect his place at the top of the standings, the winner in Pal Arinsal, Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing), managed to shave more than 200 points off of Martin’s lead. Only 130 points separate the duo, and with both often found duelling it out at the front of proceedings, expect the title to go to the wire in Lake Placid Olympic Sites, New York (USA).In the Under 23, Valentina Corvi (Canyon XC Racing) is the runaway leader in the women’s standings and is unlikely to be caught, while despite his dominance, Paul Schehl (Lexware Mountainbike Team) only holds a 103-point lead over Thibaut François Baudry (Canyon XC Racing) in the men’s U23.UCI XCC WORLD CUP: FREI AND BOICHIS HOLD SLENDER SHORT TRACK LEADSThings are a bit tighter in the UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup standings, where Specialized’s Frei and Boichis hold slender leads.Although Frei started the series strongly with two wins in the first third rounds, the momentum appears to have shifted in the direction of second-place Rissveds who has won back-to-back rounds and sits only 30 points behind the Swiss rider in the standings. The summer break could have come at a good time for Frei though, with it providing a chance to reset and go again in defence of her lead.Teammate Boichis meanwhile is in the ascendancy. Despite skipping the opening round of the series, the Frenchman has amassed 960 points in five rounds, leapfrogging early season leader Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) who’s yet to finish higher than eighth after starting the year so strongly with back-to-back wins in MONA YongPyong (South Korea) and Nové Mĕsto Na Moravé (Czechia).Boichis’ 116-point lead in the series and form should stand him in good stead, but with Martin lurking only four points behind Azzaro in third and Pal Arinsal winner Bjorn Riley (Scott-SRAM MTB Race Team) only 222 points off of first, there’s still time for things to be shuffled before the season end.The story in the U23 is the same as in the XCO standings, with Corvi and Schehl both leading their respective categories. Corvi’s advantage over Bloeme Kalis (KMC Nukeproof MTB Racing Team) isn’t as commanding as in the Olympic distance, but back-to-back XCC wins show that the Italian is the clear favourite, while Schehl’s five consecutive wins should be enough to hold off François Baudry.In the UCI Cross-country World Cup team standings, Specialized Factory Racing lead the way thanks to strong performances from Boichis, Frei and Laura Stigger, and with Christopher Blevins close to his best and Victor Koretzky still to return from an injury that has ruled him out of the series so far, it’s unlikely that second-place Canyon XC Racing will be able to close the 547-point gap, even with Rissveds’ red-hot form.UCI DOWNHILL WORLD CUP: HÖLL IN CONTROL, WILLIAMS AND ILES FILLING BRUNI’S SHOESThe UCI Downhill World Cup are complete contrasts. In the women’s field, Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) is on course for another coronation, while Jordan Williams and Finn Iles are keeping Specialized Gravity on top despite team-mate Loïc Bruni’s long layoff.Höll can complete her fifth UCI Downhill World Cup title as early as Les Gets, with the Austrian holding a 553-point advantage over team-mate Lisa Baumann. Her five wins from six rounds this series mean she can even afford to not finish on the top spot and still win before setting foot in North America for the final two rounds, but knowing Höll, she will be challenging for maximum points from now until the end of the series.The Specialized Gravity team-mates Williams and Iles lead the way in the men’s field, but with just 63 points separating them, it’s a much tighter affair. Both have two wins to their names this series and are stepping out of the shadow of Loïc Bruni. With three rounds to go, there are still plenty of other riders within mathematical contention, but Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/TRP), Amaury Pierron (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) and reigning overall winner Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) are the most likely to challenge.In the Junior class, it’s a reversed situation to the Elites. In the Men Junior, Jonty Williamson (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) has built a seemingly unassailable 111-point lead over Sacha Gabriel Brizin (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres), while only 25 points separate Alehta Ostagaard (Canyon DH Racing) and Lina Frener (Norco X Adidas Race Division) in the Women Junior standings.COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction lead the UCI Downhill World Cup team standings, although Canyon DH Racing reduced the Andorran team’s advantage to 48 points in Pal Arinsal. Vali Höll’s Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres sit a further three points back in third, while fourth-placed Specialized Gravity will still fancy their chances despite being 119 points in arrears – particularly if Bruni returns to action as soon as