The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series celebrated its Polish debut with the opening race of the UCI World Cup in Bielsko-Biała this weekend. The Enduro race in the Beskids kicked off the event, in which the athletes had to master five technical, winding stages with a route length of 36.5 km and an elevation gain of 2074 meters. Unlike the race in the Finale Outdoor Region last weekend, it was a new experience for most of the riders as they had to adapt quickly to the constantly changing course and learn fast.

Stage 1: Kamieniołom

The race kicked off with Kamieniołom, a 2 km bike park stage with one black and two red trails and a 275 m long passage on technical, rocky ground. The local crowd was there in full force and experienced the pros on their home trails for the first time.

In the women's race, Cannondale's Ella Conolly was the first to take the initiative. With a time of 4:42 minutes, the Brit took the lead of the field early on. Things could have turned out very differently had Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) not crashed. However, the reigning overall winner was able to recover and limit her deficit to just 2.8 seconds. Last week's UCI Enduro World Cup winner, Harriet Harnden (Trek Factory Racing Gravity), showed that her result in the final was no fluke, finishing third, 4.2 seconds behind Conolly.

Only one second separated the top four finishers in the men's race, with Richie Rude (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team), who is in good form after his win last weekend, coming out on top. Jack Moir (YT Mob) was just 0.134 seconds behind the American - the Australian has fully recovered from the injury that put him out of action in the final. However, the biggest cheers on the stage went to Slawomir Lukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team), who was cheered on by the home crowd to improve on his fifth place from last time.

Early crashes on the first stage included Dimitri Tordo (Commencal Enduro Project), who was left battered and bruised in 42nd place, and Martin Maes (Orbea Fox Factory), who had to abandon after failing to repair a puncture he suffered at the end of the stage.

Stage 2: Dziabar

At the halfway point of the race, the first raindrops began to fall, which would play a decisive role in the rest of the race. By the time the riders reached the second and longest stage of the day, a 3.7km course with 524 meters of climbing, the rain was pouring down and Noga Korem, Harnden, Courdurier and Morganne Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) all crashed. It was a case of damage limitation, and Chloe Taylor managed this best. A time of 7:41 was enough to take her from eighth to first place. Estelle Charles (Specialized Enduro Team) finished the stage in second place, more than 12 seconds behind the Brit, while Courdurier showed her masterful endurance to salvage third place.

The treacherous conditions continued on the men's stage, but the race remained just as close. Charles Murray (Specialized Enduro Team) won the stage and overtook Richie Rude, who had a 0.4 second lead over the American on the first stage.

Stage 3: Debowiec

The crashes continued as the riders rolled into Debowiec, a 2.5km stage with 336 meters of climbing, and early leader Conolly, Christian Textor (YT Mob) and Jack Menzies (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Enduro Team) all suffered crashes as the persistent rain shifted the terrain beneath their tires.

Harnden hung on to take her first stage win of the day, but it was only enough to push last week's UCI World Cup winner into second place. Courdurier moved to the front of the field and was three hundredths of a second faster overall, while Taylor found herself in third place, 0.94 seconds behind.

After a disappointing second stage (where he rode the eighth fastest time), Lukasik used his local knowledge on stage three and rode the fastest time (4:50) to push Moir and Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Enduro Team) into third place. Ahead of him were Rude and Murray, but the Polish rider looked calm and focused in the chaotic conditions.

Stage 4: Cygan

Although the long liaison stage was significantly shorter than the entire race last weekend, it gave the riders a chance to refocus and take stock between Debowiec and Cygan. However, they need to be well set at the start. The flowing, twisty 2.5km stage, peppered with roots and other natural obstacles, would become even more difficult after the rain and would depend on line choice.

Harnden showed she could handle these conditions and took her second stage win in a row, going into the final stage with a 2.2-second lead over Courdurier. The Frenchwoman was the only elite rider to take a particularly high line on the stage, but it wasn't enough to overtake the 23-year-old Brit. Taylor held on to third place, 3.6 seconds behind, while the trio built up a big gap to the rest of the field.

It was the same story in the men's race: Lukasik won a stage for the second time in a row, but it was Murray who was still in the lead. The New Zealander saved himself from water damage with a strong performance and finished the stage with a lead of 2.7 seconds.

Stage 5: DH+

As if the tension wasn't already high enough, a red flag meant the riders had to wait before they could start the final stage, DH+, a steep, rocky and rough course with 283 meters of climbing in just 1.8 km. Unlike last week, when Harnden had enough of a lead to take it easy on the final stage, the gloves came off in Bielsko-Biała and the riders threw caution to the wind. It was Courdurier who took the win. The experienced rider showed why she had won four of last season's seven UCI Enduro World Cups and improved on her second place from the final. It wasn't enough for Harnden, who lost more than two seconds to Courdurier on the stage and finished just 0.236 seconds behind, while Taylor was third, Charles fourth and Conolly fifth.

After the race, Isabeau Courdurier said, "It's pretty crazy because it's redemption for this morning where I was struggling so much and couldn't ride the way I wanted to. It was a real surprise because I didn't look at the time and thought I was already pretty far away. It's so close at the end, it's basically like finishing the race in the exact same place after riding through so many slippery roots, technical passages and flat sections. I have no idea how we managed that. I'm super happy about it."

The men's race was even tighter and it broke the heart of Slawomir, who won his third stage in a row but missed out on his first UCI Enduro World Cup win by 0.095 seconds. Murray was the man who broke the hearts of the locals. He maintained the position he had held since stage two and his fourth place on the final stage was just enough to win his first UCI Enduro World Cup. Last year's overall winner Rude rode the second fastest time on the stage to finish third overall, while Moir (4th) and Melamed (5th) completed the podium.

After the race, Charles Murray said: "The most important thing was to keep the bike going. I had to pedal where I could but also be smart because there were so many slippery roots out there. Last week I was a bit surprised because you never know what your form is going to be like at the start of the season and then to get the win is too good to be true."

Women's results

Men's results

ucimtbworldseries.com