The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is in full flow following three back-to-back rounds in May that saw the world’s best Gravity athletes take to the trails of Fort William, Finale Outdoor Region and Bielsko-Biała. The action isn’t letting up just yet either, and this weekend sees the return of the Endurance formats at Czech Republic’s Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ venue, where the UCI Cross Country Marathon World Cup will also make its 2024 bow.
We look at everything you need to know about the Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series races, including when the Cross-Country Short Track (XCC), Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) and Cross-Country Marathon (XCM) UCI Worlds Cups are scheduled to take place, who is racing and how to watch.
WHEN?
The 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ, Czech Republic starts with the Women’s U23 UCI Cross-Country Short Track at 14:00 (UTC+2) on Friday, May 24 and concludes with the Men’s Elite UCI Cross Country Olympic at 14:00 (UTC+2) on Sunday, May 26.
Below are the key timings for race weekend. All times are UTC+2 (EST+6/BST+1/CEST):
Friday, May 24
· 14:00 – UCI Cross-Country Short Track World Cup | Women U23
· 14:35 – UCI Cross-Country Short Track World Cup | Men U23
Saturday, May 25
· 08:00 – UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup | Men Junior
· 10:30 – UCI Cross-Country Short Track World Cup | Women Elite
· 11:05 – UCI Cross-Country Short Track World Cup | Men Elite
· 13:15 – UCI Cross-Country Marathon | Open Racing
· 14:30 – UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup | Women U23
· 16:30 – UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup | Men U23
Sunday, May 19
· 07:00 – UCI Cross-Country Marathon World Cup | Women Elite
· 8:15 – UCI Cross-Country Marathon World Cup | Men Elite
· 8:30 – UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup | Women Junior
· 10:15 – UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup | Women Elite
· 14:00 – UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup | Men Elite
WHERE CAN I WATCH?
You can watch all the action from the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ, Czech Republic wherever you are in the world.
For Saturday and Sunday’s UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup, there will be live timings on the official WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series website and highlights on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series’ Instagram and Facebook channels, with top stories from the race weekend to be published on the YouTube channel on Thursday, May 30.
Both the men’s and women's UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup U23 races will be broadcast live on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel, but for all other races, tune in to one of the below channels or streaming services:
EUROPE:
- Australia: discovery+
- Belgium: Eurosport App, Eurosport 1
- Czech Republic: Max, Eurosport 1 and Czech TV
- Denmark: Max, Eurosport 1
- France: Eurosport App, Eurosport 1 and La chaine L’Équipe
- Germany : discovery+, Eurosport 1
- Hungary : Max, Eurosport 1
- Ireland : discovery+, Eurosport 1 & 2
- Italy : discovery+, Eurosport 1
- Netherlands : discovery+
- Norway : Max
- Poland : Player.pl, Eurosport 1
- Portugal : Max, Eurosport 1
- Romania : Max, Eurosport 1
- Spain : Max, Eurosport 1
- Sweden : Max, Eurosport 1
- Switzerland : Eurosport platforms
- UK : discovery+, Eurosport 1 & 2
CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA :
- Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela: Claro
- Belize, Brasil, Suriname : Staylive
- Puerto Rico : Max
AFRICA : Staylive
NORTH AMERICA :
- USA : Max
- Canada : Flosports
ASIA :
- Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan : Staylive
- China : Zhibo.tv
- Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand: Eurosport
OCEANIA :
- Australia : Stan Sport
- New Zealand : Staylive
REST OF THE WORLD : Staylive
U23 UCI CROSS-COUNTRY OLYMPIC RACES: YouTube
LIVE TIMING: live.ucimtbworldseries.com
TUNE IN TO MAX
This weekend’s UCI World Cup is the first time that European fans will be able to watch the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series on Max. Already available in the U.S, the enhanced streaming service has been extended to 20 countries across the Nordics, Iberia, and Central and Eastern Europe, with more to follow later this summer. Max has something for everyone, combining HBO Max’s can’t-miss boxsets, Discovery’s real-life entertainment and Eurosport’s world-class sports. It will be the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series’ new streaming home for the remaining UCI Mountain Bike World Cups of the year, and the only place to stream every event, medal and world record at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
RIDERS TO WATCH
After the first two UCI Cross-country Olympic and Short Track World Cups of the season, there are a handful of in-form riders who are already pulling away from the chasing group.
In the women’s field, Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) has been in imperious form, winning both formats in Araxá and podiuming in the Mairiporã Cross-country Olympic event. Compatriot Savilla Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) has been hot on Batten’s heels, while Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) and Jenny Risveds (Team 31 Ibis Cycles Continental) have started their seasons strongly.
For the men, Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) has been the most consistent, and the Frenchman tops both championships having won the UCI Cross-country Short
Track World Cup in Araxá and recording two seconds and a fourth place in the three other races he’s competed in this season. His team-mate, Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) has had a similarly explosive start to the 2024 Endurance competitions, while the reigning UCI Cross-country XCC World Champion Samuel Gaze (Alpecin- Deceuninck) has shown that he still has the race-winning explosiveness required to win in the shorter format.
Both men’s and women’s competitions are set to get even more competitive though, with all eyes will be on those making their 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series debuts this weekend. Last year’s overall UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup series winner Puck
Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and the five-time UCI Cross-country Olympic World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) will be lining up in Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ having decided to swerve the opening rounds in Brazil, while the reigning Olympic and UCI Cross-country Olympic World Champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) will be looking to add a fourth consecutive win at the Czech Republic course on Sunday’s Olympic-distance race.
This weekend will also see the start of this year’s Cross-Country Marathon competition – the first of format’s three UCI World Cups for the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, with Haute-Savoie, France (June 29-July 7) and Lake Placid, USA (September 27-29) the other races.
Last year’s overall series winners Fabian Rabensteiner and Lejla Njemčević were both victorious in Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ in 2023 and will be looking to repeat their success on the 123km course, which includes 2,830m of elevation gain. The pair won’t have to contend with the reigning UCI Cross-country Marathon World Champions, with Henrique Avancini retiring and Mona Mitterwallner (Cannondale Factory Racing) competing in the Cross-country Olympic and Short Track formats.
Racing gets underway on Friday, May 24 in Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ.
Full schedule and event details are available HERE.
You can find where to watch all the racing action live in Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ HERE.
