Last week’s UCI Mountain Bike World Championship in Pal Arinsal, Andorra, kicked off the second half of the season with a bang after an Olympics-filled summer break. But there’s still plenty to be decided this year as the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series crosses the Pyrenees and rolls into France’s Loudenvielle - Peyragudes.
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.
This year, the venue will play an even more decisive role in the Gravity calendar than before because it hosts the penultimate round of the UCI Downhill World Cup and the finale of the Enduro and E-enduro competitions. And with three out of four Enduro and E-enduro titles yet to be decided, expect a nail-biting finish in the south of France.
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 treelined trails have become a favourite among the world’s gravity riders.
The ‘DH World Cup’ trail was created especially for the 2023 UCI Downhill World Cup by the local Louron 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 and E-enduro stages meanwhile take in the best trails of the Louron Valley. The UCI Enduro World Cup will see athletes take on five stages during a 39.6km course featuring 2,640m of descent during the race stages, while the UCI E-enduro World Cup has eight stages across a 47km course with two power stages and 2,860m of descent during the remaining race stages.
BRUNI AND HÖLL IN CONTROL
Reigning overall UCI Downhill World Cup winners Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Valentina Höll (YT Mob) are the riders leading the charge, but their 2024 titles aren’t secured yet with two rounds to go.
Bruni’s closest challenger is fellow Frenchman Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction), who looks back to his best after fifth at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, and wins in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) and Val di Sole, Trentino (Italy). But five-time UCI World Champion Bruni will have a point to prove having finished down in 78th in last weekend’s rainbow jersey race – a crash ending his chances of a sixth title.
Valentina Höll had no such issues in Andorra. The 22-year-old Austrian won her third consecutive UCI world title, putting disappointing results at Les Gets, Haute-Savoie and Val di Sole, Trentino – she came fifth both times – behind her to beat a resurgent Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) by more than half-a-second.
Tahnée Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV FMD) is the only rider with a realistic chance of preventing Höll from taking another overall title, so neutrals will be hoping the Brit can finish above the Austrian this weekend and take the contest to a Mont-Sainte-Anne decider at the start of October, in Canada.
Both Bruni and Höll will have fond memories of Loudenvielle - Peyragudes though, where they came away victorious last year.
RUDE’S TO LOSE, WHILE COURDURIER VS HARNDEN WILL GO TO THE WIRE
There are still 500 points up for grabs in the men’s and women’s UCI Enduro World Cup overall titles, meaning both are mathematically still to be decided. But it would require an almighty upset to not go to the current series leader in the men’s competition.
Indeed, it’s Richie Rude’s (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) to lose, with the American holding a 342-point lead over his closest competitor and team-mate Slawomir Lukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team). The 2023 UCI Enduro World Cup overall winner only needs to finish 18th to build an unassailable lead and retain his title, and few would bet against him achieving it as third place is the 29-year-old’s worst finish all season.
The women’s Enduro competition meanwhile is all to play for. Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) and Harriet Harnden (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) are separated by just 63 points, so expect the overall title to be decided by whoever comes out on top in Loudenvielle - Peyragudes. And given how close their riding has been all year, it could even come down to the final stage.
GILCHRIST VS. BORGES FOR E-ENDURO CROWN, WHILE HERREROS CAN SAVOUR HER VICTORY LAP
Fabian Barel’s retirement ahead of the 2024 season might have left E-enduro fans wondering who would step up to fill the legendary Frenchman’s void, but Ryan Gilchrist (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Manuel Soares José Borges (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Enduro Team) have injected some much-needed competition into proceedings.
The 22-year-old Australian has the edge on his Portuguese rival for a first overall series title, but the latter has arguably had better consistency by finishing inside the top eight all season. Ultimately, Borges will need to get the better of Gilchrist and do something he hasn’t managed yet this year – take the win – to give himself the best shot.
The women’s UCI E-enduro World Cup was tied up weeks ago at the Aletsch Arena - Bellwald, Valais, as Florencia Espiñeira Herreros (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) claimed her second consecutive UCI E-enduro World Cup overall title. But don’t expect the Chilean to take her foot off the gas in France, as she aims to take her fifth win of the season. It’s not a foregone conclusion for her though, with Tracy Moseley and the only woman to beat her all season, Estelle Charles (Specialized Enduro Team), down to start.
Racing gets underway in Loudenvielle - Peyragudes on Friday with the UCI Enduro World Cup – full schedule and events details are available here.
