At each round of the UCI World Cup there are three competition classifications: Men Elite 20'', Men Elite 26'' and Women Elite Open. In Vic next weekend (7-9 April), home riders will be looking to build on recent success.
Spanish victory in Vic?
At the Vic round last year, the Men Elite 20'' victory went to 23-year-old Spaniard Borja Conejos at the head of a 61-strong field. It was a fully Spanish podium with Alejandro Montalvo and Eloi Palau taking bronze and silver. Despite that clean-sweep the assembled competition was truly international, with six other nations represented in the top 10 points scorers.
In the Men Elite 26” competition it was Great Britain’s multiple and reigning UCI Trials World Champion Jack Carthy on the top step.
He was flanked by Spanish riders Daniel Barón and Marti Vayreda.
The Spanish riders obviously want to maintain their strong momentum, and Borja Conejos together with Dani Barón have been preparing together for their first UCI Trials World Cup appearance of the season.
Meanwhile the Women Elite event in Catalonia saw victory go to Germany’s Nina Reichenbach ahead of home rider Vera Barón and Sweden’s Hilda Andersson. Four of the top five scoring riders were teenagers, demonstrating the tremendous depth of emerging talent in the women’s field.
From Copenhagen to Abu Dhabi
In the second and final 2022 UCI World Cup round, Borja Conejos took gold again in Copenhagen, Denmark, but Britain’s Charlie Rolls split the Spanish stranglehold, slipping into second place in front of Montalvo Milla. Austria’s Thomas Pechhacker took fourth, and has recently introduced some urban stunt riding to his preparation.
Carthy repeated his 26” win in Denmark, with France’s veteran Vincent Hermance pipping Daniel Barón to take second. Vera Barón made an almost clean 290 in getting the better of Reichenbach, with Andersson again making the medals.
The performances set up a thrilling end to 2022’s top level competition with the UCI Trials World Championships part of the 2022 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). Eloi Palau won his first Men Elite 20” UCI World title, Carthy claimed his 5th rainbow jersey in the Men Elite 26” competition and Reichenbach secured her fifth Women Elite UCI World title (again getting the better of Barón).
And in the Middle East, giving viewers a glimpse to a bright future, Robin Berchiatti (FRA) and Diego Garrués (ESP) claimed the Men Junior 20” and 26” rainbow jerseys. Both of these young men are amongst the emerging talents to watch in 2023 and beyond!
2023 UCI Trials World Cup rounds
The Mas de Bigues Cycling Circuit in Vic presented a challenging course for riders last year and made an equally thrilling spectacle for viewers when it hosted the 2021 UCI Trials World Championships. Expectations are high for skills and technique on display with two-lap challenges – each of five sections – in the quarter- and semi-finals (7 and 8 April) before the top-6 riders shoot it out in the one-lap final on Sunday 9 April.
In July the riders head to Ploeuc-l'Hermitage – in the Côtes-d'Armor department of western France – which hosted France’s 2022 Mountain Bike National Championships just over a year earlier, when the trials competition mixed it with the full gamut of cross-country formats.
The 2023 UCI Trials World Cup second round shadows the structure of the first round, with racing from 21 to 23 July, and the 2023 UCI Trials World Cup overall champions confirmed after Sunday’s single-lap finals. It will be an added incentive for home athlete Vincent Hermance, who will be keen to shine on his new bike!
With the 2023 UCI Trials World Cup wrapped up, the best riders will head to Glasgow Green, to showcase trials as part of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships taking place in Glasgow and across Scotland.