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I heard a rumour that they were considering protection for the World champ and World Cup overall winner for the next season. Anyone else heard this? Thoughts?
We don't need more rules to confuse new viewers. Every single rider is given the exact same opportunity right now to make it into finals. It's fair without adding protection back in.
You just have to be lazy
Do you know what "citizenship" is?
2 protected riders seems a bit silly.
I think the qualifications for protection should be either wc overall, or a race win in the last two years for elites. Protected riders should also be addition to the 30/15 spots. Film them so you can put together a highlight run for any winners but they don’t need to be on the broadcast. No protection in juniors.
I think that winning the overall is pretty underrated in DH. Other events you would get to run the #1 plate for a season , plus real prize money and a cool trophy so this would be a nice a carrot. It's doubtful that it would ever get used, so I don't know if the "too many rules" would be a factor.
It's an interesting idea.
Nope please explain in very long detailed post so I will never be confused again .
The track is illegal to ride, even though it’s on state land. Special use permit.
Oh. Do you think so doctor?
John Lawlor's epic documentary on the unstoppable rise of Irish downhill is now released and free to watch on Red Bull TV. Grab yourself a beverage and dive in: https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/emerald-storm-history-irish-downhill-mountain-biking
Registration for the US Open is now, uh, open
Registration Open for the US OPEN!
https://www.bikereg.com/fox-us-open-of-mountain-biking
With Round 5 of the Pro Downhill Series quickly approaching we'd like to share a few important reminders and athlete information.
Athlete Registration Info:
There is no onsite registration
Early Bird Registration discounts end on Saturday September 6, 2025 at midnight EST.
All athlete registration ends Sunday September 21, 2025 at midnight EST or when registration category caps are reached.
PDS ATHLETE INFO CAHNNEL:
We have launched a Pro Downhill Series Athlete Channel on Whatsapp for athlete updates and information. This channel is open to public and open to athletes, race staff, and family.
CLICK HERE to join the Pro Downhill Series Athlete Channel
Event Schedule Overview:
Wednesday 9/24
Groups A & B Downhill Track Walk
Thursday 9/25
Downhill Track Walk ( All Athletes)
Downhill Practice- Groups A & B only
Dual Slalom practice & qualifying- Group A
Friday 9/26
Downhill Practice
Downhill Practice and Seeding/Qualifying- Group A
Dual Slalom practice, qualifying and finals
Saturday 9/27
Groups ( B ) & ( C ) Downhill Practice and Seeding/Qualifying
Group ( A ) Downhill Finals
Sunday 9/28
Downhill Race Groups ( B ) & ( C )
Next Gen Downhill Race
Adaptive Downhill Race
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED SCHEDULE
Thank you!
US Open Race Staff
Early Reg Discount Ends: September 6, 2025
If anyone's interested, here's a link for the local weather at Killington Bike Park.
https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Killington-Bike-Park/forecasts/…
Apparently there's a mtb world cup race this weekend - EDR Morillion namely - and this site doesn't even bother to at least post results (day 1 results to be exact), but more shocking are the entry numbers: about 120 elite men, 30 women, 23 male junior and 4 female juniors.
Whoever said Enduro racing was alive and well ... is wrong.
Oh, and there were 10 starters in E-EDR...
This is very sad indeed.....
From one of the editors of the other site... This year we have seen increased interest in DH/XC coverage, while enduro is currently down by 43% this year after a drop of 23% in 2024 and 37% in 2023.
Still on goat skull, or a new K1 track?
interesting. Only person I saw saying something like that was this guy:
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mi-bike (10 hours ago)
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I'm not sure that mi-bike - a 53 year-old male from Australia with 7 followers and 0 Trailforks points (whatever those are) - is an employee of PB who would have access to official numbers.
Is that a reference to something more official that I've missed?
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/pinkbike-primer-everything-you-need-to-kn…
We usually get the race reports sent out to us after day 1, but our inboxes remained empty for this one. You're right though, we should have posted something about it regardless. We'll fix that right now!
