Read on for everything you need to know about the Lake Placid Olympic Sites round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series races, including when the cross-county short track (XCC), cross-country Olympic (XCO) and downhill events are scheduled to take place, who is racing, and how to watch.
WHEN?
The 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Lake Placid Olympic Sites, New York (USA) starts with the Women U23 UCI XCC World Cup at 09:20 (UTC-4) on Friday, October 2 and concludes with the Men Elite UCI Downhill World Cup at 14:10 (UTC-4) on Sunday, October 4.
Below are the key timings for race weekend. All times are UTC-4 (EDT/BST-5/CEST-6):
Friday, October 2
09:20 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women U23
10:10 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men U23
11:45 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women Elite
12:35 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men Elite
Saturday, October 3
12:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Women Elite
13:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 1 Men Elite
14:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Men Junior
14:40 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification Women Junior
15:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Women Elite
15:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Qualification 2 Men Elite
09:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women U23
11:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men U23
14:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women Elite
16:00 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men Elite
Sunday, October 4
11:30 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Junior
12:15 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Junior
13:00 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Women Elite
14:10 – UCI Downhill World Cup | Finals Men Elite
WHERE CAN I WATCH?
There will be several ways to follow the action as the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series reaches its final stop.
Fans can keep up with UCI Downhill World Cup qualifying through live timing and dedicated coverage across the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series social media channels, official website and app.
The UCI Downhill World Cup Junior finals, for both men and women, will be broadcast live on HBO Max (in all available territories) and MTBWS TV for subscribers. As another Women in MTB initiative, this year’s Women Junior Final will take place after the Men Junior Final, giving Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon DH Racing) the opportunity to celebrate the overall title on home soil, in front of her home crowd, in a schedule position that reflects the significance of the moment.
All the Elite finals will be available live via the channels and streaming platforms listed below:
Europe:
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Baltics, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Ukraine – HBO Max / Eurosport
Belgium - HBO Max, Eurosport and VRT (only selected races live)
Czechia – HBO Max, Eurosport and CT Sport +
France - HBO Max, Eurosport and L’Equipe Live
Ireland – TNT Sports
Switzerland - HBO Max, Eurosport and SRF/RSI/RTS (only selected races live)
United Kingdom – HBO Max and TNT Sports
Asia:
Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Thailand – Eurosport World
Oceania:
Australia – Stan Sport
New Zealand – MTBWS TV
Samoa – Eurosport World
North America:
Canada – FloSports
USA – HBO Max / MTBWS TV
South & Central America: MTBWS TV and DSPORTS
Africa: MTBWS TV
All other territories: MTBWS TV
RIDERS TO WATCH
Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) has had a season to remember by her own high standards, but the five-time UCI Downhill World Cup overall winner and five-time UCI Downhill World Champion could make it one for the record books this Sunday by securing a seventh UCI Downhill World Cup win of 2026. Only Anne-Caroline Chausson and Rachel Atherton have managed this feat in the history of Women’s Downhill, and victory would put Höll on par with the sport’s all-time greats.
She arrives at Lake Placid Olympic Sites with a perfect record at the venue, having won its inaugural UCI Downhill World Cup in 2025, her only victory last season. That will make ominous reading for her rivals, but behind Höll, the battle for second overall is wide open. Gloria Scarsi (MS-Racing) holds a slender advantage over Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) winner Harriet Harnden (AON Racing) and Gracey Hemstreet (Norco x adidas Race Division). It is Hemstreet, however, who carries the most momentum into the finale after finishing second on home soil at Whistler Mountain Bike Park (Canada) last weekend, where she was the only rider to come within a second of Höll’s winning time.
The Men Elite overall meanwhile hangs finely in the balance with three riders still in contention. Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/TRP) holds a solid 96-point advantage over Jordan Williams (Specialized Gravity), while Amaury Pierron (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) remains in play mathematically but requires other results to go his way to clinch a third title.
Vermette’s win in Whistler gives the 19-year-old rookie the edge, but in a topsy-turvy season where no one rider has put together a consistent string of results, nothing is guaranteed.
Other riders to look out for include fellow rookie Max Alran (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction), who followed up his debut UCI Downhill World Cup win in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie with second place last weekend, while Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) will be hoping to return to winning ways after missing out on finals at his home course’s UCI World Cup debut in Whistler.
Before the Downhill action is Friday’s XCC and Saturday’s XCO, with three out of four series still to be decided.
Sina Frei (Specialized Gravity) and Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) lead their respective XCC UCI World Cup tandings, and a top three finish would be enough to clinch them the title. But their closest rivals are unlikely to go down without a fight.
For Frei, Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) is the woman in the hunt. The Swede’s 10 wins make her the most successful Women Elite XCC rider of all time, and if chasing a first XCC title wasn’t enough, she has added incentive of superior point differences adding to her lead in the XCO overall.
Martin meanwhile can only get caught by Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division). The season’s early form setter needs to win and for Martin to finish fourth or below to leapfrog his compatriot, and the pair have history when it comes to close, elbow’s out racing. Expect fireworks.
Less than 24 hours after the XCC, the cross-country athletes will line up again for the final XCO race of the season. Rissveds could have already mathematically secured the overall title if Friday’s XCC goes her way, but if the fight remains alive, Frei will need a significant points swing to overturn the deficit. As the reigning UCI XCO World Champion, however, the Swiss rider can be expected to fight all the way to the final lap.
Before a single pedal stroke in Lake Placid, Adrien Boichis’ (Specialized Factory Racing) absence is set to hand Martin his first XCO overall crown and puts him one step closer to a historic XCO-XCC double. There is still plenty at stake, however, with the battle for third overall among the storylines still to be settled. Bjorn Riley (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Race Team) currently leads the way and will be looking to finish the season on a high in front of a home crowd, while Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah (USA) winner Martin Vidaurre Kossmann (Specialized Factory Racing) could yet deny him a place on the overall podium.
Racing gets underway on Friday, October 2 in Lake Placid Olympic Sites. Full schedule and event details are available HERE. You can find where to watch all the action live HERE.
