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.

COMPETITION SCHEDULE

• Friday, September 27 – UCI Cross-Country Short Track World Cup (XCC) for Women U23 and Men U23.

• Saturday, September 28 – Open Marathon (XCM) for Amateur Riders, UCI Cross-Country Short Track World Cup (XCC) for Women Elite and Men Elite, and UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup (XCO) for Women U23 and Men U23.

• Sunday, September 29 – UCI Cross-Country Marathon 100K World Cup (XCM) season finale for Women Elite and Men Elite, and UCI Cross-Country Olympic World Cup (XCO) for Women Elite and Men Elite.

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.