All to play for in Enduro finale after intriguing day one

After a six-week summer break, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series returns with its first finale of the 2025 season. And while both the men’s and women’s UCI Enduro World Cup overall titles were wrapped up at the last round in La Thuile – Valle D’Aosta (Italy), there’s still plenty on the line in Morillon, Haute-Savoie (France). The French venue is not only a new addition to the UCI Enduro World Cup, but with only Enduro on the cards, riders and fans will get to enjoy two back-to-back days of racing. NEW TESTS AND OLD FAVOURITES While Haute-Savoie in the east of France has been a staple of Cross-country and Downhill for decades, the town of Morillon presents a new test for the stars of Enduro. The French Alps spot unveiled a brand new Enduro Bike Park last year, and the world’s best riders will now be put through their paces on the venue’s pine-lined trails. Home to challenging trails, natural features, fast flows and plenty of roots, and with the mountains of the Grand Massif as a backdrop, it’s already a classic in the making. For the UCI Enduro World Cup, athletes will take on nine stages during an 81.6km course featuring 4,778m of descent and 4,871m of pedal ascent. The first four stages take place on day one, and are all downhill-only affairs with the opener Reverse River (3.0km with 530m descent) sure to create some big splits in the field from the off. The second day, meanwhile, includes another five favourites from the region, with the penultimate stage Grand Cret (3.8km with 660m descent) the longest of the whole race. Riders will be familiar with the final stage though, with Paddock Express (2.6km with 410m descent) concluding both days’ racing. ALL EYES ON BATTLE FOR SECOND The 2025 UCI Enduro World Cup has been dominated by two riders – Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Brit Ella Conolly – and the pair built unassailable leads in the overall series to clinch the first titles in La Thuile – Valle D’Aosta (Italy). Łukasik will be on the start line in Morillon, Haute-Savoie using the final round as a springboard into the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Enduro event in Aletsch Arena/Bellwald, Valais (Switzerland) on September 1, where he’ll chase a rare UCI World Cup–UCI World Championships double. Conolly, opting to sit out the final round, is expected to be focusing fully on her preparations for the rainbow jersey race, taking the time to rest and recover as she also eyes the opportunity to complete the prestigious double. With form and momentum on the line, expect Łukasik to keep the intensity high in Morillon. While the titles might have been decided, there’s still all to play for to finish best of the rest in both the men’s and women’s series. In the men’s field, five riders can still mathematically clinch second spot, although the most likely are Kiwi Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity) and Canadian Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) – Murray leading Melamed by just 20 points. The contest is set to come down to the wire with the Canadian needing to beat the New Zealander to be in with a chance of leapfrogging him – something he has managed at four of the five races he’s started in 2025. Elsewhere, two-time UCI Enduro World Cup round winner Daniel Booker, William Brodie and Greg Callaghan have outside shots at second-place, but require a lot of different permutations to go their way to fly up the overall standings. In the women’s field, there are three riders in contention to finish runner up to Conolly, but Simona Kuchyňková (Cube Action Team) is firmly in the driving seat. If the Slovakian slips, Nadine Ellecosta (Abetone Ancillotti Vittoria Factory Team) is waiting in the wings to pounce, although needs to win and for Kuchyňková to finish eighth to steal second spot. Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) will no longer be able to challenge due to injury.  HOW TO WATCH Race content will be available across the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series’ official platforms, including the YouTube channel, website, and social media profiles. Fans can catch up with the action from Morillon, Haute-Savoie with: A course preview featuring the route and its key sections Practice day and race day video highlights Key race moments on social media Real-time race updates via live timing on the official website There are dedicated viewing areas for spectators, along with entertainment and evening events open to everyone. The top 10 men’s and women’s riders will be officially presented on Friday at 5:30 pm, setting the tone for an exciting weekend of racing. Racing gets underway in Morillon, Haute-Savoie on Saturday – full schedule and event details are available here.

