World’s Best Gather for Endurance and Gravity Quadruple Header at Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland

Simon Andreassen (Orbea Fox Factory Team) and Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) timed their winning moves perfectly to win the Men’s and Women’s Elite categories in the UCI Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) World Cup at Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland.The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series provided a dramatic round of racing at the Epic Bike Park in Austria. The iconic venue is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, but provided a fresh challenge for the XCC competitors. A new uphill rock-garden and steep climb proved pivotal in each race. Meanwhile, wet and slippery conditions throughout the day resulted in a pulsating set of races.Andreassen kept himself out of the drama in a chaotic Elite Men’s race before charging clear to win his first UCI XCC World Cup. Meanwhile, Frei won her third race of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series this season with a similar last lap move. For Andreassen the win was made more special, as his wife Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) was also on the podium after finishing second in the Women’s Elite race.Earlier in the day Monique Halter (Thömus Akros – Youngstars) marked her return from injury to win the Women’s Under-23 UCI XCC World Cup and Paul Schehl (Lexware Mountainbike Team) was the Men’s age category victor.ANDREASSEN WINS DRAMATIC MEN’S ELITE SHOWDOWNSimon Andreassen (Orbea Fox Factory Team) led a last lap charge to clinch victory by six seconds following an action-packed Men’s Elite UCI XCC World Cup. The 28-year-old has been without a UCI World Cup victory in over two years but his powerful attack on last lap was enough to clinch an emotional win.Drama started seconds into the race, as overall leader Dario Lillo (Giant Factory Off-Road Team XC) saw his race ended due to a snapped chain. Separately Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) missed his pedal away from the line and was forced to power back through to the leading pack. The slippery course resulted in Jordan Sarrou (BMC Factory Racing) crashing, ending his hopes of a top 10 finish.Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) was not content with a large leading group gathering and pulled out a slender advantage with Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team). However, Martin also crashed on a descent before getting up and charging back through as the leaders re-grouped.Taking the last lap bell, 10 riders still had a chance of clinching victory with minutes remaining. Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) split the pack with a surge up the first climb and took Andreassen clear. However, approaching the rock garden Avondetto’s chain came off, ending his chances of victory. Andreassen took full advantage and pulled out an unassailable six-second victory.The drama was not over as Martín Vidaurre (Specialized Factory Racing) crashed on the final corner to concede second place to Colombo. Meanwhile, Martin recovered from his mid-race crash to finish on the podium in third. A 10th place finish for Azzaro was enough to secure the Frenchman’s top spot of the overall standings after three rounds.“I’m really happy,” said Andreassen. “It’s quite a cruel sport. I had a tough start to the World Cup season and then suddenly I’m winning. It’s super difficult to suffer week in and week out. When you finally win it’s all worth it.“I didn’t really have a plan, just tried to survive. With two or three laps to go I moved to the front. I was struggling to see, my glasses were so full of mud, and I just wanted to have clear vision. Nobody came past me after that; it was a good tactic.”FREI POWERS TO VICTORY WITH LAST LAP ATTACKSina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) powered through the final rock garden and climb to clinch a slender victory in the Women’s Elite UCI XCC World Cup. The 28-year-old was part of a leading trio who broke away during the grueling race, before battling out the victory.Noticeably absent from the third round was former UCI XCC World Champion Evie Richards (Trek - Unbroken XC), who is recovering from concussion suffered in Nové Město Na Moravě.The wet conditions had an early impact as Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Premier Tech) slipped on the first turn and a dab of her foot resulted in losing a host position. The new man-made rock garden, followed by two steep climbs resulted in the leading group naturally breaking up.European Champion Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) was joined at the front by Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon), Sina Frei and Jennifer Jackson (Orbea Fox Factory Team). With three laps to go, UCI XCC World Champion Keller began to ramp up the pressure, forcing Jackson to drop off the pace.Rissveds was determined to ride away and launched a series of blistering attacks during the final two laps. However, Frei matched her efforts, carrying speed through the rock garden and then powered up the last lap climb. The Swiss rider mastered the descent down to the finish to clinch victory with the fastest lap of the race.Frei extended her overall lead in the UCI XCC World Cup and will look for her second double of the season in the UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup on Sunday.