Following a great weekend of National Championships, the world’s top trials riders head to the 2024 UCI Trials World Cup, which celebrates its 25th year of existence.
The first of four rounds will see the UCI Trials World Cup visit Norway for the first time. The Norwegian mountain resort of Myrkdalen welcomes the season opener from 5 to 7 July.
The next stop is in the familiar setting of Wadowice, Poland (9-11 August), before two French destinations for the final two rounds: Cordon, 13-15 September, and Mouilleron-Le-Captif - Vendée, 22-24 November. The latter leads into the 2024 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Abu Dhabi in December.
In each round of the UCI World Cup, the best riders in the three categories (Men Elite 20”, Men Elite 26” and Women Elite) will work through quarter- and semi-finals of two laps of five obstacles before the best six riders hit the final for a one-lap shootout.
The three 2023 UCI Trials World Cup overall winners – Vera Barón (ESP), Alejandro Montalvo (ESP), and Jack Carthy (GBR) in the Women Elite, Men Elite 20” and Men Elite 26” competitions respectively – will be amongst those looking for glory. Their wins in the final round in Aarhus, Denmark, confirmed their overall UCI World Cup victories. But how will they fare in Norway?
Ahead of Round 1 we caught up with Jack Carthy, who would love to emulate the 2023 UCI World Cup clean sweep…
How has your preparation been for this year’s UCI Trials World Cup?
Jack Carthy (JC): It started off really well, probably the best winter I’ve ever had, and about five weeks ago, a stupid crash and I broke two ribs. I’m flying out to Norway as late as possible to catch up on the number of hours on the bike, so this back end has been difficult. I had been riding on a daily basis at a world level. But I’ve been playing with fire and I got burned.
When I broke the ribs I couldn’t even walk for a few days. There’s no real physio you can do, they were more worried about my breathing. Eventually what I could do was strap the ribs up and ride on a normal mountain bike to keep my legs moving.
The level is back but it’s all about confidence and performance on the day.
What do you think about the first round in Norway?
JC: There hasn’t been a UCI World Cup there before but there was a UCI World Championships there in 2014, when I was in the last year of Juniors and won the title. That was the only time I’ve been to Norway. I remember it was a nice place and I’m looking forward to seeing it again.
From what I’ve seen, Norway has a lot more natural than man-made, using rocks. If it’s on rocks it’s an advantage for me, I like that style. It’s a nice change to the typical Spanish style.
Do Poland and France also have good memories for you?
JC: I did the UCI Trials World Youth Games in Poland and won. I’ve done a few UCI World Cups there too. It’s in the city centre, not really my thing because I like being in the middle of nowhere, but it’s a great place to be.
There were a lot of UCI World Cup rounds in France when I first came on the scene… I didn’t really win a lot, but got 2nd and 3rds. The French events separate the men from boys - they’re more aggressive on what they build. There’s a lot more variation this year.
Does this 25th year of UCI Trials World Cup feel special?
JC: This year it seems more countries put more effort in to get UCI World Cups, and I hope that enthusiasm stays. Keeping those new venues is the challenge so it’s not a one-off spectacular. To build the sport we need commitment for several years.
It’s great that it’s in different countries; hopefully it’ll continue so eventually it’s all over the world!
Who are you looking forward to watching?
JC: There’s a lot of talent coming through. Nowadays I want to watch all the riders, see them all improve, see the young riders coming up the rankings. It’s how we progress the sport, that’s always been my thing and more so now than ever. I’m trying to improve, and trying to learn to enjoy it more.