The entire event will be an MTB extravaganza, and if you’re planning on becoming a part of this celebration of the sport, you should plan it more thoroughly. After all, Valais is not a small canton and getting from venue to venue requires some careful planning.
So, let’s discuss fan strategy. Where to sleep, what to eat, what to visit, and how to behave near the tracks. This is your 2025 UCI MTB World Championship’s fans’ guide.
Know your venues
Eight venues in one championship means eight different reasons to show up early, pick your spot, and soak it all in. Each has its own style, terrain, and atmosphere, so chasing the races across Valais is like flicking through the best parts of an MTB bucket list.
Start with Sion (30-31 August)
The heart of the canton kicks things off with the Castle Ride BCVS, an urban downhill weaving past Tourbillon Castle and through the old town. It’s fast, tight, and right in the middle of a street festival. This is where you’ll find the music, the food stalls, and the “Ride to the Champs” Guinness World Record attempt (which will take place on September 6-7). Bring walking shoes and a camera.
So, if you’re there for the race, there’s a great rock right before the switchback at the fortrace gates. There, you can see the most technical section, grab some astounding images when the riders fly off the main gate, and enjoy the scenery altogether.
Still, it won’t be easy to get off there once the race starts, so you have to choose whether to enjoy the race or immerse in the atmosphere in the city below.
Aletsch Arena / Bellwald – Enduro & E-Enduro
High alpine riding with big views and even bigger descents. Expect altitude legs here—Peter van den Abeele, UCI Director of Sports, warns that “destinations like Verbier, Zermatt, and Aletsch bring significant altitude changes” and the weather can switch without notice. Spectators should plan their route in advance; some stages might require a cable car ride and a short hike.
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Monthey – pump track
A compact, high-energy format perfect for fans who want constant action without chasing riders across a mountain. Stand trackside and you’ll see elite pros and young talent back-to-back. Easy access from the town makes it one of the most family-friendly stops.
Verbier to Grimentz – Cross-Country Marathon
This is the Grand Raid BCVS, a point-to-point odyssey through the Alps. You can’t see it all unless you ride it yourself, but following along at key checkpoints is worth the effort. van den Abeele called it “a breathtaking journey through some of the most iconic landscapes in the Alps.” Translation: take a spare battery for your phone. You’ll be taking a lot of photos.
Champéry – Downhill
A steep, technical, and historic track that has challenged the world’s best riders for decades. “The downhill in Champéry is one of the most famous tracks in the world,” Peter van den Abeele said. Watching riders navigate its roots and drops at full speed will give you a whole new respect for bike handling.
Zermatt – Cross-Country Short Track
The Matterhorn backdrop will be all over Instagram, but the race itself will be just as photogenic. Short, explosive laps mean you’ll see the leaders fly past multiple times. Bring layers—the weather up here can turn in minutes.
Crans-Montana – Cross-Country Olympic
The final days of racing will be staged in Crans-Montana, with the Cross-Country Olympic events for Elite, U23, Juniors, and the team relay. Large crowds are expected, so plan to arrive early if you want a good viewing spot. Also, make sure you book your stay in advance. There are not a lot of places to sleep there, so if you want a budget-friendly option, you might already be late.
Getting around
Covering eight venues in two weeks sounds easy until you remember that these aren’t city blocks. They’re valleys, passes, and alpine plateaus. You’ll see more cable cars than traffic lights, and while the Swiss transport system is famously reliable, you’ll still want a plan.
Peter van den Abeele admitted that “the most complex challenge is the logistics of moving between eight different destinations,” especially when each has its own terrain and access. Fans will face the same reality, but with a little planning, you can make it part of the adventure.
Practical tips for chasing the races
Buy a Swiss Half Fare Card – If you’re planning to attend multiple venues, the savings add up fast. It works for trains, buses, and most mountain lifts.
Book your rides in advance – The Swiss will be ready for the influx, but at peak times, trains can fill up. If you don’t have a reservation, you might be left on the platform waiting for the next one.
Check schedules and arrive early – A little patience gets you a better seat, or guarantees you one if you’ve reserved in advance.
Don’t panic over connections – If your train is late and you’re chasing a connection, the Swiss system is designed to hold departures for incoming passengers.
Plan for cable cars – Some venues, like Zermatt and Aletsch, are accessed mainly by lifts. Know the operating times so you don’t get stuck on the wrong side of a mountain after the podium ceremony.
Limit your reliance on buses – Traffic will be redirected in some areas due to the events, and buses may be slower than usual.
Hitchhiking is possible, but not guaranteed – You might get lucky, but don’t count on it as your primary transport option.
If you’re smart about your route and build in time for the scenery, the travel between venues will feel like an extra part of the experience rather than a chore. As Peter van den Abeele put it, “We want fans to connect with the landscape, not just the race.”
Be part of the action
Valais 2025 isn’t a “stand behind the tape and clap when someone passes” kind of event. This is a championship that will hand you a bike, point you at the road, and dare you to get involved.
The clearest invitation comes during the opening weekend in Sion with the “Ride to the Champs.” It’s a mass participation ride aiming to set a Guinness World Record for the longest single-file line of cyclists.. Imagine thousands of riders rolling through the capital of the canton, tyres humming on cobblestones, cowbells echoing between medieval walls, and the line ahead so long you can’t see where it started.
