Preview: Lenzerheide UCI Mountain Bike World Series

We’ve had enduro, marathon and cross-country so far in the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, and now it’s finally time for downhill to make its season debut. Kicking off slightly later than it has in previous seasons, the Downhill World Cup gets underway on a classic course in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, sandwiched in between cross-country races for a very familiar World Cup weekend.

We’ve already had a taste of cross-country racing in Nové Město last month, and the stories and rivalries of the season are already starting to come out, but in the downhill the first chapter is yet to be written. After nearly nine months off from World Cup racing, the favourites are raring to go and we’re ready to watch it. With a jam-packed schedule of races coming up, here’s all you need to know before the weekend.

For more on how the series and different disciplines work, head over to our handy guide.

The courses

Cross-country racing will kick off on Friday evening with the short track, which takes place on a 1km loop. The Lenzerheide XCC track is a relatively technical one, with a climb in the middle, a rocky descent, and plenty of tight, root-littered sections. Unlike the opening round in Nové Město, this is unlikely to be a bunch sprint: one or two strong riders will look to get away from the pack in the final laps.

Bike Kingdom Lenzerheide / bikekingdom.ch

The Lenzerheide XCO course.

The XCO course is 4.3km in length, taking in 200m of elevation gain per lap. The climbing isn’t too extreme, but it’s the tight and technical sections that make this tricky. There are plenty of grassy singletrack stretches where fighting for position will be key, plus jutting roots in the forest and a very tough, rocky downhill in the latter part of the lap. It can be hard to get away solo on this course, but small groups will be battling each other for lines and position before the fast and flat tarmac finish.

Bike Kingdom Lenzerheide / bikekingdom.ch

The Lenzerheide downhill course.

The Lenzerheide downhill course is a fairly typical World Cup track, and on the more straightforward side thanks to its setting in a popular bike park. It’s 1.9km in length, with 417m elevation loss over the 23% average gradient. There are three main steep forest sections, where riders will have to contend with some loose rocks, roots and trees, and these are joined up by twisty and fast sand tracks, as well as a long high-speed section in the middle. There are also a few jumps and road gaps to contend with, though these aren’t much of a technical challenge to World Cup riders.

What’s going to make all of these courses very tricky this weekend, though, is the rain. Wet weather is forecast all week and over the weekend in Lenzerheide, which will make the courses muddy, slippery and dangerous, particularly the downhill track. Send hundreds of riders onto the courses in qualification and training, degrading the terrain even further, and it will be a very challenging ride in the finals on Saturday and Sunday.

Riders to watch

On the cross-country side of racing, we’ve already had one round of racing, so we’re beginning to see who is looking good in this early part of the World Cup season. On the men’s side, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) will be absent so won’t be defending his double wins in Nové Město, which perhaps opens up the field. In the short track, Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLTV) will both be hoping to upgrade their podium finishes from the last round, though the course is a little less sprinter-friendly. In the XCO, the Swiss fans will be hoping for the next instalment of the long-burning rivalry between local riders Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) and Mathias Flückiger (Thömus Maxon), and both look in good shape to be fighting for the win. Luca Braidot (Santa Cruz Rockshox) and Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) also did well here in 2022, and both look to be building into good form.

Michal Cerveny - UCI Mountain Bike World Series

Jolanda Neff is one of the many Swiss riders who will be in action this weekend.

In the women’s races, it’s Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) who will be flying the home flag in the nation for whom cross-country is so important, and the 2022 overall champion will certainly be motivated to pick up some better results than she did in Nové Město, as will compatriot Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing). Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) and Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV) are both also looking very strong, as was Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing) before a mechanical dampened her impressive attack in the last round of the XCO. Nové Město winner Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will also of course be a big rider to watch, and this will be more of technical challenge, though her cyclo-cross background will put her right at home in the mud if the weather is bad.

For the downhill, the state of play is much more unknown. The top riders haven’t all lined up against each other since Val di Sole last September, and with only a few lower-ranked and test events leading up to Lenzerheide, there’s very little evidence of how riders are performing. As they are in practically every round, world champion Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and defending overall champion Amaury Pierron (Commencal Muc-Off) will be at the top of everyone’s favourites lists, as some of the most successful and most consistent riders in the sport. They’ll have the likes of Thibaut Daprela (Commencal Muc-Off) and Laurie Greenland (Santa Cruz Syndicate) pushing their times on this fast course, and keep an eye out for Jordan Williams (Specialized Gravity), a first-year elite who is already competing with the best, having set comparable times to the senior field even as a junior. His former junior rival Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) looks likely to miss his elite World Cup debut through illness.

UCI Mountain Bike World Series

Amaury Pierron on his way to fourth fastest at a test event in Lourdes in April.

We know a little about how the men are going after a test event in Lourdes earlier this spring, but most of the top women skipped that race, so Lenzerheide will be the first time we see them face off for a long time. Defending champion and local hero Camille Balanche (Commencal Muc-Off) and world champion Vali Höll (Rockshox Trek) will likely be fighting it out for the win, with the likes of Nina Hoffman (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Eleonora Farina (MS Mondraker) also in the frame for the podium. Former world champion Myriam Nicole (Commencal Muc-Off) is out with a concussion so won’t be racing Lenzerheide. There’s also a crop of very talented junior riders making their elite debut here, so look out for how Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Factory Team), Phoebe Gale (Canyon CLLCTV FMD) and Izabela Yankova (Gen-S) stack up against the seasoned elite riders. Plus, we’re expecting the most decorated female downhiller in history, Rachel Atherton (Continental Atherton), to make an appearance as she continues her return after having a child.

How to watch

Friday, June 9:

• Women junior DH final, 12.15 BST - watch live or on demand on GMBN Racing on YouTube
• Men junior DH final, 13.00 BST - watch live or on demand on GMBN Racing on YouTube
• Women elite XCC, 16.15 BST - watch live or on demand on GCN+
• Men elite XCC, 17.00 BST - watch live or on demand on GCN+

Saturday, June 10:

• Women elite DH semi final, 10.00 BST - watch live or on demand on GMBN Racing on YouTube
• Men elite DH semi final, 10.30 BST - watch live or on demand on GMBN Racing on YouTube
• Women elite DH final, 12.00 BST - watch live or on demand on GCN+
• Men elite DH final, 13.00 BST - watch live or on demand on GCN+

Sunday, June 11:

• Women U23 XCO, 7.35 BST - watch live or on demand on GCN+
• Men U23 XCO, 9.30 BST - watch live or on demand on GCN+
• Women elite XCO, 12.00 BST - watch live or on demand on GCN+
• Men elite XCO, 14.30 BST - watch live or on demand on GCN+

Free highlights of all broadcast races will also be available on GCN+ (account needed but no subscription required).