After previews for the E-Mountain bike and cross-country racing, we take a look at the downhill competitions for the upcoming 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (28 August – 1st September) taking place in Pal Arinsal, Andorra.
The Junior downhill UCI World Champions will be crowned on the second day of medal competition (Thursday 29 August), while their Elite counterparts will race their finals two days later, on Saturday.
Pal Arinsal has hosted rounds of the UCI World Cup since 2008, as well as the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in 2015. In 2021 it revealed a new downhill track which is around 2km long. It has a vertical drop of more than 450m from its start in Pic del Cubil to its finish at Fontanals. And there is now a queue of talented gravity athletes ready to tame it…
Juniors: New Zealand women look strong
Amongst the riders on the Women Junior entry list are two of the Kiwi 1-2-3 from the 2023 UCI World Championships: gold medalist Erice van Leuven and bronze medalist Sacha Earnest.
In the Women Junior 2024 UCI World Cup, from five rounds so far there are three victories for Great Britain’s Heather Wilson and one each for Van Leuven and fellow New Zealander Ellie Hulsebosch. Podium finisher Ella Svegby (SWE) is also on the entry list with eyes on the prize.
All three of last year’s Men Junior podium athletes – Henri Kiefer (GER) Bodhi Kuhn (CAN) and Léo Abella (FRA) – have progressed from this category, meaning we’ll have a new Junior UCI World Champion.
In the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup there are three wins for Asa Vermette (USA) and two for Max Alran (FRA). Podiums from fellow Frenchman Mylann Falquet, Luke Wayman (NZL), Daniel Parfitt (GBR), Mike Huter (SUI), and the Canadian pair of Dane Jewett and Jon Mozell, suggest a thrilling fight for the rainbow jersey.
Women Elite: Who can beat Höll?
The 43 riders on the Women Elite entry list promise an unmissable competition.
Austria’s reigning and double UCI World Champion Valentina Höll strikes a formidable pose and, having ridden for two years in her rainbow jersey, knows she is there to be shot at. 2023 silver medalist and 2020 UCI World Champion Camille Balanche (SUI) and 2023 UCI Worlds bronze medalist Marine Cabirou (FRA) are tough fighters – as are 2022 silver medalist Nina Hoffmann (GER), and 2019 and 2021 UCI World Champion Myriam ‘Pompon’ Nicole (FRA).
In the five rounds of the 2024 UCI World Cup so far, Höll is the only one to have claimed two victories: in Fort William (Scotland, Great Britain) and her home round at Saalfelden–Leogang. There’s also one win each for Cabirou, a resurgent Tahnée Seagrave (GBR) and a first victory for Eleonora Farina (ITA).
Anna Newkirk (USA), Monika Hrastnik (SLO) and Mille Johnset (NOR) have all hit the podium, while youngsters Gracey Hemstreet (CAN), Phoebe Gale (GBR) and Lisa Bouladou (FRA) will give everything to make history.
Men Elite: not so simple as ‘which Frenchman?’
More than 100 athletes feature on the Men Elite entry list, including reigning UCI World Champion Charlie Hatton (GBR) and six-time UCI World Champion Loïc Bruni. Not to mention all the others who want the crown, not least Bruni’s fellow Frenchman, friend and rival, Amaury Pierron…
The 2023 UCI World Championships, raced at Fort William, Scotland, saw Hatton finish 0.6sec faster than Austria’s Andreas Kolb, with another Briton, Laurie Greenland, a similar margin behind in third. It followed the unforgettable French 1-2-3 of 2022 at Les Gets, when Bruni got the better of Pierron and Loris Vergier. Go back another year and South African veteran Greg Minnaar won his fourth UCI World title in Val di Sole, Italy… could the Greatest of All Time rewrite history again at the age of 42?
In the unpredictable downhill format, the 2024 UCI World Cup record is as good a guide to form as any.
Bruni’s two early-season victories are matched by Pierron, who has hit form well, winning the last two outings. The only other winner so far this year is Ireland’s Ronan Dunne. But notable podium finishers include Vergier, Kolb, Minnaar, Finn Iles (CAN) and Dakotah Norton (USA).
But there are at least half a dozen more who could hook it all up perfectly on the day!