“From lap to lap it got hard and harder, because I couldn’t see any more,” said Frei. “In the end it was trying to hit the perfect line. In the last lap I knew I had to go all in. When I crossed the finish, I didn’t know that I had won, I was so exhausted and just tried to go full gas until the line.”HALTER AND SCHEHL SHOW COMMANDING FORM IN UNDER-23 CATEGORIESMonique Halter (Thömus Akros – Youngstars) returned from injury with a show of technical riding in the Women’s Under-23 race. The Swiss rider showed her skills on the slippery descent to clinch her maiden UCI XCC World Cup victory.After winning the opening round in MONA YongPyong (South Korea), Valentina Corvi (Canyon XC Racing) looked comfortable in the leading group. However, the muddy conditions left visibility difficult for the Italian, resulting in a slip and a 10th placed finish. Meanwhile, overall leader Makena Kellerman paid for early efforts, recovering from a poor start, and dropped back in the latter stages to place 14th.At the front, Halter took control to finish eight seconds clear of Bloeme Kalis in second, while Katrin Embacher (KTM Factory MTB Team) finished third. Kellerman was rewarded with her efforts by maintaining her lead in the overall standings.“I feel super happy,” said Halter following her win. “I have had some difficult months because I had a foot injury, so I’m really pleased with how well my recovery has gone and to be performing at this level now. I really liked the technical downhill in the wet conditions and that was one place where I could make a gap to the others and move in front.”Paul Schehl made his decisive move on the final lap, breaking clear after controlling the front of the Men’s Under-23 UCI XCC World Cup race. The Lexware Mountainbike Team rider, buoyed by his recent win at the UCI XCC World Cup in Nové Město Na Moravě, rode with confidence throughout, patrolling the lead group before launching his late attack to secure victory by six seconds. Meanwhile, Thibaut François Baudry (Canyon XC Racing) edged out Benjamin Krüger in the sprint for second. After three rounds, Schehl leads the overall standings ahead of François Baudry.“It feels really great,” said Schehl. “I was always in control, I felt really good on the course and the physical nature played into my hands. It wasn’t too technical and I could ride a high pace all the time and controlled the front. I wasn’t wasting too much energy and felt really good.”The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues at Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland on Saturday with the UCI Downhill World Cup finals, following a dramatic qualifying session in challenging wet conditions, where Dylan Maples (Pivot Factory Racing) and Marine Cabirou (Canyon DH Racing) claimed top spot to earn last-start advantage. The UCI Enduro World Cup and UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup follow on Sunday. Discover the full schedule and where to watch here.

Dylan Maples (Pivot Factory Racing) and Marine Cabirou (Canyon DH Racing) mastered slippery terrain to win the qualifying session and will start last for tomorrow’s UCI Downhill World Cup finals, as the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series descended into Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland.The wet course at the Epic Bike Park resulted in a number of top names failing to qualify, including the previous round’s Men’s Elite winner Luca Shaw (Canyon DH Racing). The Austrian venue is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and the conditions provided downhill riders with a qualification session which will last long in the memory.Considered a classic course for the discipline the steep slopes usually encourage fast speeds in the top section before descending down into the tight and technical trees, where line choice is key to coming out on top. The 2.6-kilometres long ‘Speedster’ trail contains 468 metres of descent. However, wet and slippery conditions throughout the course meant that bike handling and line choice was key to qualifying success.American rider Dylan Maples is bidding to improve on his fourth position from Val di Sole – Trentino (Italy) last year and topped the Men’s Elite first qualifying standings by over a second with 3:21.2. However, it was Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) who posted the quickest time of the day, holding his nerve in the second qualifying session to stop the clock in 3:17.7Meanwhile, Marine Cabirou will bid for her 10th UCI Downhill World Cup victory in tomorrow’s finals after enjoying the difficult conditions and finishing nine tenths quicker than Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing/TRP) in the first qualifying session.The Junior categories also provided drama as Jonty Williamson (Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team) and Lina Frener (Norco X Adidas Race Division) went quickest.MAPLES THRIVES IN SLIPPERY CONDITIONS AS RIVALS FAULTERTesting conditions greeted the Men’s Elite riders for the first qualifying session with low visibility out of the starting hut before taking on a wet and muddy course.Dylan Maples built speed throughout his run and conquered the technical section to set the quickest time in the first qualifying session.Ethan Craik (SCOTT Downhill Factory) is another rider looking