This storied venue makes its ninth appearance on the UCI International Mountain Bike Calendar, with riders lining up to take on the famously-steep Pyrenean trails, that sit at a lung-busting altitude of more than 2,000 metres, for both the UCI Cross-country and UCI Downhill World Cups. Fresh from the UCI Cycling World Championships (held in Glasgow and across Scotland from 3 to 13 August), athletes now shift their focus to the sharp end of the UCI World Cup calendar.
The first elite athletes to get between the tapes will be the cross-country riders, who will kick off their week with the cross-country short track (XCC) on Friday evening, before lining up again on Sunday for the cross-country Olympic (XCO). In the women’s race few would bet against Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) after her dominant performance in Glentress, Scotland, saw her crowned UCI World Champion for both the XCC and XCO. However, it’s Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who leads the current UCI XCO World Cup standings so expect a strong showing from her, as she fights to maintain that lead.
In the men’s competition, Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) remains the man to beat in the XCO, as he leads the standings by more than 100 points, ahead of France’s Jordan Sarrou (Team BMC) in second and Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) in third. In the XCC standings it’s Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV) who’s way out front and he’ll be working hard to stay at the top of the leaderboard as we head into the last half of the race season.
In the UCI Downhill World Cup all eyes will be on the newly-crowned UCI World Champions, Charlie Hatton (Continental Atherton) and Valentina Höll (Rockshox Trek Race Team). Höll currently trails series leader Camille Balanche (Dorval AM Commencal) in the overall standings, but less than 50 points separate the pair and a win from either this Saturday would secure them the series lead.
The stakes couldn’t be higher in the men’s race, where just 12 points lie between series leader Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and fellow Canadian Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity). And just over 30 points back lies Loris Vergier (Trek Factory Racing Gravity). However, Hatton will be heading into the weekend feeling confident after his decisive UCI World Champs victory in Fort William and is more than capable of a podium finish in Pal Arinsal.
To follow all the racing live from Andorra be sure to tune into GCN+ . More information about the races taking place in Pal Arinsal is available here.
