The iconic Austrian venue hosts a four-day festival of off-road racing this weekend, featuring all WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series formats.
Located within Austria’s largest bike region, Saalfelden Leogang in Salzburgerland (Austria) has been a mainstay of the UCI Downhill World Cup series since 2010, and the scene of some of the sport’s most jaw-dropping moments – from Aaron Gwin’s chainless win in 2015 to Loïc Bruni and Valentina Höll’s wins last year. It has hosted the UCI Enduro World Cup since 2023, while three UCI Cross-country World Cups were contested on its trails between 2021-2023.
THE KING OF COURSES
Saalfelden Leogang - Salzburgerland is located in the state of Salzburg, near the border with Germany in the heart of the Austrian Alps. The UCI World Cup takes place at The Epic Bikepark – one of Europe’s most renowned bike parks, which has trails suitable for anyone from first timers to professionals.
The ‘Speedster’ trail is the home of the UCI Downhill World Cup. At 2.6km with 468m of descent, it is seriously steep, and combines fast, motorway jumps with tight, technical tree sections where line choice is key to coming out on top.
The venue’s enduro stages meanwhile take in place Austria’s largest Bike Region Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn trails, to give riders a truly energy-sapping test. The UCI Enduro World Cup will see athletes take on six stages during a gruelling 66.79km course featuring 5,030m of descent during the race stages. The first four stages are the same as last year, but the race will conclude with two short, sharp stages that are new to the UCI Enduro World Cup – Knappen (0.65km with 140m descent) and Lower Speedstar (0.65km with 160m descent).
Finally, the cross-country Olympic (XCO) and cross-country short track (XCC) races will be contested on courses that blend wide, open slopes and tight, twisting forest trails packed with plenty of manmade features.
ALL TO PLAY FOR AFTER EARLY ROUNDS
The UCI Downhill World Cup is embarking on its longest season yet in 2025, with 10 rounds for riders to tackle between Bielsko-Biała (Poland) and Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada). After a fifth of the series, both the men’s and women’s competitions are perfectly poised with no one rider running away with proceedings.
In the men’s, Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) and Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) are setting up a title battle to rival that of 2019, with only 40 points separating the pair – Pierron leading the charge having recorded back-to-back podiums and Bruni close behind after following up his dominant performance in Bielsko-Biała with a disappointing 15th in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France).
But unlike 2019, it’s unlikely to be a two-horse race thanks to the triumphant return of Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate). The Canadian had to sit out the 2024 season with an injury but blew away the competition with his third UCI Downhill World Cup win last Sunday.
Bruni knows what it takes to win in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland having won at the venue in 2024, but first place isn’t a guarantee for the Frenchman with plenty of riders vying for his overall crown.
The women’s contest meanwhile has a 2018 feel with Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) topping the standings – adding a third place in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes to her win at the season opener in Poland.
The Brit’s main challenge will come from Valentina Höll (YT Mob), who will look to pull out the stops in front of her home fans. But the pair will also face stiff competition from a duo of young North American pinners – Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) and Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing/5Dev) – who have both made their strongest start to a season yet – the former claiming Her’s and Canada’s first Women Elite UCI Downhill World Cup win in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes.
BOOKER AND LUKASIK BATTLE IT OUT WHILE CONOLLY’S IN CRUISE CONTROL
Daniel Booker is living evidence that you don’t need the backing of a big team to win on the world stage. The Australian clinched his first UCI Enduro World Cup win at the season opener in Pietra Ligure, Finale Outdoor Region (Italy) but appeared to have let the occasion get the better of him when he followed it up with 95th in Bielsko-Biała (Poland). But the 25-year-old showed that his debut win was no fluke, besting the factory team riders once again in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes to make it two wins from three.
Only Slawomir Lukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) can better the privateer’s points tally in the overall – the Pole adding a third podium finish of the year last Saturday – and the pair’s contest for the overall is shaping up as a David vs Goliath battle.
Lukasik finished third in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland last year, with the two riders who stood above him on the podium that day – Richard Rude Jr (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Alex Rudeau – not on the start list in Austria. But Booker has also shown form on The Epic Bikepark trails, finishing fifth in 2023.
Other contenders for the top spot include Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team), Charlie Murray (Specialized Gravity) and Jack Moir (YT Mob) – if the Australian can recover from a race-ending crash in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes.
The women’s field meanwhile is turning into the Ella Conolly show. The Brit won her first UCI Enduro World Cup in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes and is in the form of her life having already secured two second-place finishes.
Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) is her only likely challenger for the overall as we approach the series’ halfway point, with this year’s two other winners, Harriet Harnden (Aon Racing - Tourne Campervans) and Elly Hoskin not on the start list.
BLEVINS APPEARS UNBEATABLE WHILE MAXWELL CONTINUES EARLY SEASON FORM
Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) last lost a race on April 6, when the American had to settle for second behind teammate Victor Koretzky. In four race starts (two XCO, two XCC) since, he has a 100% winning record and has only finished off the top spot once this series.
If he wins the XCC this Friday, he will become the first rider – man or woman – to win the opening four rounds of the XCC. Do another XCO/XCC double, and that will be three for the season and joint most-ever with Mathias Flückiger (Thömus Maxon) and Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Given his form, you wouldn’t bet against him achieving either feats – although he has never finished inside the top 20 in Saalfelden Leogang - Salzburgerland in the Elite class.
In the XCO, Koretzky is likely to be Blevins’ biggest threat, but given how Specialized Factory Racing have used team tactics in previous rounds, if the American starts to build up a head of steam, expect the Frenchman to try and frustrate the chasing pack. Others in line to contest for the podium include Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) and 2023 winner Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon), while Forster’s compatriot and teammate Mathias Flückiger is a fan of Saalfelden Leogang - Salzburgerland, having done the double at the venue in 2021 and 2022.
While the women’s contest isn’t as clear cut, Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) has shown she’s the rider to beat in 2025 with an XCO results card of 1st, 2nd and 2nd in the opening three rounds. The New Zealander has previous in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland too, having finished runner-up in the women’s U23 XCO race in 2023.
Although Nicole Koller (Ghost Factory Racing) currently sits second in the standings, the Swiss rider hasn’t featured on the XCO podium since the opening round. Instead, it’s her national teammate Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) whose form is on an upward trajectory. Nové Město Na Moravě (Czechia) winner Mona Mitterwallner (Mondraker Factory Racing XC) meanwhile has home advantage – as she showed with her second place at the venue in 2023 – and like Flückiger, Loana Lecomte (BMC Factory Racing) has also done the Austrian XCO/XCC double twice.
In the XCC, Blevins and Koretzky have gone 1-2 all season, although it’s worth keeping an eye on Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) – the German improving his results at every round and sitting fifth in the overall standings. Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli) meanwhile has only been beaten once all year by Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck). The Dutch rider will be lining up once again in Austria, so expect the pair to duke it out once more.
Racing gets underway in Saalfelden Leogang - Salzburgerland on Friday with UCI Downhill World Cup qualifying followed by the UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup – full schedule and events details are available here.
