Mountain biking is a tough sport consisting of many tough race formats, but none are tougher than marathon. The point-to-point race tests a racers abilities to climb, descend and race in a bunch over a huge distance.
As with Cross-country Short Track (XCC) and Cross-country Olympic (XCO), being able to read the race around you is paramount whilst effort management and energy conservation are to the fore. The result is wheel-to-wheel racing across stunning vistas which separates the tough from the very toughest mountain bikers on earth. The discipline has been recognised at UCI World Championship level since 2003.
Here’s all that you need to know:
What is Cross-country Marathon and how big are the courses?
Marathon races are maybe best thought of as mountain bike racing’s equivalent of the blockbuster box set - they unfold over time with a litany of twists, turns and dramas along the way.
XCM is a mass start format and sees as many as 150 pro racers take to the start line at once. Whoever reaches the finish first, wins. For the first time in the sports history, it will now have its own full-strength UCI World Cup status with overall title winners being crowned at the end of the season.
In the past, that distance of XCM races was typically between 60-160km in length but could vary from race to race. From 2023 on, that distance will be locked at 100km to try and promote closer racing and parity of course design across the series. There are tech/feed zones available to racers on XCM courses but they are far fewer and further between than on an XCO course so some added precautions are taken.
XCM represents many of the same tactical challenges as its cousin XCO. Racers have to pace themselves as part of a group and work out where their competitors strengths and weaknesses lie and how best to exploit them. Riders can seek additional nutrition, liquids or mechanical support from the Technical and Feed Zones dotted around the course. Given the size of the courses though, they are much wider spaced than at XCO races. Depending on course design and access, they are generally 20km apart so the implications of mechanicals such as punctures really hangs on where you pick them up.
The courses are much more than ‘just’ big distance monsters too; there are steep climbs and technical descents to conquer along the way with the aim being to throw everything that’s great and terrifying about each venue at the pack to see who comes out on top.
What are the bikes like?
XCM race bikes are very similar to XCO race bikes with the same blend of efficiency, lightweight and confident descending all being necessary requirements.
Full suspension rules the XCM roost with 100-120mm of suspension travel and 29in wheels being the standard. Dropper seatposts afford more room to attack fast descents by dropping the saddle into the frame with some extra bottle mounts often being deployed to help keep their pilots fully-hydrated. The only other additions to the usual cross country race bike spec are usually additional puncture protection in the form of tyre inserts to help minimise the risk of deflating miles from help.
Racers to watch
The marathon discipline is frequently dabbled in by the big names of XCO and so, historically, the results sheets have been a mixture of household names and slightly less well-known long distance specialists.
The reigning UCI World Champion’s from 2022 are Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Sam Gaze. The former is one of the best known names in international cycling and the latter is one of the biggest talents in elite men’s XCC/XCO who was the first racer to dethrone Nino Schurter from his undefeated 2017 campaign.
With XCM becoming a full-time UCI MTB World Cup it’ll be fascinating to see which of the established pro’s take the opportunity to make the discipline their own alongside the underdogs who will set to become stars.
Where can I watch it?!
With the firepower of one of the world’s biggest sports broadcasters behind the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, there will be more live coverage and more ways to follow racing than ever before. UCI World Cup Cross-country Olympic, Cross-country Short Track and Downhill events from the UCI Mountain Bike World Series will be available live and on-demand on discovery+, the Eurosport App and globally on GCN+. UCI World Cup Cross-country Marathon, Enduro and E-Enduro will benefit from in-depth Highlights Shows at every round. More ways to watch will be announced in the coming months.
