In addition to hosting the final round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano, Val di Sole, Italy, will play host to the UCI Four-cross World Championships this weekend.

One of the most exciting disciplines of mountain biking, four-cross features heats of four riders at a time battling down a short and technical course, with the top two moving on to the next round in each heat. Rock gardens, jumps and banked turns mean that it is a fight out of the start ramp to get good position.

A total of 15 Women are registered, led by former UCI World Champion Anneke Beerten of the Netherlands and Helene Fruhwirth of Austria. Other podium contenders include Romana Labounkova of the Czech Republic and Lucia Oetjen of Switzerland.

The Men's competition is wide open, with many of the big names from the past absent or retired. Scott Beaumont of Great Britain leads the list of 43 entrants, with Quentin Derbier (France) and Simon Waldburger (Switzerland) also names to watch.

The action begins on Thursday evening with a qualifier time trial, as riders one by one race down the course for seeding, with the best qualifiers getting lane choice for the World Championships final on Friday evening.

Entries, start lists and results