While the UCI Enduro World Cup overall titles have already been wrapped up, it’s still all to play for in the battle to be best of the rest. The 2025 UCI Enduro World Cup has been a series for the ages with the return of two-day rounds, new venues, a first night stage, debut wins, and privateers going toe-to-toe with factory-funded teams. The main story of the season has been the dominance of two riders – Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Ella Conolly. The former has managed to step out of the shadows of teammate Richard Rude Jr (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team), winning half of the series’ six rounds to date and podiuming in the three to clinch his first overall series in La Thuile, Valle D’Aosta (Italy). Connolly, meanwhile, has been even more clinical, finishing in the top two all year and picking up a hat-trick of consecutive wins in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France), Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland (Austria) and Val di Fassa - Trentino (Italy) to claim the women’s title – all without the support of a factory team. But while the overall series might be wrapped up before a rider even takes on the final round’s first stage, the battle for second place will go to the wire, with five riders mathematically in contention in the men’s field, and three in the women’s. MURRAY AND MELAMED FAVOURITES While five riders can still finish runner-up in the men’s series, the focus is on Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity) and Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team). The pair are separated by just 20 points, with the New Zealander holding the marginal advantage over his Canadian rival. For Murray to stand the best chance of staying in second, he has to win in Morillon – something he hasn’t managed all year – or place higher than Melamed. But there are still scenarios where he can remain second if the Canyon CLLCTV rider finishes higher in the round. For Melamed to leapfrog the Specialized Gravity rider, he has to win for the second time this series or finish with a points gap that is greater than 20 – for example, Melamed comes 2nd (350 points) and Murray 4th (280 points). Although these are the more likely scenarios, there are also some outsiders, starting with two-time UCI Enduro World Cup winner Daniel Booker. The Australian privateer is 165 points behind Murray, and must be ruing his 90th and 95th place finishes in Val di Fassa – Trentino and Loudenvielle – Peyragudes. To finish second, he needs to win his third round of the series, for Murray to finish 9th or lower and for Melamed to finish third or lower. And then we get to highly unlikely but mathematically possible. Fifth-placed William Brodie has to win, and for Murray to finish 31st or worse, while sixth-placed Greg Callaghan needs to score maximum points and for Murray to finish 97th. Although both are feasible, neither has won a UCI Enduro World Cup before, so there would need to be a lot of firsts for the stars to align. KUCHYNKOVÁ IN DRIVING SEAT The contest in the women’s overall isn’t as tight as the men’s, with Simona Kuchynková (Cube Action Team) holding a 180-point lead over third-place Nadine Ellecosta (Abetone Ancillotti Vittoria Factory Team), but the Slovakian isn’t a shoo-in for second, with Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) also in contention. To guarantee the runner-up spot, Kuchynková can afford to finish as low as seventh, with 230 points enough to give her an unassailable lead. For Ellecosta, she needs to win and Kuchynková to finish eighth or below, or to outscore the Slovakian by 240 points – a scenario that hasn’t occurred all year. Things are even tougher for Charre, who has to win and hope Kuchynková finishes ninth or lower. JUNIOR TOP TWOS EFFECTIVELY TIED UP In the Juniors, the men’s top two can’t change regardless of what happens in Morillon, with Melvin Almueis dominating the series with four wins to take the overall and Cooper Millwood the best of the rest despite missing a round in Val di Fassa – Trentino.   Lacey Adams (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) just needs to score one point to mathematically secure the junior women’s overall title, with Lucile Metge needing to win and for Adams to effectively not start. While Adams’ teammate Chloe Bear (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) can’t contest for the overall series, she can still make it a one-two for the American factory outfit but needs to outscore Metge and for the Frenchwoman to have a bad weekend in front of a partisan home crowd.

