After the conclusion of the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup powered by citymountainbike.com, attention turns to the UCI World Championships, to be held in Palangkaraya, Indonesia. A diverse field of Eliminator riders is set to challenge the established stars from the UCI World Cup.
The Indonesian venue hosted a memorable round of the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator (XCE) World Cup, building anticipation for the 2023 UCI Elimintator World Championshipss that will take place on Sunday 12 November after their postponement from the original October date due to forest fires in the region.
We spoke to Kristof Bruyneel, CEO of City Mountainbike which, under its partnership with the UCI, organises the UCI World Cup and UCI World Championships for this fast-paced mountain bike specialty.
Palangkaraya, a special venue
“The location is very special because we are racing on the other side of the world in tropical surroundings,” explains Bruyneel. “The course is also a challenge because of the technical obstacles.
“Riders, spectators and visitors can expect a compact spectacular course, with a very good overview. It is always close racing there, so there will be a lot of tension in the races. It will also be a nice international spectacle with an opening ceremony where all the countries – one by one – will be presented on Saturday before the race. We hope to set a new record of the number of participating countries in the same race.
“At last year’s UCI World Cup race, the local fans were super excited, they were over 10,000 in attendance and they enjoyed a top event. Thousands of fans were late for an entry ticket and tried to catch a glimpse from the street in front of the stadium!”
Key features of the course
“The course is located in a real XCE arena,” continues Bruyneel. “It is 80% offroad and features six obstacles, of which the rock garden and the drop will be the most challenging.
“Last year the course was already impressive for a first-time organiser and everyone was enthusiastic about it. Now we have made some minor adjustments to safety and sporting challenges – they’re just some small modifications, such as a softer landing after the drop and removing some whoops.
“The most explosive Eliminator riders will definitely ride at the forefront; it's XCE in its purest form.”
After hosting last year’s UCI World Cup which attracted new riders to the circuit, the Indonesian venue again hopes to draw a wide mix of participants.
“We want as many different nationalities at the start as possible,” says Bruyneel. “That is part of City Mountainbike’s vision: to bring different cultures and religions together through top sport.
High stakes racing
With such a high target of different nationalities to be represented, it’ll be a tougher task for the established stars to make it through each round. It’s a high-stakes sport as, for each ride, the athletes must formulate a strategy of risk-taking and then deliver on it, while dealing with massive adrenaline surges.
“You make one mistake, you have no chance,” said 2021 UCI World Champion Simon Gegenheimer (GER), after winning the final round of the 2023 UCI World Cup, to claim second place overall in the UCI World Cup behind his team-mate and close rival, Titouan Perrin-Ganier (FRA).
The pair have finished 1st (Perrin-Ganier) and 2nd at the UCI World Championships on three occasions: in Chengdu, China, in 2017, in Leuven, Belgium, in 2020 and again last year in Barcelona, Spain. The Frenchman has five UCI World titles to his name, while Gegenheimer’s only rainbow jersey so far came in 2021 in Graz, Austria. No other rider has won the Men’s UCI World title since 2016, when Austrian Daniel Federspiel took the honours.
Sunday’s racing will reveal whether anyone can break the Perrin-Ganier-Gegenheimer stronghold.