The 26th season of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will get under way on April 9 and10, in Lourdes, France, with the opening downhill round. It is the second time that Lourdes opens the season. New to the season last year, Lourdes was voted best downhill World Cup event of the year.
Lourdes VTT has been organising mountain bike events since 1991, starting with regional events and enduros, before moving up to a French Cup in 2013, and finally the UCI World Cup last year.
Unlike many World Cup rounds, that are held far from urban centres, the Lourdes World Cup is less than five minutes from the downtown core. This no doubt contributed to the large crowd of 35,000 spectators that turned out to watch the action in 2015.
Rachel Atherton (GBR) and Aaron Gwin (USA) will start the season with the Number 1 plates, as the defending UCI World Cup overall champions.
The Pic du Jer track at Lourdes is short (2000m) but drops 423m, for an average of 21.5%.
Round #1 - Downhill - Lourdes (FRA) > Saturday April 9th - Sunday April 10th
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Where to watch?
The first Downhill round of the season will be broadcasted live from 14:30-16:30 local time Sunday, April 10th on our website and on Red Bull TV.
All live broadcasts can be watched worldwide and without geo-blocking.
Women
1. Emmeline Ragot (FRA) 2. Rachel Atherton (GBR) 3. Myriam Nicole (FRA)
Men
1. Aaron Gwin (USA) 2. Loic Bruni (FRA) 3. Michael Jones (GBR)
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… Lourdes UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
Lourdes is the only round of the UCI World Cup that Rachel Atherton did not win in 2015.
Lourdes is guaranteed a new winner for the women, since last year's fastest - Emmeline Ragot - has retired.
Lourdes will see a French World Champion - Loïc Bruni - compete in his first UCI World Cup wearing the rainbow stripes.
Loïc Bruni
Loïc Bruni is a professional downhill racer, born May 13, 1994, in Nice, France. He is the current UCI World Champion, having won the title at Vallnord, Andorra. He races for the Specialized Gravity powered by SRAM team.
Key results
2015 - Downhill World Champion - Elite Men 2015 - 2nd overall Downhill World Cup 2013-15 - French Elite National Champion 2013 - 4th overall Downhill World Cup 2012 - Downhill World Champion - Junior Men
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