The 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series has so far attracted 56 million cumulative views and 15 million watch hours across WBD channels, supported by strong digital, on-site, and content engagement.  Record-breaking broadcast performances, significant digital engagement, and over 250,000 passionate fans attending in person have marked the first 11 rounds of the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series* — powered by a reimagined promotional and coverage strategy from Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports. Chris Ball, Vice President of Cycling Events at WBD Sports, said: “All the successes we’ve seen so far this season have truly justified our work in partnership with the Union Cycliste Internationale, riders, teams, venues and partners. The radical changes to the racing in 2025, including the new, high drama Q1 and Q2 format in downhill, combined with an entirely new approach to mountain bike professional team structure and the creation of the new UCI Mountain Bike World Series Teams is proving successful across the board.  “When we became the first global promoters of the discipline, our ambition was clear — to harness the scale of our global broadcast, streaming, and digital platforms to engage millions and elevate mountain bike to new heights all the way from on-ground operations to live broadcast innovations. Now in our third season of taking control of the promotion and organisation of the Series, we are thrilled to see that the significant changes we’ve made are working and resonating with fans, athletes and teams around the world.” RECORD-BREAKING VIEWERSHIP Innovation has been central to WBD’s ambition in attracting new audiences to mountain bike. WBD has focused on making broadcasts more accessible and engaging, introducing features like heart-rate zones and strain gauges that demonstrate just how physically demanding the races are. It has also added visual elements such as athlete headshots, race bike images, team logos and colours, national flags, and career stats for past UCI World Cup winners to additionally increase awareness and enhance team and athlete exposure. So far this season, millions of viewers across the globe have enjoyed live and on-demand coverage of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series on linear and streaming on WBD’s channels and platforms (HBO Max, Eurosport, discovery+ and TNT Sports), with 56 million cumulative views and 15 million watch hours. This includes WBD’s most-watched WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round to date, with Val di Sole – Trentino (Italy) amassing nearly 15 million cumulative views on WBD channels— surpassing the previous record set in Nové Město Na Moravě (Czechia) in 2023 (+15.4 per cent). CONNECTING WITH FANS BEYOND THE LIVE WBD’s 360-degree ecosystem expands storytelling beyond the live broadcast, telling every story on and off the track through extensive digital and social coverage and the creation of new, non-live mountain bike content. The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series social media channels have continued to bring fans closer to the action and riders, and at the same time attract new fans to the discipline. This season, there have been 225 million total video views and 11 million total engagements across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, with the social media teams posting more content to more fans than ever before.   The official WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series website has also continued to play an integral role, providing news, updates and event information to users from across the world. It has received 1.7 million total page views since the start of the 2025 series, and the live timing feature on race weekends has continued to be one of the largest drivers of traffic throughout the season – particularly during UCI Enduro World Cup rounds. WBD has demonstrated its commitment to off-road cycling content with the launch of two new, original WBD-produced programmes – Grit and Glory: Enduro Mountain Bike Racing and Race Bikes. The first is an eight-part, behind-the-scenes docuseries that follows all seven rounds of the 2025 UCI Enduro World Cup, giving viewers an exciting and intimate glimpse into the world of professional Enduro mountain bike racing. Race Bikes meanwhile takes a deep dive into the sport’s fastest machines, focusing on the mountain bikes that redefined what was possible, brought the whole sport forward and allowed the world’s best riders to achieve the seemingly impossible. STRONG ON-SITE ATTENDANCE At the heart of it all though of course are the UCI World Cup rounds themselves and the unparalleled race-day experience. From the opening rounds in Araxá, Minas Gerais (Brazil) to Pal Arinsal (Andorra), over 250,000 fans have lined the courses of iconic and new venues alike, creating a vibrant and electric atmosphere that’s been felt both trackside and by viewers around the world. Thanks to a ground-breaking long-term partnership between WBD Sports and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) initiated in 2023 almost all major mountain bike formats were unified under a single brand for the first-time, creating the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. The action continues in Haute-Savoie (France) with the UCI Enduro World Cup in Morillon (22-24 August) and Cross-country and Downhill racing in Les Gets (28-31 August). *Figures from January 1st – August 1st 2025