Morillon EDR World Cup Race Report - Day One:
Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) is in the perfect position to win the final round of the men’s Elite UCI Enduro (EDR) World Cup after day one in Morillon, Haute-Savoie (France) and clinch second overall in the standings, while Simona Kuchynková (CUBE Action Team) and Elly Hoskin are the women Elite celebrating at the halfway stage in the finale.
BRACE OF STAGE WINS PUTS MELAMED IN THE DRIVING SEAT
After a couple of gloomy training days, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series returned from its six-week hiatus to glorious sunshine in the French Alps, and Melamed was the shining star of the show on the trails.
With overall winner Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/FOX Factory Race Team) present in Morillon, Haute-Savoie (unlike women’s champion Ella Connolly) Melamed showed the Pole won’t have things all his own way at the UCI Enduro World Championships event next weekend by winning the opening two stages and leading by five seconds at the end of day one.
In a straight winner-takes-all shootout with Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity) for second place in the overall standings, Melamed was over 20 seconds ahead of his rival by the finish line on stage four with the Kiwi only finishing inside the top eight on one stage.
Gregory Callaghan and Tommaso Calonaci were surprise victors on Dre dans l’pentu and Paddock Express respectively to round out a Saturday that leaves Alex Rudeau as Melamed’s closest challenger.
HOSKIN RULES THE ROOST ON RIVETING SATURDAY
Hoskin announced herself to the pro ranks by cutting through mud and slush to take her maiden UCI Enduro World Cup victory in Bielsko-Biała (Poland) earlier this season and though the conditions couldn’t have been more different in France, the Canadian surged back to the front of the pack.
Third on a tight opening stage, Hoskin laid down her marker at the next opportunity on La Char by conquering an unpredictable and slick clay surface as only Raphaela Richter could get within 10 seconds, and the 20-year-old backed that up with second win of the day on stage three.
That was much closer as only a second separated Hoskin and revelation Delia Da Mocogno (YT Racing Development) who’s yet to finish on an Elite UCI Enduro World Cup round podium but will start Sunday in second after winning stage four.
Kuchynkova described her day as “3.6, not great not terrible” but she arrived in France knowing only a Chernobyl-scale meltdown could prevent the 2024 U21 World Cup winner from taking second place overall in her first season of Elite racing. The Slovakian ended the day in fourth, nine seconds ahead of her only overall rival Nadine Ellecosta (Abetone Ancillotti Vittoria Factory Team).
SURPRISE PACKAGES SHINE IN UNPREDICTABLE JUNIORS
Like in the women’s Elite competition, with the men’s junior title being wrapped up ahead of the finale, new faces pushed themselves to the fore as Hugo Marti Montessinos led the rest of the field - including champion Melvin Almueis by almost six seconds - at the close of play.
Cooper Millwood also starred with two stage wins but started off very slowly so has over nine seconds to make up.
And Elise Porta (Lapierre Gravity Collective) was the junior woman to beat, finishing the day a giant two minutes ahead of Chloe Bear (Yeti/FOX Factory Race Team) on debut in the competition.
That capped a successful return to WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series racing that also saw 192 riders enter the Open EDR and Open E-EDR competitions that took on four stages ridden by the pros.
Tristan Borel took a nailbiting 0.3-second victory in the men’s Open Enduro category while Sarah Chamaillard was the women’s champion and Ludovic Erima and Alejandra López Sánchez triumphed in the Masters. Meanwhile Maks Struna was the man to beat in a very competitive junior field and Paul Renaudin and Christine Soprano celebrated electrified wins.
The action resumes on Sunday with the Elite and Junior riders taking on five more stages that offer a more grueling challenge and feature some tough uphill slogs, compared to the fast-paced races to the bottom of day one.