for his first Men’s Elite World Cup win. The Briton showed his fearless descending ability to set the quickest times in each sector, only to lose 1.6 seconds in the final run to the line - finishing second in Q1. Meanwhile, Henri Kiefer (Canyon DH Racing) completed a surprise top three as the German rider was rewarded for his consistent run with a third-place finish, just 3.5 seconds behind.Austrian competitor Andreas Kolb (Santa Cruz Syndicate) was the fastest of the pre-race favourites in fourth and he will be looking for a home victory in the Saturday finals.Amongst the other riders who comfortably went through Q1 were Jordan Williams (Specialized Gravity), Benoît Coulanges (Scott Downhill Factory), Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/TRP), Troy Brosnan (Canyon DH Racing) and Loris Vergier (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction).Defending overall champion Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) failed to record a qualifying time in the previous round at Loudenvielle-Peyragudes. The Canadian struggled to find speed in the difficult conditions and squeezed through in Q1 after finishing over six seconds behind the leader in 18th.After missing out in Q1, Canadian rider Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) put a flawless Q2 run together under pressure and posted the fastest time of 3:17.7.Ryan Pinkerton (Mondraker Factory Racing DH) progressed second in Q2 ahead of the COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction trio of Max Alran, Till Alran and Amaury Pierron. Despite clocking the fastest speed on the top section mistakes resulted in Luca Shaw finishing 18th and missing out on tomorrow’s finals.CABIROU SHOWS COMPOSURE TO TOP WOMEN ELITE QUALIFYING STANDINGSMarine Cabirou showed all her experience, as the nine-time UCI Downhill World Cup winner held everything together during a commanding qualifying performance. The 29-year-old overcame the slippery conditions and will look to repeat her success from Mont-Sainte-Anne last year in tomorrow’s finals.The earlier fog lifted on the top section for the Women’s Elite’s first qualification, but the lower technical slopes remained wet and challenging. Cabirou was an early starter and her time of 4:00.5 which was left unbeaten for all the finishers to come.Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing/TRP) carried her speed through the technical sections and gained in momentum to place second just nine tenths of a second behind.After dominating the opening two UCI Downhill World Cup rounds Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) is looking for a home victory this weekend. The reigning UCI World Champion was in contention with the leading times throughout her run to finish comfortably in third just two seconds back.Myriam Nicole (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) and Harriet Harnden (AON Racing) were amongst those who also booked their finals spot through Q1. However, Phoebe Gale (Orbea FMD Racing), Nina Hoffmann (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Gracey Hemstreet (Norco X adidas Race Division) all had difficulties in their runs, resulting in a Q2 ride.The returning Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea FMD Racing) and Sacha Earnest (Trek -Unbroken DH) also had trouble in the conditions and failed to finish their Q1 runs.Hemstreet responded from her Q1 disappointment and mastered the tough conditions to post the best time in Q2 of 4:05.17.Jenna Hastings (Pivot Factory Racing) was less than two seconds behind in runner-up and Seagrave placed third, while Hoffmann also booked her finals spot. However, the course conditions continued to cause problems with Gale and Earnest failing to progress.FRENER AND WILLIAMSON TOP JUNIOR STANDINGSLina Frener (Norco X Adidas Race Division) continued her pursuit of a first Women’s Junior UCI Downhill World Cup by qualifying quickest on the tough ‘Speedster’ trail. The Austrian rider held her composure to post a time of 4:04.2 and will start last in her category in search of a maiden win in front of her home supporters tomorrow.Opening round winner Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon DH Racing) will be in contention again after leading qualification at the third sector split. However, mistakes further down the course cost the American and she settled for fifth in qualification.Rosa Marie Jensen (Specialized Gravity) finished second in qualification six seconds behind Frener and overall leader Rosa Zierl (Cube Factory Racing) was third.Meanwhile, Jonty Williamson (Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team) was superior again in the Men’s Junior category as the overall leader led at every sector to set an unassailable time of 3:29.1. Behind, German youngster Lois Eller led the battle behind losing just two seconds to the fastest time. He will be hoping to repeat his form in tomorrow’s finals and clinch a first UCI Downhill World Cup podium of his career.The podium battle is set to be a close one as third placed Noé Forlin was just two hundredths of a second ahead of British rider Felix Griffiths.The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues at Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland on Saturday with the UCI Downhill World Cup finals. The UCI Enduro World Cup and UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup follow on Sunday.

