The 2025 Mountain Bike World Championships have begun with the opening ceremonies in Sion. From Monday, 119 athletes from Swiss Cycling will be representing Switzerland at the home world championships.

As expected, the National Park Bike Marathon saw a duel between European champion Andreas Seewald and runner-up Hansueli Stauffer in unfortunate weather conditions, which Seewald won on the final climb just before the finish. Record winner Urs Huber reached the finish line in third place. The women's race was surprisingly won by Deborah Inauen from Chur.

The fourth and final race of the Swiss Enduro Series takes place in the Aletsch Arena and Bellwald, one day before the big World Championship race. After three stages, Swiss champion Gusti Wildhaber prevails against Nick Beer and Simon Meister. Local hero Nicolas Walker comes very close to the podium, while Liam Vonderach surprises with fifth place. The elite women's race was won by Italian Sivlia Penso ahead of Alexandra Eckert from Austria. As most of the licensed riders start the following day at the Enduro World Championships, this category was hit hardest by the drop in participants, with only two women taking part.

The international mountain bike elite can look forward to a season with 14 race weekends, major classics and spectacular new additions in 2026. The UCI and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports have presented the calendar for the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Between May and October, the series will take place on three continents and in nine countries. In addition to some classics such as Lenzerheide or Leogang, this also includes the new additions in Pyeongchang/South Korea, Utah/USA and, gravity fans can look forward to this in particular, the Downhill World Cup will make its first guest appearance in Whistler, Canada, where perhaps the most famous bike park in the world is located.