WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Cup – Coming to Lake Placid on September 27-29

By Doug Haney

Whether you watch every live second of the Tour de France, the daily highlights on YouTube, cheered American Olympian Haley Batten to a historic mountain bike silver medal in Paris or watched Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock crush both his mountain and road biking events, one thing is certain. Seeing the best riders in the world compete is freakin’ amazing.

Now get this, it’s waaaaaaaay cooler watching mountain bike racing in person and you can/should make it happen when MOST OF THE OLYMPIC RIDERS, including Haley Batten and Tom Pidcock, head to Lake Placid on Friday-Sunday, September 27-29! This will be for the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Lake Placid races featuring Cross-Country Olympic World Cup, Cross-Country Short Track World Cup, and Cross-Country Marathon 100K World Cup.

UCI’s debut at Mt Van Hoevenberg is one of 15 weekends of racing in a global series that spans 10 countries. It is also the second to last World Cup on the 2024 tour and only stop in the United States. Haley Batten of Park City, Utah, currently sits third in the Cross Country Olympic Women’s Elite Standings. As of mid-August, two other Americans, Riley Amos and Bjorn Riley are the top two in the Cross Country Olympic Men U23 rankings, with fellow member of Team USA Madigan Munro running third in the U23 Women’s standings.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

• Friday, Sept 27 – WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series: Lake Placid. 9am: Gates & Expo Open. 9-10am: Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) Training, Men Only. 10-11am: XCO Training, All Riders. 11am-12pm: XCO Training, Women Only. 12:45-1:45pm: Cross-Country Short Track Training, Under-23 (U23) Only. 2-2:30pm: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) World Cup, Women U23. 2:35-3:05pm: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) World Cup, Men U23. 3:30-4:15pm: XCO Training, All Riders. Mt Van Hoevenberg, Lake Placid. mtvanhoevenberg.com/uci.

  Friday, Sept 27 – BETA (Barkeater Trails Alliance) Community Bike Jam. 4-7:30pm. Bringing the excitement of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series to Main Street, Lake Placid! This free community celebration of bicycling. Krusher Stunt Show, 4:15pm and 6:45pm across from NBT Bank. Witness tricks, stunts flips and spins at unbelievable heights performed by top bike riders. Team Demos, 4-7pm, across from NBT Bank: Engage with UCI teams, competitors, and members. Get an autograph and check out their bikes. Live Music by Spring Street, 5pm at Mid’s Park: Enjoy a local bank featuring a mix of old and new rock, blues, and vocal harmonies – a must-see when visiting the Adirondacks. . in Mid's Park. A local band featuring a unique mix of old and new rock, blues, and vocal harmonies. Biking and walking to the event are encouraged; there will be bike racks. Main Street, Lake Placid. lakeplacid.com.

  Saturday, Sept 28 – WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series: Lake Placid. 6:30am: Gates Open. 8:15am: RACE: Cross-Country Open (XCM) Marathon for Amateur Riders (see below). 8:30-10am: Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) Training, All Riders. 9:00am: Expo Opens. 10:15-11:15am: Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) Training, Elite Riders Only. 11:30am: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) World Cup, Women Elite. 12:05pm: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) World Cup, Men Elite. 1:30-2:15pm: Cross-Country Olympic (XCO): Training, All Riders. 2:30pm: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) World Cup, Women U23. 4pm: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) World Cup, Men U23. Mt Van Hoevenberg, Lake Placid. mtvanhoevenberg.com/uci.

  Saturday, Sept 28 – WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series: Lake Placid Open Marathon 50K Amateur Race. 8:15am. Complete two laps of a 25K course that winds through the cross-country ski trails and singletrack of the Mt Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex finishing adjacent to the professional finish. The course includes 500 meters of pavement, 2K of gravel, 2K open field, 4K singletrack, 16K on XC ski trails, with nearly 600 meters of climbing per lap. All racers and spectators are required to have a Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series admission ticket to enter the venue on Friday through Sunday. Mt Van Hoevenberg, Lake Placid. More Info & Register: bikereg.com.

  Sunday, Sept 29 – WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series: Lake Placid. 6:30am: Gates Open. 7:45am: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Marathon (XCM) World Cup, Women Elite. 8:55am: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Marathon (XCM) World Cup, Men Elite. 9:00am: Expo Opens. 9:15-10:15am: Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) Training, All Riders. 11:30am: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) World Cup, Women Elite. 2pm: RACE: UCI Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) World Cup, Men Elite. Mt Van Hoevenberg, Lake Placid. mtvanhoevenberg.com/uci.

