After a seven-month off-season, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is back for its opening round, with the UCI Downhill World Cup in South Korea for the first time, bringing the format back to Asia after a 25 year absence.
In sunny, dry but windy conditions, riders took to the MONA YongPyong’s downhill track for the venue’s first qualifying runs on the brand new 1.8km course.
All eyes were on last year’s strongest athletes Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity), Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Vali Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) to see if they have been able to retain their race pace over the long break.
HARNDEN SHOWS HER MULTIDISCIPLINE SKILLS
Harriet Harnden (AON Racing) had an up-and-down Downhill debut last year as the 2024 UCI Enduro World Cup overall winner switched her focus to the other Gravity format for the duration of the season.
Undeterred by mixed results, she has continued with her quest for Downhill glory in 2026, and her persistence looks like it’s paying off – the Brit recovering from a slow start to qualify fastest and be the only female rider to break the 3:23 barrier.
The only rider to get within a second of Harnden was Valentina Roa Sánchez (MS-Racing), who recorded her highest ever Elite qualifying place, while Italian Gloria Scarsi (MS-Racing) rounded out the top three.
Reigning overall winner and UCI Downhill World Champion Vali Höll had to settle for sixth on her race weekend debut for new team Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres, but will be confident that she can find another gear in tomorrow’s finals.
Höll’s closest competitor in last year’s overall series, Gracey Hemstreet (Norco x adidas Race Division), was forced to go again in Q2 after a poor start in her first attempt, while Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea FMD Racing) was another established star who struggled initially. Both riders made it through though at a second time of asking.
Other riders who scraped through in Q2 include Phoebe Gale (Orbea FMD Racing), Sacha Earnest (Trek - Unbroken DH) and Lisa Bouladou (Santa Cruz Burgtec by Goodman). Nina Hoffman’s (Santa Cruz Syndicate) weekend meanwhile is over, and the German will have to wait until the end of May before going between the race tape in Loudenville - Peyraguades (France).
VERMETTE ON THE PACE IN FIRST ELITE SHOWING
Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/TRP) has shown that the step up between the Junior ranks and the Elite class might not be a big issue for him, as the 19-year-old blew away the competition with a blistering run on the MONA YongPyong mountainside.
The American started his run in the mix, but he got faster and faster as the track went on, recording the quickest times at intermediate splits three and four to cross the line at 2:47.859 – a qualifying time that no-one could get within a second of.
Amaury Pierron (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) was the closest – the Frenchman getting his season off to a strong start with a 2:49.151. Evan Medcalf (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) meanwhile recovered from a poor first intermediate split to finish third on the hill.
In the battle between last year’s top two – Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) – the Frenchman narrowly had the edge over his main rival, Bruni qualifying sixth to the 2025 UCI Downhill World Champion’s 8th.
Other riders to make it through in Q1 include Loris Vergier (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction), Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity), Andreas Kolb (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and privateer Antoine Rogge.
Elsewhere, last year’s Junior overall winner Max Alran (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) made it through in Q2, as did Aaron Gwin (Frameworks Racing/TRP) and Troy Brosnan (Canyon DH Racing). Some of the big names missing out on finals though include Dakotah Norton (Scott Downhill Factory), Danny Hart (Norco x adidas Race Division) and Oisin O’Callaghan (Trek - Unbroken DH).
Racing gets underway tomorrow (Saturday, May 2) in MONA YongPyong from 11:30 KST with the women’s junior finals. Find out how to watch here.