Registration details and route maps are available through the Valais 2025 website, but the essentials are simple. Show up early, bring something with working brakes, and be ready to ride at a steady pace rather than full gas. Somewhere in the middle of it all, you’ll realise you’re part of a Guinness World Record attempt. And when that happens, you’ll forget whether you came to watch or to ride.
The rest of the fortnight offers other chances to swap spectating for saddle time. Local clubs will lead group rides into the mountains. Demo zones will let you try the latest gear. Monthey’s pump track will be open to anyone with a bike and the nerve to use it between heats. In Verbier and Zermatt, you might find yourself riding in a sunset train of strangers who feel like teammates by the time you reach the end.
Make time for at least one of these. You’ll leave with more than race-day memories. You’ll leave with your own tyre tracks in the same mountains as the world’s best.
Eat, drink, repeat
Eating in Switzerland can hit your wallet harder than a poorly judged gap jump. Restaurants in Valais are excellent, but they’re priced like the Alps themselves are part of the bill. A sit-down dinner for two will sail past 60 CHF before drinks, and that’s if you keep it modest.
Start by never skipping your hotel breakfast. Treat it like the feed zone at a marathon — you don’t know when the next affordable bite is coming. For lunch and everyday meals, aim for the Coop Restaurant or Migros Restaurant. These self-service buffet setups are a gift to travelling fans, offering solid hot meals for around 25–35 CHF without drinks. You grab a tray, pick your portions, and eat like a local without feeling like you’ve just sponsored the Swiss national team.
Then there’s the festival food, which is almost always excellent. The raclette is the headliner here. It’s molten cheese scraped onto potatoes or bread, served until you can’t eat another bite. The smell is… committed. Think of your grandfather’s wet feet after a day in leather hiking boots. But the taste? Like angel’s wings drifting straight onto your tongue. Once you try it, you’ll forgive the aroma instantly.
Make the most of the culture
And while we’re talking about raclettes, you should definitely immerse yourself in the local culture. Switzerland isn’t just postcard views and precision clocks. In Valais, the mountains aren’t a backdrop. They’re part of daily life. People here hike, ski, and ride with the same ease as others check the weather. The connection to nature runs deep, and it shows in everything from the food to the festivals.
Sion’s opening weekend is where this really comes alive. As Peter van den Abeele put it, “The opening weekend in Sion is definitely a highlight, not just because it marks the start of the event but also because it celebrates everything that makes Valais special: its culture, people, and passion for cycling. There’ll be music, local food, and a real festive atmosphere in the heart of the canton.” That means live bands in the streets, market stalls selling cheese and cured meats you’ve never heard of, and enough local wine to make you forget you’re at altitude.
If you’re from the flatter European countries, don’t throw yourself too hard on the local wines (though you will be tempted to). The next day, you will have to climb high in the mountains, and while at 2500m altitude sickness is usually an afterthought, if you’re hungover, you will understand how people feel on the Matterhorn after a speed climb.
If you’ve got time between races, wander through Sion’s old town and up to Tourbillon Castle for a view across the valley. Stop by a mountain market for apricot jam or dried sausage. And if you hear the sound of an alphorn somewhere in the crowd, follow it. It’s worth seeing how such music can come out of something that looks like a three-metre-long drainpipe.
Fan etiquette 101
Mountain biking is best enjoyed up close, but being a good fan is part of keeping it that way. The riders are here to race, not dodge stray elbows, camera tripods, or overenthusiastic cowbell swings.
First rule: respect the tape. It’s there for a reason. Lean over it for a photo, and you’re not just risking your camera, you’re risking the race. If you want a better shot, find a safe angle. There’s always another corner.
Second: cheer smart. Shouting encouragement is great, but timing matters. Save it for when the rider can actually hear you, not when they’re focusing on threading a line through roots at 40 km/h.
Third: don’t block other spectators. Everyone wants a good view. If you’ve staked out the perfect spot early, fair enough. Just don’t sprawl across it like it’s your living room couch.
And finally, remember you’re part of the scenery too. The World Championships are as much about the atmosphere as they are about the racing. Smile, ring your cowbell, share a beer with the stranger next to you, and keep the mood light. Valais will give you some of the best racing in the world — give it your best fandom in return.
Eight venues. Two weeks. One chance to be there.
The 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Valais isn’t just another date on the race calendar. It’s eight world-class venues, thousands of vertical metres, and two weeks where the Swiss Alps turn into the biggest MTB playground on the planet. Whether you’re chasing every event or just dropping in for a few days, you’ll get racing that pushes the limits, landscapes that feel unreal, and a culture that makes you want to stay long after the podiums are packed away.
Peter van den Abeele and his team have built something that’s as ambitious as any line on the trail — the kind you commit to without hesitation and remember for the rest of your life. All that’s left is for the riders to bring the speed, the fans to bring the noise, and you to bring yourself.
So pack the cowbell, charge the camera, and make your way to Valais. The mountains are ready. The races are set. All that’s missing is you on the sidelines.
