World Cup 2025: It's time for the double-whammy in Brazil!

UCI Mountainbike World Series Auftakt Araxa 2025

Photo: WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series

The Brazilian venue Araxá will host the first UCI Cross-Country World Cup of the season on April 5 and 6 and also the second on April 11 and 12. The races will be ridden on two different courses. There are no clear favorites yet, only tendencies. No one has really been able to put their cards on the table at the races so far.

After a six-month break, the "Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series" is back in action. The opening venue Araxá, Minas Gerais, is located in the south-east of Brazil, 600 kilometers south of the capital Brasília. Araxá hosted the second World Cup stop a year ago and also celebrated a successful premiere.

Two races, two courses, but different winners?

Araxá offered a fast but challenging course at its World Cup. It demanded good tactics and stamina, but did not allow for any mistakes. Back then, the race offered plenty of excitement right from the start and no attack was a done deal. In the end, it was the Dane Simon Andreassen who prevailed in the sprint against his three rivals in the escape group. The bar is therefore set high for this double event, in both short track and cross country.

Although the venue will be the same for the next two weeks, the results of the first race weekend should not be a foregone conclusion for the second race. For the second World Cup, the course designers will keep the riders on their toes and the spectators happy with a modified cross-country course.

Favorites at the start

The first World Cup round is always something of a lottery with predictions. Although there have already been some high-caliber races in this still young season, nowhere where all the big-name riders have met. The significantly different climatic conditions are also likely to shuffle the maps once again.

Last year's winner Andreassen believes he is at least in good form after his victory in the French race series. Mathias Flückiger already took part in a race last weekend in Araxá to acclimatize and is in an extremely positive mood: "I felt good, although you have to bear in mind that we only arrived in the Brazilian summer two days ago from Switzerland. Now I'm looking forward to finally being able to ride a season of free racing again and just enjoy it." Filippo Colombo, who also sprinted for victory a year ago, also believes he is in very good shape - as does Nino Schurter, with whom Colombo won the Cape Epic. But you can never count the French out: Victor Koretzky and Jordan Sarrou are always dangerous contemporaries when it comes to the top places. And let's not forget Charlie Aldridge. The young Brit is in form, but has not yet fully shown it.

Women's race with prominent absences

All eyes are on Alessandra Keller in the women's race. It's probably not so much the expectations as the excitement of how the 2024 overall World Cup winner will ride in the World Cup opener. Keller had to undergo knee surgery last fall and is taking a relaxed approach to the start in Brazil: "With successful rehab after my cruciate ligament surgery, I already have the first highlight of the season behind me. I'm very happy with the healing process, the reconstruction and the training so far. At the start of the season in Brazil, I will be able to start without any pressure and make an initial assessment of where I stand."

Furthermore, Jenny Rissveds already has experience of podium finishes in Araxá, and Loana Lecomte will try to continue her form from the end of the season. Both Lecomte and Rissveds are riding with BMC and Canyon under new flags this season. And then there's Jolanda Neff. The 2021 Olympic champion scored several victories in recent races - albeit in very nasty conditions that are not quite comparable to the expected conditions in Brazil. But the fact is: the Cannondale rider is in form.

Last year's winner Haley Batten will not be competing in the first two World Cups. Since her crash at the Marathon World Championships last September, the US-American has not competed in a race.

In addition to the usual suspects, there are two other riders to keep an eye on: Riley Amos (USA) and Kira Böhm (GER). The reigning overall winners of the U23 World Cup in Araxá in 2024 each took a double victory in the short track and cross country and are in good form once again. Böhm also won the UCI-HC race last weekend in Araxá against a strong South American field.

Program

World Cup Araxá 2, start time plus 5h CET

11.04.2025

11:15 am: Cross-country Short Track World Cup - Women U23
11:55 am: UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup - Men U23
13:00 pm: UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup - Women
13:40 pm: UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup - Men

12.04.2025

09:00: UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Women U23
10:45: UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Men U23
12:45: UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Women
14:45: UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Men

World Cup on TV

On 05. April, Swiss television SRF will broadcast the short track races between 17:40 and 20:05 on SRF Info. The women's cross-country competitions will also be broadcast there on April 6 from 18:25. The live broadcast of the men's race will start at 20:25 on SRF1.

The following list shows all European TV channels and streams broadcasting the World Cup opener.