The 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup reaches its penultimate round this weekend as Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada hosts both cross-country and downhill events.
It is round six of the downhill competition, dominated this season by Rachel Atherton and the fifth round of the cross-country, with British interests in both disciplines in Quebec.
Cross-country
Elite
August is set to be a huge month for Grant Ferguson.
The 22-year-old will make his Olympic debut for Team GB later this month in the mountain bike cross-country event in Rio de Janeiro and is preparing for Brazil in North America, starting with this weekend’s world cup.
Representing his trade team CST Superior Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Team, Sunday’s elite men’s race is the first of two pre-Games competitions that will act as Ferguson’s holding camp.
Even with an eye on Rio, the world cup is a big event for Ferguson in itself. He is currently ranked 29th in the standings after cracking the top 20 twice in this year’s competition and heads to Canada fresh from retaining the elite men’s British Cycling National Mountain Bike Cross-country Championships title in July.
Ferguson’s fellow national champion Annie Last will also compete at Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Last (Novus OMX Pro Team) claimed her fifth British title in Glasgow and will look to improve on her 50th place standing in the world cup series.
Under-23 and juniors
Great Britain Cycling Team will be represented in the under-23 women’s event in Canada by Evie Richards.
The Malvern teenager has had a fine world cup season, taking back-to-back silver medals in Germany and France earlier this year.
Richards finished fourth in the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Nove Mesto and currently sits in the same position in the world cup standings.
Following the competition in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Richards will join Grant Ferguson in New York to compete in the Windham Pro GRT / XCT race – gaining valuable holding camp experience ahead of Tokyo 2020.
Downhill
Can the British dominance of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup continue in Canada?
Rachel Atherton has a 100% record in this season’s competition and heads to Quebec in search of a record 12th successive stage win.
The Trek Factory Racing DH rider is joined by Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen Factory Team) and Tahnee Seagrave (Transition Factory Racing / FMD) in the top three of the world cup standings, with all three in action this weekend.
Katy Curd completes the British line-up in the women’s competition, looking to improve on her 11th place in the competition rankings.
For the elite men, Danny Hart heads to Mont-Sainte-Anne in fine form following his victory in Lenzerheide in the previous round.
The MS Mondraker Team rider is currently in second place in the world cup standings with two rounds remaining and heads up a large and impressive British contingent.
Among them, Trek Factory Racing DH’s Gee Atherton is currently eighth, and is joined in the top ten by new national champion Greg Williamson (Cure Global Squad protected by Bliss).
In the men’s junior race, Elliott Heap will look to replace fellow-Brit Matt Walker in the top three of the world cup standings. Walker, who took gold in Cairns, won’t feature in Canada, giving Heap (Chain Reaction Cycles / Paypal) the chance to take third place from him.
