In the second of three previews of the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, we take a look at what to expect in the cross-country racing in Pal Arinsal, Andorra.
The cross-country team relay (XCR) will take place at the end of the first day of competition on Wednesday 28 August. Junior cross-country Olympic (XCO) as well as Elite and Under 23 cross-country short track (XCC) is scheduled for Friday, while the Elite and Under 23 XCO UCI World Champions will be crowned on Sunday 1st September.
A regular on the UCI World Cup circuit, the Pal Arinsal XCO track in the Pyrenees has been slightly modified ahead of the UCI World Championships. Check out the 4km course in this video presented by UCI partner Shimano.
The XCC circuit is a 1km section of the XCO route, in La Caubella.
XCC: three in a row for Gaze and Ferrand-Prévot?
At the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, in the Elite Women’s XCC race France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot retained her title by beating the Netherlands’ Puck Pieterse and home rider Evie Richards (2021 XCO UCI World Champion).
New Zealand’s Sam Gaze retained his Men Elite title by beating Frenchman Victor Koretzky and Britain’s Tom Pidcock in a sprint finish.
Meanwhile, the winners of the Under-23 races will go down in the history books as the first ever XCC UCI World Champions in this category: it is the first year that there are separate U23 XCC races with the winners being awarded the rainbow jersey of UCI World Champion.
A good form guide to Elite riders comes from the winners of the six rounds of the 2024 UCI World Cup completed so far.
In the women’s competition it’s two wins each for Pieterse and Alessandra Keller (SUI) and one each for Richards and Haley Batten (USA). Notable podium finishes came from Rebecca Henderson (AUS) and Savilia Blunk (USA).
For the men it’s two wins each so far for Gaze and Koretzky, with one each for Pidcock and Alan Hatherly (RSA).
Luca Schwarzbauer (GER), Christopher Blevins (USA), Thomas Litscher (SUI), Jens Schuermans (BEL), Julian Schelb (GER), Luca Braidot (ITA) and Charlie Aldridge (GBR) have all podiumed.
All of these riders are on the entry list and are capable of taking the win on the day.
XCO: Reigning UCI World Champions and Olympic Champions in action
The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships brought great drama in the XCO – raced in Glentress Forest, Scotland (Great Britain) - with Ferrand-Prévot winning her fifth Women Elite title, comfortably beating her compatriot Loana Lecomte and the young Pieterse.
Home rider Pidcock won the Men Elite race in style ahead of Gaze and the 10-time UCI World Champion Nino Schurter (SUI).
The Women U23 was won by New Zealand’s Sammie Maxwell ahead of Ginia Caluori (SUI). Aldridge won the Men U23 from Adrien Boichis (FRA) and Dario Lillo (SUI).
The Juniors were won by Isabella Holmgren of Canada (who has successfully stepped up to U23) and Albert Philipsen of Denmark.
The six rounds of the 2024 UCI Cross-country World Cup provide a form guide.
Ferrand-Prévot won two rounds with one win each for Jenny Rissveds (SWE), Batten, Lecomte and most recently Pieterse. Other podium athletes are Blunk, Keller and Candice Lill (RSA).
Tom Pidcock has two Elite UCI World Cup wins in 2024, with one each for Blevins, Simon Andreassen (DEN), Schurter and Hatherly. The other podium athletes include Koretzky, Braidot, and the Swiss pair of Marcel Guerrini and Mathias Flückiger.
In the Women U23, Holmgren has recorded three victories with two for Kira Böhm (GER) and one for Olivia Onesti (FRA). Other podium athletes include the Swiss pair of Caluori and Elina Benoit, Emilly Johnston (CAN), Valentina Corvi (ITA), and Madigan Munro (USA).
The USA’s Riley Amos has dominated the Men U23 racing, winning five rounds, with his compatriot Bjorn Riley victorious in round 6. Other UCI World Cup podium athletes who are on the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships entry list are Finn Treudler (SUI), Alex Malacarne (BRA) and Luca Martin (FRA).
In the XCO we have another, even more recent form guide for the Elite riders: the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Ferrand-Prévot won the Women’s race comfortably from Batten with 2016 Olympic Champion Rissveds third, Pieterse fourth after a mechanical issue and Richards 5th. Lecomte crashed while in a podium position, Austria’s Laura Stigger got 6th and Keller faded to 7th.
Tom Pidcock recovered from a puncture to win narrowly from Koretzky and retain his Olympic title, with Hatherly third, Braidot fourth and Flückiger fifth. Other notable finishes include Amos 8th and Schurter 9th.
XCR: History of French and Swiss dominance
In the last 10 editions of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, the team relay title has gone five times to France (2014-16 and 2020-21) and five times to Switzerland (2017-19 and 2022-23). Italy, Denmark, the United States and Germany have regularly featured on the podium, and as usual, the tight battles will provide a fitting opener ahead of the individual cross-country competitions.