Les Gets, Haute Savoie.UCI ENDURO WORLD CUP: CONOLLY AND RODGERS WITHIN REACH WITH ONE ROUND TO GOBefore the Cross-country and Downhill double header in Les Gets, there’s the small matter of the UCI Enduro World Cup series finale in Morillon, Haute-Savoie. And after the last round in Aletsch Arena-Bellwald (Switzerland), both titles remain on the line in the French Alps.Ella Conolly continued her dominance of the women’s field in Switzerland, adding a third win of the series to put her within reach of defending her overall title. Her 170-point lead over Mélanie Pugin (Speed Project) means the privateer needs to just finish sixth in Morillon to make it back-to-back series. Pugin is nailed on for second place whatever happens, while Raphaela Richter and Winnifred Goldsbury can still challenge Elly Hoskin for third.Lief Rodgers meanwhile is having a memorable second season in the Elite men’s class, and the Canadian privateer finds himself in first with an 82-point advantage over Adrien Dailly (Speed Project). Rodgers’ fortunes were boosted after then-series leader Alex Rudeau was disqualified in Aletsch Arena-Bellwald but with 250 points still up for grabs, it’s mathematically possible for anyone in the top six (including fourth-placed Rudeau) to overhaul Rodgers, who needs to finish on the podium to guarantee the title.In the Junior class, Hugo Marti Montessinos clinched the Men Junior class last time out in Aletsch Arena-Bellwald, while 25 points separate Nežka Libnik and Romy Williams (Speed Project) in the Women Junior.While privateers might lead the individual standings, in the UCI Enduro World Cup team standings, Speed Project capped off its dominant season by mathematically securing the overall team title with one round to spare. Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team remain second overall, while Abetone Vittoria Nencini Sport Factory Team completes the top three.

The penultimate round of the 2026 UCI Enduro World Cup delivered plenty of drama and unexpected twists as two gruelling days of racing in Aletsch Arena-Bellwald (Switzerland) came to a close.Ella Conolly looked poised to secure back-to-back UCI Enduro World Cup titles after another commanding performance, extending her advantage with a stage 5 victory. However, a puncture on stage 6 threatened to derail her celebrations. The Briton responded magnificently, limiting the damage and ultimately sealing the overall win by 33.4 seconds ahead of UCI World Champion Elly Hoskin.In the men's race, Ryan Gilchrist (Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team) produced a stunning day-two comeback to claim the first UCI Enduro World Cup victory of his career. The Australian won the final three stages to surge to the top of the standings and finish more than 20 seconds clear of his rivals.The Junior categories also provided plenty to celebrate. Switzerland’s Elena Frei delighted the home crowd by securing her maiden UCI World Cup victory in the Women Junior event, while Hugo Marti Montessinos continued his dominant season with a fourth Men Junior win, a result that also mathematically secured him the overall UCI Enduro World Cup title with one round to spare.In the Teams Classification, Speed Project capped off its dominant season by mathematically securing the overall team title with one round to spare. Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team, winners of the Aletsch Arena-Bellwald round, remain second overall, while Abetone Vittoria Nencini Sport Factory Team completes the top three.CONOLLY HOLDS HER NERVE AS THE TITLE BATTLE TAKES ANOTHER TWISTAfter a consistently strong opening day, Ella Conolly turned up the pressure in the battle for the UCI Enduro World Cup title. The Briton mastered the demanding 3.3km-long Cow Safari stage, featuring 806 metres of vertical descent, to double her advantage at the top of the standings and build what looked to be a comfortable 51-second lead.That cushion would soon prove invaluable. Reigning UCI World Champion Elly Hoskin bounced back from disappointment on stage 5 in emphatic fashion, claiming back-to-back stage victories. The Canadian delivered a flawless run on Lord of the Rims (Extended Cut) - a formidable 4.9km stage with 725 metres of descent - to claw back valuable time and move into second place overall. Despite suffering a puncture on stage 6, Conolly limited the damage impressively, finishing just 1.2 seconds ahead of Nadine Ellecosta (Abetone Vittoria Nencini Sport Factory Team).The drama continued on stage 7, Into The Wild, where the unpredictable terrain and Conolly’s ongoing tyre issues reshuffled the leaderboard once again. The series leader endured one of her toughest stages of the season, dropping outside the top three on the stage while Hoskin reduced the gap to 35.8 seconds.On the final test of the day, Back to the Roots, Ellecosta capped a strong performance by claiming her first stage win of the weekend. The Italian edged out Hoskin by just 1.2 seconds, denying the Canadian a hat-trick of consecutive stage victories and securing her place on the