Scotland has hosted many big mountain bike cross-country (XC) races, with the Glentress Forest – east of Glasgow and south of Edinburgh – a favourite for riders and spectators. This is, however, the first time in its 20-year history that the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon (XCM) World Championships will be held in Great Britain.
The Women and Men Elite will race on Sunday 6 August, just days before the start of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships for E-Mountain Bike Cross-country (E-MTB), Cross-country Short Track (XCC), Cross-country Olympic (XCO) and Cross-country Team Relay (XCR).
A course with something of everything
The XCM route includes singletrack, forest roads and three tarmac links between the multiple forest sections, iconic of Scottish XC riding. The single-lap course goes through the Traquair, Yair, Elibank and Caberston Forests, before the feature-packed final 20km in the Glentress Forest, finishing after 96.5km.
With 3200m elevation – more than double that at the 2022 UCI Marathon World Championships at Haderslev, Denmark -, legs and lungs will be tested, and the technical forest course will reward precise handling, whatever the weather.
Recent UCI World Champions in the mix
Recent women’s UCI Marathon World Champions France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (2020, 2022) and Switzerland’s Jolanda Neff (2016 and last year’s bronze medallist) are not on the start list. But look out for Austrian Mona Mitterwallner, who was UCI World Champion in 2021.
At May’s UCI Mountain Bike World Cup first round in Nové Město na Moravě, 29-year-old Bosnian Lejla Njemčević won solo from Lithuania’s Katazina Sosna, Swiss riders Irina Luetzelschwab and Janina Wüst and Germany’s Stefanie Dohrn, whose 39-year-old compatriot Adelheid Morath won round 2.
British interest is to include National Champion Isla Short.
In the men’s competition, 2022 UCI World Champion Sam Gaze looks to be concentrating on the XCO racing in Scotland.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to be Marathon UCI World Champion,” said Gaze. “I was privileged to have been trained by the great Christoph Sauser, Marathon and Cross-country UCI World Champion, part of a very select group. I’ve always wanted to follow in his footsteps. With the Olympics being ‘just around the corner’ it’s clear that my focus is on the XCO.”
Other recent XCM UCI World Champions include Germany’s Andreas Seewald (2021 winner and 2022 runner-up behind Sam Gaze) and Colombia’s Héctor Páez (2019, 2020).
In the first round of the 2023 UCI World Cup 33-year-old Italian and European Champion Fabian Rabensteiner beat his compatriot Nicolas Samparisi and Germans Simon Stiebjahn and Seewald. Colombian Diego Arias won round 2 from Martin Stošek (CZE).
British interest includes 22-year-old Cameron Mason. The National Champion for XCM and cyclo-cross champion looks set to ride XCO and Marathon.