Get ready for one of the most intense and enthralling bike competitions on the planet as the three-round UCI Trials World Cup returns for 2019!
The series starts with the first round in the historic medieval city of Salzburg, Austria, from 5-7 July. Located right in the heart of Europe, Salzburg is close to the border with Germany and ideally positioned for trials fans coming to watch the action unfold.
Once the first round is over, the riders move on to the scenic town of Vermiglio in the Val di Sole-Trentino, Italy, from 23-25 August for Round 2. The competition arena will be situated within a newly constructed bike park in a region where mountain biking is part of the local DNA.
The third and final round of the 2019 UCI Trials World Cup will also take place in Italy, this time at the stunning mountain resort of Il Ciocco, Tuscany, from 11-13 October.
In 2018, Germany’s Nina Reichenbach was victorious in every round of the UCI World Cup to clinch her third title in succession. Will the runaway favourite and rider currently ranked world number one be on course for a historic fourth consecutive overall World Cup win?
Among the competitors hoping to throw a spanner in the works of Reichenbach’s current domination is Manon Basseville of France. The current world number two placed second overall in last year’s World Cup competition and will be looking to usurp her German rival.
After finishing third in last year’s overall World Cup, Spain’s Irene Caminos will once again mount a challenge, while Nadine Kamark of Sweden and Belgian rider Perrine Devahive will most certainly be gunning for a maximum number of podium places throughout the series.
Last year’s leaders
While the current UCI World Champion, Jack Carthy (GBR), has been one of the top riders in the men’s 26” competitive trials scene since 2016, he did not compete in the final round of last year’s UCI World Cup in Berlin, which opened the series up for his rivals.
Despite Carthy leading the series up until the final round with victories in Rounds 1 and 3, it was current world number one, Nicolas Vallée of France, who finished first overall with wins in Rounds 2 and 4. Expect a battle royale between these two riders this year.
After massive success in 20” competition, six-time UCI World Champion, Abel Mustieles, decided to switch to 26” in 2018. While his first competitive year on a bigger-wheeled bike was definitely a period of adjustment for this extremely talented Spanish rider, It will be very interesting to see how he performs in 2019 on his unconventionally short bike.
Looking to improve on a decent performance last year will be 34-year-old veteran and three-time UCI World Champion Vincent Hermance of France.
Never rule out Spanish rider Sergi Llongueras who, despite a chequered performance in last year’s final round in Berlin, took third in the overall UCI World Cup standings.
While competition is extremely fierce in 26”, it’s arguably even more closely fought in the 20” category. Winning rounds 2 and 3 in last year’s competition and placing as the overall winner, with his highly technical riding, 18-year-old Alejandro Montalvo of Spain will be hoping to retain his title, while current world number two and runner-up in last year’s World Cup, Germany’s Dominik Oswald, will be set on preventing that happening.
There are also a host of other riders looking to challenge for this year’s UCI World Cup including 2018 UCI World Champion Thomas Pechhacker (Austria), who missed last year’s final in Berlin, going out with a snapped hub in the semi-final, 2018 European Champion and UCI World Championships runner-up Ion Areitio of Spain and the massively talented young Slovakian rider Samuel Hlavatý, to name but three.
For the first time the UCI World Cup will adopt regulations that first came into effect during the 2017 UCI World Championships. Under the amended rules, points are scored at every gate in each of the five sections. Each section comprises six gates, with a maximum of 10 points collected for every gate crossed “clean”. Therefore the best score possible per section is 60 points. The rider with the highest score after all five sections is the winner.