Leogang, Austria
Saalfelden Leogang in Salzburgerland is one of only two venues on the 2026 calendar that hosts four UCI World Cup formats across one weekend – Cross-Country Olympic, Short Track, Downhill and Enduro, making it a bumper affair for MTB fans.
With the Leoganger Steinberge (Leogang Mountain Range) as the stunning backdrop, Leogang is ideal for fans who want the maximum about of trackside action, and the thrill of watching the home-town hero Vali Höll, being cheered on by a rapturous Austrian crowd.
The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is hosted at The Epic Bike park in Saalfelden Leogang – Austria’s largest bike region with more than 90km of lines and trials across seven mountains. The range forms part of the Southern Limestone Alps, which are part of the Eastern Alps. Situated a stone’s throw from the picturesque town of Zell am See, its closest big city is Salzburg, which is 70km away to the north.
UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cups are renowned for producing tight, technical races that tend to conclude with a sprint finish, but the rollercoaster nature of the Leogang course showed that there’s more than one way to win a race, as Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) and Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) proved. Read the full article here.
Ondřej Cink (CUBE Factory Racing) stunned the cross-country world by taking his first UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup victory at 34 years young, whilst Puck Pieterse (Alpecin - Deceuninck) underlined her supremacy by claiming her second Elite Women’s win of the weekend. See the full story here.
For the second weekend running, Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) and Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) ruled the UCI Downhill World Cup in a scintillating Leogang round that saw the overall lead of both competitions also change hands. Read the full article here.
And finally, Leogang turned out to be the toughest test of the UCI Enduro World Cup so far, produced two intense battles for Elite victory as Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) and Ella Conolly proved worthy winners. See all the action here.
The Leogang Downhill course is considered a classic. Off-camber and tricky at the top, followed by the motorway to gather speed into ‘Höllentrail’ and the step-downs as the course comes out of the woods. Whilst Vali Höll has dominated at her home race in the women’s field, the mix of this course typically provides some of the closest racing all season in the men’s field.
The Cross-country courses in 2026 will be a completely new design, and we cannot wait! Expect to see a new rock garden close to the start/finish link, more natural trails/features with some excellent descents in the woods. We think this one will still suit the climbers like Maxwell and Pieterse, but we’ll have to wait and see who comes out on top!
More information on the Enduro course coming soon.
