With the MTB World Cup kicking off this week in Brazil, the cobblestone classics are over and it's time to talk about mountain biking again. This year, the calendar starts early because a small race called the Olympics will be held in the summer. For mountain bike enthusiasts, the Olympics are a big event. Expect a lot of talk about eligibility and selection, especially around the first few races on the World Cup calendar.
The World Cup has maintained a European-centric list of venues in recent years, but the circuit most recently traveled to Brazil in 2022. The Petropolis round drew an enthusiastic crowd to Enrique Avancini's race in his hometown, but not the elite men's race, which was ultimately won by Nino Schurter. Two years on, this year's contest kicks off in Mairipora before heading north to Arasha next week.
2024 World Cup Calendar
XC races are shown in bold
- April 12-14: Mairipora, Brazil (XCO/XCC)
- April 19-21: Araxa, Brazil (XCO/XCC)
- May 3-5: Fort William, Scotland (DH)
- May 10-12: Finale Outdoor Area, Italy (EDR)
- May 17th-19th: Bielsko-Biała, Poland (DH/EDR)
- May 24-26: Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic (XCO/XCC)
- June 7th-9th: Leogang, Austria (DH/EDR)
- June 14-16: Val di Sole, Italy (DH/XCO/XCC)
- June 21-23: Crans-Montana, Switzerland (XCO/XCC)
- June 25th to July 7th: Haute-Savoie, France (DH/EDR/XCO/XCC)
- July 12-14: Valais, Switzerland (EDR)
- Non-World Cup – July 28-29: Olympic Games XCO, Elancourt Hill, Paris, France
- Non-World Cup – August 28th – September 1st: UCI Mountain Bike World Championship – Pal Arinsal/Valnord, Andorra (DH/XCO/XCC)
- September 6th-8th: Loudanvielle, France (DH/EDR)
- September 27-29: Lake Placid, USA (XCO/XCC)
- October 4th-6th: Mont-Saint-Anne, Canada (DH/XCO/XCC)
1st round schedule – Mairipora, Brazil
Always local. Please note that XCC will be held on Saturday instead of the usual Friday)
April 13th
- 12:00 – UCI Cross Country Short Track World Cup – Women’s Elite XCC
- 12:35 – UCI Cross Country Short Track World Cup – Men’s Elite
April 14th
- 12:15 – UCI Cross Country Olympics – Women’s Elite XCO
- 14:30 – UCI Cross Country Olympics – Men’s Elite XCO
where to watch
- 🇺🇸 – Max
- 🇬🇧🇪🇺 – Eurosport/Discovery+
- 🇦🇺 – Stan Sports
- 🇨🇦 – FloBikes
Olympic qualification information
Olympic qualification and selection can get complicated quickly, but here are the basics: Contact CX Hairs for a more detailed primer coming out this week.
The first three XC rounds of the World Cup take place just before the qualifying deadline, which determines how many riders can take part in Paris. The period runs from May 7, 2022 to May 26, 2024, during which each country's governing body will closely monitor the rankings.
In the end, 72 athletes will compete in the Paris MTB race (divided evenly between women's and men's fields). This is much smaller than a typical World Cup field. Once each country knows how many athletes they can bring to the start line, it is up to them to choose which athletes to bring, but this is where disputes often arise.
truck
As of this writing, not much information is available about the Mairipora truck. I think there will be a lot of videos and social media clips released on Thursday and Friday.
In addition to the usual World Cup and Olympic stress and hype, riders will face new mental and physical challenges in Brazil. Many riders have raced in this country in the past at Rio 2016 and the 2022 World Cup, but it's just a different culture and environment than many racers have spent the majority of the year in Europe. is. Add to that long travel days and a brand new venue and track layout. It's a small thing that can be a small gain if handled properly, but a small loss if you're not prepared.
Contenders
I wish that staring straight into the dark depths of Monday's solar eclipse would give me the omniscient power to know who is eligible and who is not, but unfortunately that is not the reality. It's always difficult to know how much attention early-season results will garner, but here are some players to keep an eye on this week.
Some riders got a preview of the Mairipola track at last week's test event, which was won by Decathlon Ford's Sabiria Blank and Joshua Dubow. Both riders had strong seasons last year, with strong early results in races, and are expected to face stiff competition from their compatriots for Olympic selection.