podium. Conolly, meanwhile, dug deep to bring her race home, finishing 3.6 seconds behind the stage winner and preserving a commanding overall advantage of 33.5 seconds over Hoskin.Reflecting on another victory, Conolly said: “It’s been a pretty eventful weekend. We’ve had a huge amount of racing, almost 50 minutes in total. I had a small mechanical issue to deal with after one of the stages, but the hardest thing was simply keeping the pace up for that long. The body is exhausted. I was really struggling in the final stages; there was so much pedalling and my legs were spent. My lower back was hurting through all the corners as well, so in the end I was just trying to hold it together and make it to the finish line.”GILCHRIST CLAIMS HAT-TRICK OF VICTORIES AS LIEF RODGERS LEADS OVERALLThe Elite Men’s race took yet another dramatic turn as Ryan Gilchrist (Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team) stormed to his first-ever UCI Enduro World Cup victory, while overnight leader Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team) endured a difficult second day that saw his hopes unravel.Raphaël Giambi (Speed Project) set the tone on stage 5 with an emphatic ride, claiming victory by more than 10 seconds after a disappointing start to the weekend in Aletsch Arena-Bellwald. Behind him, Łukasik’s advantage began to slip away as a series of costly mistakes allowed Adrien Dailly (Speed Project) to claw back almost 10 seconds and snatch a narrow 2.2-second overall lead.Any hopes Dailly had of consolidating that advantage were short-lived. Stage 6, Lord of the Rims (Extended Cut), turned the race on its head as Gilchrist produced a stunning performance to claim the stage win and move to the top of the standings. The Australian maintained that momentum on the final two stages, completing a remarkable hat-trick of stage victories to secure the first UCI Enduro World Cup win of his career.Behind him, Lief Rodgers delivered another composed and consistent performance to finish second overall and move to the top of the UCI Enduro World Cup standings. In contrast, Łukasik -who had recorded four top-five stage finishes on day one- was unable to replicate that form and slipped out of podium contention by the end of the weekend.With Alex Rudeau absent following his disqualification on Saturday, Rodgers now leads the overall UCI Enduro World Cup rankings, setting up a thrilling title showdown heading into the final round of the season.Reflecting on his breakthrough victory, Gilchrist said: “I’ve been doing this for a while now, so to finally take a win, especially here in Aletsch Arena-Bellwald, on such a demanding course and against riders at the very top of their game, means a lot. I couldn’t be more proud.“The last couple of rounds were tough for me. I reached out to Mick Hannah, a former teammate, and told him I needed a bit of help. He gave me some really inspiring advice, and I took that into this weekend. He told me to ride like Ryan, and when Ryan rides like Ryan, good things happen.”HOME VICTORY FOR FREI AS MARTI MONTESSINOS CRUISES TO VICTORYThere were celebrations on home soil for Switzerland’s Elena Frei, who claimed the first UCI Enduro World Cup victory of her career in the Women Junior category. Capitalising on overall leader Nežka Libnik’s misfortune on stage 3, Frei put together an impressive run of consistent performances, with a string of top-three stage finishes helping the 18-year-old secure victory by an emphatic 4:51.9 margin.Despite her setback, Libnik bounced back in style on day two to retain her lead in the overall UCI Enduro World Cup standings.Reflecting on her victory, Frei said: “Today was a really tough day. I crashed twice on stage 5 and hurt my shoulder quite badly. At first, I wasn’t sure if I could continue racing, but after the climb between stages it started to feel a bit better. Then I told myself, ‘let’s go, I can do this’. Stage 6 was really good and stages 7 and 8 felt good as well.”In the Men Junior race, Hugo Marti Montessinos powered to another UCI Enduro World Cup victory. The French rider claimed two stage wins and, despite suffering a puncture on the final stage, held on to edge out closest challenger Nico Casey Schroder by just 4.9 seconds.Speaking after the race, the 18-year-old said: “It was amazing to race in Switzerland over four days. I had a crash in training on Saturday, so I was feeling a bit tired. I had a puncture on stage 2, but I still had a lot of fun. Today was incredibly long and physical, but that’s exactly the kind of racing I love. I had another puncture right at the top of the final stage, so it was a tough way to finish, but I’m really happy to take the win.”The result not only secured Marti Montessinos’ fourth UCI Enduro World Cup victory of the season, but also mathematically clinched the overall Junior Men’s title with one round still to race. The Frenchman holds an unassailable lead over Jules Janniaud heading into the season finale in Morillon, Haute-Savoie (France) where the UCI Enduro World Cup will conclude from 14–16 August.

