The dust hasn’t even settled from the Endurance excitement in Nové Město Na Moravě (Czechia) and the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is back with the return of the UCI Downhill and Enduro World Cups at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes, presented by FACOM.
The former will commence the Downhill European season after its opener in South Korea a month ago, while the latter sees the Enduro format’s curtain raiser – the first time that the Pyrenean venue has hosted the first round of the year.
The Louron Valley spot made its UCI World Cup debut in 2023 and has hosted the Enduro World Series since 2021. It’s easy to see why it’s become a staple of the season too. Located within the French Pyrenees’ top riding spot, Loudenvielle - Peyragudes is a year-round riding heaven, offering more than 500km of trails and a fast and furious pro-line downhill track that descends 540m in 2.4km.
PEARL OF THE FRENCH PYRENEES
Loudenvielle - Peyragudes is the premier location for mountain biking in the whole of the French Pyrenees. Located near the border with Spain and a stone’s throw from Andorra, its tight and tree-lined trails have become a favourite of the world’s Gravity-leaning riders.
The ‘DH World Cup’ trail was created especially for the 2023 UCI Downhill World Cup by the local Lourdon Bike and Trail Park team and French downhill icon Romain Paulhan. Melding man-made features with the hillside’s natural contours, the result is one of the most exciting courses on the whole UCI Downhill World Cup circuit.
The venue’s Enduro stages meanwhile take in the best trails of the Louron Valley. The UCI Enduro World Cup will see athletes take on five stages as part of a 49.3km course featuring 2,150m of descent (and 103m gain) during the race stages and 1,262m of ascent (and 1,300m of lifts) during liaisons. Three stages remain from last year’s edition, with Tourteres returning from the 2024 edition, and a UCI Enduro World Cup debut for Coumaou.
WILDCARD ENTRIES
The following wildcard teams have been confirmed to compete at the Loudenvielle-Peyragudes UCI Downhill World Cup: Crestline Speed Shop, Outlaw Intense Racing, Pivot Factory Racing, Team High Country, The Alliance, and Stoic Racing.
All teams featured in the 2026 series opener in MONA YongPyong where wildcard highlights included Dylan Maples’ (Pivot Factory Racing) 14th in the Elite Men’s Finals and Alex Mallen’s (Outlaw Intense Racing) fifth in the Junior Men’s finals.
VERMETTE AND HÖLL HOLD THE ACES
We’re only one race into the 2026 UCI Downhill World Cup series, but there already appears to be contrasting battles for the overall title.
Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/TRP) made a statement in South Korea, finishing first in qualifying and finals to score maximum points in his first Elite UCI Downhill World Cup. The 19-year-old is part of an exciting crop of graduates from the Junior ranks and it’s clear that the likes of Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) might face even more competition in the battle for the overall title.
Mr consistent Bruni is set to make a milestone 100th start in Loudenvielle. The Frenchman was second best four weeks ago and can be expected to podium as a minimum in the Pyrenees – having won at the venue in its UCI debut in 2023. Goldstone meanwhile will be hoping to make amends for a disappointing showing in South Korea, but the Canadian will take confidence from the fact that he had a similar start to the series in 2025 (finishing 20th in Biełsko-Biała, Poland) and still won the overall.
Elsewhere, Amaury Pierron (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) is looking in good form – finishing third despite a crash in his final’s run – and there’s more to come from Max and Till Alran (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) who progressed to the Elites alongside Vermette in the off-season.
The women’s competition isn’t a foregone conclusion, but Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) has already opened her account for the year and once the Austrian starts winning, it can be hard to catch her. The reigning overall title holder has never finished lower than second in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes either (winning in 2023), so things look ominous for her rivals this weekend.
Her biggest challengers for top spot are Myriam Nicole (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction), Gracey Hemstreet (Norco X adidas Race Division) and Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea FMD Racing). Nicole had a solid start to her season by taking third place and will have extra confidence knowing that she has won in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes before (2024) with the full backing of the French crowd, whilst Hemstreet will look to get back to competitive ways after a slightly disappointing start in South Korea. Seagrave could still be in contention, but after an incident in qualifying at MONA YongPyong, she will assess how she feels before deciding whether to start in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes.
ŁUKASIK AND CONOLLY THE RIDERS TO BEAT IN UCI ENDURO WORLD CUP OPENER
After a long off-season, the UCI Enduro World Cup is finally returning this weekend and will be kicking off the six-round series in style in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes.
The Pyrenean venue has never hosted the curtain raiser but has always delivered unpredictable racing. It therefore should deliver an exciting start to a competitive series where every place and point will count come August’s finale in Morillon, Haute-Savoie (France).
In the men’s field, Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) will want to make a statement as he starts his defence of his overall title. The Polish rider finally picked up his first UCI Enduro World Cup in 2025 after a number of nailbiting second places, and once he had won one, the victories started flowing – securing three en route to his debut overall win.
He won’t have to contend with teammate and rival Richie Rude (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) in the Pyrenees, with the American focused on the UCI Downhill World Cup this weekend. He will, however, face stiff competition from some fast Frenchmen in Alex Rudeau and recently crowned national champion Albin Cambos.
Privateer Ella Conolly meanwhile is the favourite in the women’s field – the British rider dominant in last year’s edition on her way to a debut overall title. She might not have such a comfortable advantage this time out though. Isabeau Courdurier’s return to the sport after a season out is enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine, while Simona Kuchynkova (Cube Action Team), Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) and Nadine Ellecosta (Abetone Vittoria Nencini Sport Factory Team) have all proven to be worthy adversaries for Conolly on their day.
Racing gets underway in Loudenvielle - Peyragudes on Saturday with the UCI Enduro World Cup and the UCI Downhill World Cup qualifiers. Full schedule and events details are available here.