Blank won the test event in the sprint with fellow American Hayley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing), while the remaining top five were completed by Jenny Risveds (Team 31), Greta Seiwald (decathlon) and Chiara Seiwald (decathlon). Occupied by Teocchi (Orbea). The Americans will have Madigan Munro (Trek Factory Racing) and Kate Courtney (Scott SRAM) competing for Olympic selection, but Lisveds should be relatively safe as the top Swede and former Olympic champion. .
Dubow managed to pull away early in the race, with Filippo Colombo (Scott SRAM) and Matthias Flückiger (Thomas Maxon) on the podium, ahead of Adrian Boitsis (Trinity Racing) and Maxime Maraud (Decatron). Ford) placed 4th and 5th. As is somewhat clear, the French and Swiss Olympic hopefuls will be in a fierce battle to get a ticket to Paris.
There will probably be some star riders who won't be on the starting line in Brazil. Firstly, number one Pac Peters (Fenix Deceuninck) is in Europe after racing the Tour of Flanders a few weeks ago. The Dutchwoman has opted to extend her spring road campaign on the cobbles if she is feeling well.
World champions Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Peter Sagan (Specialized) are also unlikely to take part in Brazil, although there is no official confirmation from riders or teams yet. Pidcock has just raced Paris-Roubaix and is on the start list for the upcoming Ardennes race. Sagan has just returned to training after undergoing two heart surgeries in recent months. His Olympic bid, already going to be difficult, is now even less likely.
Speaking of roadies, another question mark this season is Alpecin Deceuninck's Mathieu van der Poel. He has expressed interest in Olympic mountain bike racing, but his debut on dirt at last summer's Glasgow World Championships was disappointing, as he slid out on a fairly tame corner early in the race.
It's always interesting to consider athletes who have done well in early season races. The 2022 Brazil race was won by the aforementioned shooter and Australia's Rebecca Henderson (Mondraker), although at different venues. Henderson's victory kick began the winning streak and earned him the series leader jersey. Could it happen again? Last year's performance wasn't as good as Champagne for the Australian, but she certainly seems motivated. The shooter needs no introduction and always looks like he can deliver solid results.
As for the opening race of 2023, Pidcock and Peters' win at Nove Mesto will of course not help with this weekend's predictions. I'd like to keep an eye on Dubow, who came back from obscurity with a second place at Nove Miest, and Trek's Evie Richards, who ran well at the Czech round until a puncture took away her hopes of winning.
Other notable players include world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévost (Ineos Grenadiers). He consistently performs well in the big races and is locked in a generational feud with Roana Lecomte (Canyon-CLLCTV). On the French national men's team, Jourdan Sarrou (Team BMC) has seriously improved since the second half of last season, and Thomas Griot (Canyon) has also achieved stable results.
The Swiss, along with Schurter, had an exceptional 'comeback' year in 2023, despite suffering a number of mechanical problems. 2024 will likely be his second round of return. Flückiger's teammate Alessandra Keller is the top-ranked Swiss woman along with Trek's Yolanda Neff and is a force to be reckoned with.
I could go on and on about the names and pros and cons of each, but other riders on my long list include Sam Gaze (Alpecin), Mona Mitterwalner (Cannondale), Martina Berta (Santa Includes: Cruise-Rock Shox), Laura Steger (Specialized), Ann Terpstra (Ghost), Christopher Blevins (Specialized), Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon), Vlad Daskal (Trek), Victor Koretsky (Specialized), Alan Hatherley (Cannondale). U23 players can also be on the Olympic roster, so don't forget names like Samara Maxwell (Decatron), Ronja Broklinger (Liv), Adrian Voitsis, and Riley Amos (Trek). please.
star ranking
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Pauline Ferrand Prévost, Rebecca Henderson, Laura Steiger, Nino Schurter
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Jenny Lisvets, Roana Leconte, Mona Mitterwallner, Luca Schwarzbauer, Jordan Salu, Matthias Flückiger, Joshua Dubow
⭐️⭐️⭐️: Sabilia Blank, Hayley Batten, Evie Richards, Christopher Blevins
⭐️⭐️: Kate Courtney, Martina Berta, Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale)
⭐️: Anne Terpstra, Lars Foster (Thomas Maxon), Thomas Griot
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