It’s a brand new location for the World Cup, at Bielsko-Biała in Poland, and the track is just waiting to be cut up into ruts... which should make for some great racing
Well that was quick, the dust at Fort William has barely settled after the first round and already we’re onto the next DH World Cup, this time at a new venue in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. So let’s cut straight to the chase, here’s when the action takes place…
Laurie Greenland finished in 32nd place at Fort William, well under parr for his talents… could Poland prove to be his comeback race?
Qualis and semi finals all take place on Saturday the 18th May. If you’re watching from the UK the times are as follows…
- 11.00 Qualification Women Elite
- 11.30 Qualification Men Elite
- 13.00 Qualification Women Junior
- 13.15 Qualification Men Junior
- 14.00 Semi Finals Women Elite
- 14.30 Semi Finals Men Elite
Loic Bruni doesn’t wear Numer 1 for nothing, the overall winner from 2023 won the first round at Fort William
That means if you’re watching from the US and you live on the west coast you’re in for an early 3am start (+8 hours), from the east coast it’s a 6am start (+5 hours), Mountain time is 4am (+7 hours), and Central Time is 5am (+6 hours).
Race day for everyone is Sunday, May 19, and the start times for UK viewers are…
- 10.30 – Finals Women Junior
- 11.00 – Finals Men Junior
- 12.15 – Finals Women Elite
- 13.00 – Finals Men Elite
US viewer have an even earlier start than Saturday then, Pacific time is 2.30, Mountain Time 3.30, Central Time 4.30 and Eastern Time 5.30. Realistically, early risers might just catch the men’s final then!
Away from the jumps and woodwork, the new track has some loamy sections under the trees
The course
Gotta be honest, we don’t know very much about this one! That’s because the course is totally new, having been built from scratch precisely for this race. There’s an official video first look of the track now, and it’ packed with gaps, wooden features, berms and loose sections through the woods which are pretty much guaranteed to be cut into ruts and turn spicy. The video doesn’t do the place justice, instead you’re best off watching Bernard Kerr’s track walk…
Where to watch
You’ve got two options in the UK, the racing will be live on Eurosport TV channels as well as the Eurosport and Discovery+ apps. The entirely of the junior racing and Elite semi finals from Fort William was supposed to have been available for free, live on YouTube as well as the UCI Mountain Bike World Series website, but it simply wasn’t. Why… we don’t know, but all we can say is it’s supposed to be shown this time around in Poland. Fingers crossed.
You’ll need to pay for the Elite finals on Sunday though, with various broadcasters showing the action depending on where you live. In the UK you’ll need a subscription to either Discovery+ or Eurosport. If you go down the Discovery+ route you’ll need the Standard Plan, which is £6.99 a month – you can join for just one month but you’ll need to immediately cancel the subscription to avoid paying for a second.
In the US you’ll need to sign up to Max, the cheapest plan is to pay $9.99 for the month. If you’re travelling abroad thoug
If you’re travelling and not in your home country there’s another option too, Staylive has a monthly subscription of just $5.99 a month and will give you acces to all the Whoop-sponsored cycling including the DH World Cup. You’ll need a VPN to make this happen though, all you have to do is download and install a VPN and pay the fee, we’ve got full details at the bottom of the page.
Your next winner?
Who will win?
Vali Höll and Loïc Bruni of course. Both riders looked completely dominant at the Fort William round, meaning their confidence will be sky high, and both are great at picking lines, which will be important on a fresh track.
Tahnée Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV FMD), Nina Hoffman (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Camille Balanche (Dorval AM Commecal) look the most likely to knock Höll off her perch, while in the Men’s Elite, Troy Brosnan (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) looks back to his best and Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) goes into the second UCI Downhill World Cup of the season confident that he’s piloting a race-winning bike.
New team, new bike, new venue for Vali Holl, who won in Scotland at Fort William
Watch via VPN
If you’re in a country with geo-blocking, then live streaming the events is still an option – all you have to do is download and install a VPN and use a location such as the UK or USA to watch the broadcast live .
Setting up a VPN is simple – just download, install, open the app and select your location.
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