Morillon EDR World Cup Day 1 video highlights package:
There's LIVE urban DH racing today (Aug 24) in Genoa, Italy as well! Tune in with Rob Warner and Wyn Masters on the mic for Red Bull Cerro Abajo at 16h15 CET / 7h15 PST:
Report from the second and final day of EDR World Cup racing in Morillon, France:
RUDEAU PULLS OFF COMEBACK WIN WHILE HOSKINS SURVIVES SCARE TO TRIUMPH IN UCI ENDURO WORLD CUP FINALE
24th August 2025 – Alex Rudeau came from behind to win the men’s Elite race at the final UCI Enduro (EDR) World Cup round of the 2025 season while Elly Hoskin underlined her superiority at the Morillon, Haute-Savoie (France) with a crushing 23-second women’s Elite triumph.
Rudeau was five seconds behind after a gravity-intense Saturday that contrasted with the lung-busting nature of day two that featured several tough ascents against the clock, notably on stages five and seven, but it didn’t take long for Rudeau to overhaul the Canadian and despite Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory) taking the penultimate stage, Rudeau held on.
However, Melamed also had cause to celebrate at the finish line as he clinched second overall in the UCI Enduro World Cup ahead of Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity) while Simona Kuchynková (CUBE Action Team)’s third place in the round confirmed her status as women’s Elite runner-up.
Hoskin’s procession to victory in France was ultimately more comfortable despite an early scare, she entered day two with a 13-second advantage and almost doubled it by the finish while Elise Porta (Lapierre Gravity Collective) and Melvin Almueis were triumphant in the juniors.
INEVITABLE RUDEAU OUTDUELS MELAMED
Rudeau immediately hit back against Melamed on the breathless stage five, wiping out his overnight lead before Murray piled further pressure on the Canadian with a daring stage win, proving he’d put a disappointing Saturday well behind him.
And things got even worse for Melamed on stage seven which featured a surprise top five led by Elliot Jamieson while Rudeau put five more seconds into his rival, meaning he led by seven overall.
The penultimate stage was the longest of the weekend with the most potential to separate the pack, and it was there that Melamed finally responded, wiping out Rudeau’s gains from the previous run and firing himself back into contention for the Morillon win while ensuring Murray remained out of the picture.
But Rudeau had saved his best for last and on the same trail that closed day one, he won by a second to clinch his first win of the season at the final opportunity. Afterwards, he said: “Feeling good, it’s my 22nd victory and the last one was in 2023 in France also, so I think the vibe in France is good for me. I really like this kind of format, two days of racing.”
Meanwhile Melamed acknowledged mountain biking 101 of “If I didn’t hit so many trees, I would’ve maybe won the race”though added he was ‘super happy’ to accomplish “my main goal was to stay on the podium.”
Downbeat Murray said: “I’m stoked to be on the overall podium but it’s a little bit tough because I was in second, I had a turbulent weekend - some really good riding and stages, then some crashes and mistakes. It’s mentally pretty hard because I’ve given everything this season and third overall is still an incredible result but I was third last year, so my goal was to be second or first and we’re going to have to come back and try again.”
Overall winner Sławomir Łukasik (Yeti/FOX Factory Team) arrived in France with one eye on next weekend’s UCI World Championships and he rode like it, finishing over two minutes back in 24th and then admitting he was “riding for fun” ahead of attempting to complete a prestigious double in Aletsch Arena/Bellwald, Valais (Switzerland).
UCI ENDURO WORLD CUP - MEN ELITE STANDINGS
HOSKIN WINS RICHTER STARE-OFF
After Hoskin was the undoubted story of the women’s Elite race on Saturday, Raphaela Richter countered straight away on day two by scorching to stage five victory, five seconds ahead of Hoskin and Kuchynková.
Hoskin’s slide continued on stages six and seven when she first hemorrhaged four seconds to the Slovakian, then Richter’s win at Morillon Village cut the Canadian’s overall advantage to just a second.
However, she produced a fine return on stage eight, finishing over 16 seconds ahead of Kuchynková and Richter meaning she could coast in third on the last run of the day and celebrate her second win of the season after Bielsko-Biała (Poland).
