After the mountain bike cross-country marathon on Sunday 6 August, Scotland’s beautiful Glentress Forest will host another five days of mountain bike cross-country action just days later as part of the UCI Cycling World Championships.
Cross-country short track (XCC)
Tuesday 8 August - Qualifying (to be confirmed)
Thursday 10 August - Finals
E-Mountain bike cross-country (E-MTB)
Wednesday 9 August
Cross-country team relay (XCR)
Wednesday 9 August
Cross-country Olympic (XCO)
Thursday 10 August - Juniors
Friday 11 August - U23s
Saturday 12 August - Elite
Discover the course
The XCO course mixes natural surfaces and technical features. A series of switchbacks are followed by a long straight climb where attacks will be made. Features include a man-made rock drop, and a 3m gap jump. Riders then face another climb, shoot through a tunnel then descend, hitting up more jumps and drops before the start/finish line.
XCC: reigning UCI World Champions back for more
The day after the E-MTB and XCR – where the Swiss and French squads will renew their rivalry – the men and women will hit the XCC course: a 20-minute blast over a 900m lap.
Defending UCI World Champions Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) and Sam Gaze (NZL) are among the favourites, while Laura Stigger (AUT), Jenny Rissveds (SWE), Tom Pidcock (GBR), Luca Schwarzbauer (GER) and Jordan Sarrou (FRA) have already clocked up UCI World Cup wins in 2023 .
Juniors then U23s open XCO racing
After the Juniors are on Thursday the Women Under 23s the following day will see Denmark’s Sofie Heby Pedersen, winner of four UCI World Cup U23 races this year, challenged by the Swiss pair of Ronja Blöchlinger and Ginia Caluori.
In Men U23, look out for Carter Woods (CAN), Dario Lillo (SUI), Adrien Boichis (FRA),and another Dane, Oliver Vedersø Sølvhøj.
XCO Women Elite: win could go to “any one of 10”
Defending UCI World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot told us “Any one of 10 women can win this.”
The Netherlands’ Puck Pieterse announced herself in style this year, becoming European Champion and winning three of the four 2023 UCI World Cup races so far. Ferrand-Prévot will also have competition from fellow Frenchwoman Loana Lecomte, who won the Lenzerheide (Switzerland) round of the 2023 UCI World Cup.
Look out for Austria’s Laura Stigger and Mona Mitterwallner, Anne Terpstra (NED), Switzerland’s Jolanda Neff and UCI World Ranked no 1 Alessandra Keller, also from Switzerland. Leading British interests will be 2021 UCI World Champion Evie Richards.
XCO Men Elite: Schurter again?
After his record 35th UCI World Cup win, the world wants to see the legendary Swiss rider Nino Schurter claim a staggering 11th UCI World Champion’s XCO jersey.
The world also awaits a showdown between multidisciplinary stars Mathieu Van der Poel (NED) and Tom Pidcock (GBR) whose warm-up in the Tour de France shouldn’t detract from their XCO glory goals. Slovakian Peter Sagan is also poised to join the chase.
Other riders in the mix include Sarrou, Schwarzbauer, Gaze, Mathias Flückiger(SUI), Vlad Dascalu (ROM), Alan Hatherly (RSA), and 2022 podium finishers David Valero (ESP) and Luca Braidot (ITA).