Read our MTB World Championships preview for everything you need before racing begins!
After nearly two months since their last World Cup, the Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli XC and TFR Downhill squads are finally back for the biggest race of the season. MTB World Championships will take place on familiar terrain, up and down the rocky slopes of the Pal Arinsal resort in Andorra. The riders are rested and champing at the bit to show off the work they’ve been doing during the long midseason break.
Who needs any more preamble? Let’s dive in.
Gwendalyn Gibson hopes to be back at full strength after recovering from a broken collarbone.
TFR XC is healthy and ready to keep the good vibes going
The TFR XC squad was well below full strength when we last saw them. In Les Gets, they were missing Jolanda Neff, who has struggled with breathing issues this season, and Riley Amos, who was preparing to take on his first ever Olympics. Of the riders who did participate, Gwendalyn Gibson was still working her way back to full strength from a broken collarbone, and Evie Richards was just approaching full speed after recovering from a concussion.
Safe to say, the team needed a break.
The gang will be nearly all back for Andorra (Anton Cooper is still battling a parasitic infection that has hampered his season). Amos and Richards will have big ambitions after strong performances at the Paris Olympics. Amos took seventh for the best ever finish by an American in the men’s race, and Richards took fifth to reestablish herself as one of the strongest women in the world.
Riley Amos is coming off an excellent Olympic debut in Paris.
Isabella Holmgren is undefeated in XCO racing this year.
Amos is undefeated in all of his U23 XCO starts this season, and he will be the favorite to win the men’s U23 world title. One of the best bets to kick him off the throne? Trek Future Racing’s Bjorn Riley, who took the men’s U23 XCO win in Les Gets, and is having a brilliant season in his own right, winning the U.S. men’s U23 national title in July.
Neff is back in action, too. She took fifth at the first World Cup XCO of the season in Mairiporã, Brazil, and she’ll be looking to return to form after passing up an Olympic bid to focus on her recovery.
TFR XC’s two American women, Gibson and U23 rider Madigan Munro, will be two of the biggest wild cards in the XC field. Gibson has been dealt misfortune all season. She’s overdue for good luck, and if stars align, she can be a podium contender.
Madigan Munro has her eye on a breakthrough result.
All eyes on Evie Richards, who won the XCO World Championship in 2021.
Munro won her third straight U23 national title in July, and has come oh-so-close to a first career World Cup win several times this season. On her best day, she can win the rainbow stripes. That’s if Lidl-Trek rider Isabella Holmgren doesn’t run away with it. The young Canadian has been making spot appearances in the women’s U23 XC field and cleaning up, with three XCO wins in three tries.
The course in Andorra is varied and mean. It features three big, wide open climbs where attacks should happen, all part of roughly 160 meters of elevation gain per lap. They are broken up by tech-y wooded sections, featuring lots of roots, switchbacks, and two rock gardens — one natural, one man-made. The lap ends with a pumptrack and a fast sprint into the finish line. In short: We’re all set for fireworks.
The Trek Factory Racing DH squad is kitted up and ready to rock.
TFR DH can make a statement
Trek’s downhill riders have had a rollercoaster season.
Loris Vergier and Sacha Earnest entered World Cup racing with some of the biggest ambitions of any riders in the world. Vergier has been one of the sport’s absolute fastest men for the last five years, chasing the top of every podium. Earnest is one of the stars of a speedy class of junior women. Both riders have racked up World Cup wins before, but haven’t yet found that level this year. This weekend they’ll have as good a chance as anyone, especially Vergier, who won the World Cup round in Andorra in 2022, and took second in qualifying last year before bad weather negated any chance of a strong finals run.
Bodhi Kuhn and Reece Wilson will be two of the most fascinating riders to watch. Kuhn is having a strong Year 1 racing elites, currently sitting 21st overall in the World Cup standings after having qualified for every finals run on offer. Wilson, the 2020 World Champion in Leogang, hasn’t yet found his footing after battling injuries for two seasons. A dislocated shoulder in Val di Sole didn’t help. But if there’s someone who can engineer an epic comeback story, it’s him.
Sacha Earnest will receive her World Championship chance this Thursday.
Hattie Harnden is busting out the Session before a blistering home stretch to her enduro season.
Speaking of wild cards, there may not be a more intriguing rider than Lachie Stevens-McNab. The young Union rider is having a breakout season, taking third in Leogang for his first ever World Cup podium in his first ever elite World Cup season. He might have had a win, too, if not for a silly mistake in Poland after he posted the fastest first three splits of any rider during finals. His time has arrived.
Last, but certainly not least, Hattie Harnden will be in Andorra as well, going for the women’s elite DH podium to kick off a thrilling home stretch run to the end of her season. She’s currently locked in a tight battle for the top of the Enduro World Cup overall podium with just one race left next weekend, swiftly followed by Enduro World Championships in Val di Fassa.
The Andorra DH track is a classic. It’s still rough and steep, with 458 meters of elevation drop across 1.9 kilometers. The biggest X factor, as always, may be the conditions. Let’s take a look at the forecast …
Reece Wilson is never not having a blast.
… not bad. Downright promising if you’re a DH rider, especially after last year’s hairy conditions. XCO racing could see slippery conditions, with the chance of rain increasing once the afternoon hits.
As always, predicting the weather at high altitude is a sucker’s game. Be sure to keep an eye on the conditions as they can always evolve quickly.
The XC course in Andorra.
TFR riders will be competing for World Championships for five straight days beginning Wednesday. The complete schedule can be found on the UCI’s website. Here are the highlights for Trek riders.
Wednesday, Aug. 28
- Women’s Elite E-MTB XC Championship – 1:30 p.m. local, 7:30 a.m. ET (live timing only) … Nathalie Schneitter is going for her third E-MTB World Championship!
- XC Mixed Team Relay – 5 p.m. local, 11 a.m. ET (live timing only)
Thursday, Aug. 29
- Women’s Junior Downhill Final – 11 a.m. local, 5 a.m. ET (live timing only)
- Men’s Junior Downhill Final – 11:45 a.m. local, 5:45 a.m. ET (live timing only)
Here’s hoping the skies stay blue.
Friday, Aug. 30
- Women’s U23 Short Track – 4 p.m. local, 10 a.m. ET (live timing only)
- Men’s U23 Short Track – 4:45 p.m. local, 10:45 a.m. ET (live timing only)
- Women’s Elite Short Track – 5:30 p.m. local, 11:30 a.m. ET
- Men’s Elite Short Track – 6:15 p.m. local, 12:15 p.m. ET
Saturday, Aug. 31
- Women’s Elite Downhill Final – 12:30 p.m. local, 6:30 a.m. ET
- Men’s Elite Downhill Final – 2 p.m. local, 8 a.m. ET
Sunday, Sept. 1
- Women’s U23 XCO – 9 a.m. local, 3 a.m. ET (live timing only)
- Men’s U23 XCO – 11 a.m. local, 5 a.m. ET (live timing only)
- Women’s Elite XCO – 1:30 p.m. local, 7:30 a.m. ET
- Men’s Elite XCO – 3:30 p.m. local, 9:30 a.m. ET
See you out on track.
MTB World Championships will be broadcasted on Flosports in the United States, on Eurosport and the Discovery+ app in the United Kingdom and Europe, and on SBS in Australia. You may need a paid subscription.