Schedule may be subject to change and see website for specific race times. The awards ceremonies will be immediately following each race.

To sweeten the deal, the weekend includes an Open Marathon 50K Amateur Race on Saturday, September 28. The two 25K lap amateur race is on the same course that the pros will tackle over 100K the next day. The course winds through the iconic Olympic cross-country ski trails featuring staggering elevation changes and technical obstacles, testing rider strength, agility, and focus. Yup, you can race the World Cup marathon course before the pros, and your race entry includes a ticket into the venue for the day or weekend! For details and registration, visit: bikereg.com.

Whether you’re a competitive rider, shred your local network on Sunday funday, or just think riding bikes is fun (which it is), you might want to think seriously about making the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Cup a weekend trip. Here’s why:

In addition to the competition, Lake Placid and the surrounding communities of Wilmington, Saranac Lake, Keene and Elizabethtown are stuffed with 125+ miles of free singletrack built and maintained by Barkeater Trails Alliance. 

Over the past two decades, the member-fueled volunteer organization has expanded its network to include trails for every ability including professional machine-built flow, old school roots and rocks, kids loops, pump tracks, skills parks and more. Whether you like to ride up, down, fly or keep your tires on the tread, there’s something for everyone in the BETA library.

And this doesn’t even count the 10 miles (each way) of fresh and flat vehicle free sections of the new Adirondack Rail Trail. Phase One between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake is now open with Phase Two linking Saranac Lake to Lake Clear inches away from an official ribbon cutting. 

Need another carrot? BETA is hosting a free Community Bike Jam in downtown Lake Placid on Friday, September 27 to kick-off the weekend with a BMX Stunt Show and live music. Billed as a celebration of the local cycling community, the family focused program will celebrate the volunteer efforts of BETA members, showcase local bike shops, and community organizations, and bring the UCI action into the heart of the Olympic village. Best of all, secure bike parking will be provided so you can roll in without stressing to find a parking spot, and valet park your whip. 

All right, now that you’re in, let’s get back to the Mt Van Hoevenberg venue and the badass World Cup course that is being sustainably built to meet UCI race standards by Backslope Trail Building, professional trail builders based in Vermont. 

Here are a few key points on this brand new, never been seen or ridden before course: 

• It’s got everything – Punchy climbs, rocket fast descents, techy trees, air, rocks, logs, banks and berms, whoops and whips, plus lines galore through it all. 

• It’s mega spectator friendly – At most any vantage point, you can see numerous sections of the course as it winds around the core base area at Mt Van Hoevenberg.

• It’s a crazy cool venue – Not only is the course easily accessible, but the new lodge is world class. The factory teams paddock area and public Fan Zone village are all right there, too. It will be an Adirondack-themed festival with live music, food, drinks and more.

Basically, you can see, and do it all, from the race course fence line without having to hoof miles to get to the goods. For example, from one location fans will be able to see seven different course positions, many of which include multiple lines. 

Without giving the entire course away, technical sections will be peppered with rocks and logs sourced from the dirt that’s already there. There’s a very cool glade area that rips downhill bonsai style through the forest. There are a lot of jumps, including a booter into the finish area. One spicy section features a parallel slalom setup where competitors will battle to hop into the banked trough that proves fastest for the pass. 

In the finish stadium, the entire field will blast through a pair of Adirondack Lean-Tos like the Kool-Aid Man, minus the whole breaking through your mom’s wall thing. Put simply, it’s going to be a show. And it’s one you can see, and participate in, without flying to France.

Learn more and score your tickets: mtvanhoevenberg.com/uci. Then hop on booking lodging. It is fall in the Adirondacks after all and leaf peeping will be prime. 

Right now, through September 1st, you can score admission good for all three days for just $55 for ages 13-64 ($45 for Saturday or Sunday) and $35 for juniors ages seven-12 and seniors 65+ ($25 for Saturday or Sunday). Little rippers (six-under) are free. If you’re a season pass holder at Whiteface, Gore, Belleayre or MVH, you save 50% off if you use you 2024-25 season pass to score three-day or one-day tickets.

Doug Haney (doug@bikeadk.com) is the owner/founder of Bike Adirondacks. He lives in Saranac Lake with his wife Kat and their two wonderfully grubby kids, Gwen and Liesl.