Overall men’s series leader Alex Rudeau is out of the UCI Enduro World Cup round at Aletsch Arena-Bellwald on a bruising day one, alongside third and fourth-placed women Raphaela Richter and Winnifred Goldsbury.Rudeau broke his rear wheel navigating a rock garden at the end of stage 1 and was disqualified for unauthorised access of the Technical Assistance Zone, and unauthorised replacement of a marked component.That leaves Leif Rogers primed to take over the series lead with the Canadian sitting fourth overnight at 10.9 seconds behind Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team), while Ella Conolly edges closer and closer to clinching back-to-back titles as she boasts a 26-second lead at the halfway stage.Richter and Goldsbury both dropped out of the event for medical reasons, with Elina Frei and Hugo Marti Montessinos setting the pace in the junior races.RUDEAU OPENS DOOR TO ROGERS AND DAILLYAt first glance, Rudeau finishing stage 1 in 11th at 14.5 seconds back appeared far from disastrous given he arrived in Switzerland boasting an 85-point lead at the top of the elite men’s standings. However, news of his disqualification sent shockwaves around the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series and gave a huge carrot to all his rivals at the top of the standings.Fresh from his maiden elite UCI World Cup win in La Thuile-Valle d’Aosta, Raphaël Giambi was the early pacesetter but an issue on stage 2 cost him over half a minute and handed the initiative to Łukasik. The defending champion has endured a difficult season but he finished in the top five of every stage to eke out a 2.3-second lead over fellow Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team rider Ryan Gilchrist.Łukasik only topped the timesheets on one stage but with Giambi and Rogers both struggling with consistency, he will be the man to beat on day two.Adrien Dailly is the other man within 10 seconds of the Pole and he has an outside shot of leaving Switzerland with the overall lead if Rogers comes unstuck tomorrow, which features the tougher, steeper trails after longer energy-sapping rides on day one.CONOLLY ON THE BRINK AFTER DOMINANT DAY ONEWhile a big-name casualty shook up the elite men’s standings, DNFs for Richter and Goldbury helped Conolly tighten her grip in the elite women’s overall. However, the Brit deserves even more credit for a dominant performance in Aletsch Arena-Bellwald as she blew away her remaining rivals.With second-placed Simona Kuchyňková (Cube Action Team) also absent, Conolly immediately jumped out to a 15-second lead on Alpine Rodeo, the first of three long winding stages.UCI Enduro World Champion Elly Hoskin hit back on Blueberry Trail and Glaciara Trail but Conolly stayed in touch, then fired herself back to the front on the shortest stage of the day as Hoskin came unstuck, losing 13 seconds in just 1.5km.The Canadian remains Conolly’s closest challenger while Nadine Ellecosta is in line for a podium place in Switzerland, though the elongated gaps at the top of the women’s standings means neither rider is set to move up any positions.Kuchyňkova’s absence means Conolly is set to clinch the UCI Enduro World Cup with a round to go as long as she can stay on her bike tomorrow, though anything can happen on the technical trails of Aletsch Arena-Bellwald.The hardest stage of the weekend comes early on day two with Lord of the Rims (Extended Cut) featuring 725m of descent in just a 4.9km course, while the untested Into the Wild trail on the penultimate stage will be a fresh test for the exhausted riders.CONTRASTING FORTUNES FOR JUNIOR LEADERSThe gap at the top of the junior women’s standings is tightening after Nežka Libnik had a disastrous stage 3, losing 15 minutes to a puncture and opening the door to Romy Williams (Speed Project).Elina Frei leads by 2:38.950 on home trails as Williams was outclassed by the Swiss rider on every stage but looks set to finish ahead of Libnik as long as she finishes day two. However, Emily Skeie-Lebreux’s failure to finish stage two means Libnik is still on course to pick up 40 points and hold onto her overall lead.It was contrasting fortunes for the junior leaders as Hugo Marti Montessinos took a giant step towards clinching the overall title. Entering Aletsch Arena - Bellwald with an 80-point advantage at the top of the standings, a podium finish for the Frenchman would secure the junior men’s title ahead of the final round in August and Marti Montessinos is 12.9 seconds ahead after day one. His closest challenger Tommy Bougon is out too, so it looks like it would take a miracle to deny Marti Montessinos.The action reaches its climax tomorrow in Aletsch Arena–Bellwald with four more stages to close out the penultimate UCI Enduro World Cup round of the season. The final stage will be broadcast live on-site, with fans also able to follow the action on a delayed-live basis via subscription on MTBWS TV, in all markets where the streaming service is available.