SCOTT Sports, Official Cross-country Bike Partner of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, has unveiled the latest evolution of one of the sport’s most iconic platforms with the introduction of the all-new Spark RC, a bike designed to meet the ever-increasing demands of modern UCI Mountain Bike World Cup racing.With a legacy defined by UCI World Championship titles, UCI World Cup victories and Olympic medals, the Spark name carries significant weight in the sport. Now, SCOTT is turning that heritage into future performance, launching what it describes as “its most complete Cross-country race bike to date”.Engineered for riders pushing the limits on tracks around the globe, the new Spark RC has been developed with a clear ambition: to transform effort into speed and precision into results. Built around the realities of today’s increasingly technical and demanding WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series courses, the platform focuses on maximising efficiency, control and integration.DESIGNED FOR MODERN UCI WORLD CUP RACINGAt the core of the new Spark RC are three key principles: Light Weight, Ride Dynamics and Seamless Performance. Together, these define a bike that is not only lighter, but more effective in converting rider input into forward momentum.Rather than chasing weight figures alone, SCOTT has focused on achieving optimal weight distribution to deliver real performance gains on course. By lowering and centralising mass within the frame, the bike improves stability, cornering precision and overall control, key factors on today’s high-speed, technical circuits.The frame itself underlines this philosophy, with the top-tier HMX-SL version weighing just 1,427 grams (size medium, painted with hardware), highlighting the balance between lightweight construction and race-ready durability.GRIP, CONTROL AND CONFIDENCERide dynamics play a central role in the new platform, with the frame engineered as a fully integrated system to maximise traction, reduce vibration and enhance control. By carefully tuning stiffness and flex throughout the frame, SCOTT aims to eliminate instability at speed and ensure consistent contact with the ground.The result is a bike designed to maintain momentum through corners, technical sections and variable terrain, a key performance factor in modern cross-country racing, where efficiency and control are closely linked.As SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team rider Filippo Colombo explains, “the bike almost floats over rocks and roots, allowing me to maintain speed while using less energy, energy I can use later in the race.”A FULLY INTEGRATED RACE PLATFORMBeyond frame design, the new Spark RC also focuses on seamless performance and integration, ensuring riders can optimise their setup quickly and effectively on race day.Key features include improved access to the rear shock for simplified maintenance and setup, full compatibility with standard XC suspension systems, and updated integration across components developed in collaboration with Syncros. New wheels and cockpit solutions further reinforce the bike’s race-ready performance package.Designed with modern XC racing in mind, the platform also supports longer-travel dropper posts, reflecting the increasingly technical nature of today’s courses and the need for greater control on descentsREADY FOR COMPETITIONThe new Spark RC will make its competitive debut during the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Leogang, where the SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team will take to the start line with the new platform.With courses continuing to evolve and the level of competition reaching new heights, innovation remains critical. The launch of the all-new Spark RC highlights how leading brands continue to push equipment development to support riders at the highest level of the sport.The full 2027 SCOTT Spark RC range features eight models, all built around the same core technology, and will be available from summer 2026.