“I’m just really happy, it was a long, long week and I’m really glad I got to back up that first win at the last stop, I was itching for that,” Hoskin said. “My mum was texting me all day, telling me via emojis how good I was doing. Rafa [Richter] was really on my ass for a bit and then I had a good stage eight and just had to keep it together on the last one.”
Nadine Ellecosta’s late charge for Abetone Ancillotti Vittoria Factory Team wasn’t enough to challenge Kuchynková for second place overall, with champion Ella Conolly electing to sit out the round ahead of the UCI World Championships.
Kuchynková said afterwards: “It’s so crazy, my first Elite season, I’m just a rookie and I’m already second place and World Championships are next so all eyes on there.”
UCI ENDURO WORLD CUP - WOMEN ELITE STANDINGS
ONLY ONE FAIRYTALE ENDING IN JUNIORS AS PORTA SPOILS ADAMS PARTY
Porta completed her superior victory in the women’s junior race, continuing her dominance by winning every stage apart from Morillon Village following her Saturday sweep, and she crossed the line on the final run of the day holding a victory margin of over three and a half minutes.
Chloe Bear (Yeti/FOX Factory Race Team) was the only rider to break the streak, winning stage seven by five seconds en route to finishing second in the round and third overall behind Lucile Metge, who wasn’t at the day two roll-out, and Kuchynková’s successor as women’s junior champion Lacey Adams (Yeti/FOX Factory Race Team) who had an off weekend in France.
“The first day was super cool, I’m super happy to have two minutes in front of the other girls and I just tried to keep my advantage and stay on my bike, riding with flow,” Porta said.
UCI ENDURO WORLD CUP - WOMEN JUNIOR STANDINGS
Adams was crowned overall winner before the summer break and though her victory lap wasn’t as flawless as she’d have liked, she still looked back on the weekend and the year with pride: “Big two days of racing, I really enjoyed them. I spent more time on the ground than I should’ve, a bit of a slow race for me but I’m stoked to take the overall.”
Things went more smoothly for men’s junior overall champion Almueis after a difficult day one. Starting Sunday six seconds behind compatriot Hugo Marti Montessinos, Almueis immediately annihilated that gap with a daring Sairon Trail run that put him in the driving seat for the rest of the event.
Though Marti closed the gap slightly with victory on stage seven, Almueis responded in style by putting eight seconds into the rest of the pack on the penultimate stage and holding firm on Paddock Express, which was won by Gabriel Santhuile.
“Really good weekend for me, the first day was pretty hard with a slippery stage and I wasn’t confident on my bike, but second day I succeeded and I’m really happy to win the last of the season” Almueis said.
UCI ENDURO WORLD CUP - MEN JUNIOR STANDINGS
The weekend also marked the final Open EDR and Open E-EDR events of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series season, as 192 riders took on four stages ridden by the pros.
The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series stays in the Haute-Savoie region of France for seven more days but relocates five miles north to Les Gets for the return of the Cross-country Short Track, Cross-country Olympic and Downhill competitions with all six Elite titles still up for grabs.
Cool. Thanks for finding that!
I don't spend a ton of time digging around the comments so it makes sense I'd have missed it.
That definitely surprises me, though. It seems like people are swinging back to being more interested in Enduro...but apparently not!
Wyn did such a good job and finally a win for Pivot Factory Racing this year
It's interesting to note from This video how many people are on 'Older' bikes, such as several Giga's(which isnt even production) and even Trek slash gen 5's.
Day 2 highlights package from the Morillon EDR World Cup:
It’s just not as exciting as it ought to be. Maybe throw in a mass start event or a Crashed Ice head-to-head thing for some carnage? 70kph down alleyways shoold be sicker. More jumps? I dunno. Great to see Red Bull TV sticking to their Insecure About Baldness Dudes Shall Wear Hats Policy though, that always makes me smile.
Vital RAW - Downhill Rockies Keystone
While not my favorite street course for tv viewing by a long shot it’s still a super sick event. Loads of spectators on a track that’s gotta be pretty dang terrifying to see in person or do yourself. Dudes were hauling!!!’
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