The racing calendars and preparation has not been the same for all. Some have faced injuries or illness, interrupting their calendars, others have made strategic decisions about where and when to race, rest or train. How does form in the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup predict results at the one-off UCI World Championships?
Women: UCI World Cup consistency
The 2022 Women’s XCO UCI World Cup saw early standout performances from Rebecca McConnell (AUS), who after winning her first three UCI World Cups, has lost momentum and luck, but still lies in second place overall. Consistent performances from 2016 Olympic Champion Jenny Rissveds (SWE) throughout the season (with the exception of Mont- Sainte-Anne in Canada, where she did not start) have generated a good tally of points. 2021 Under-23 UCI World Champion Mona Mitterwallner (AUT) has also been consistent in her Elite UCI World Cup campaign without claiming a win either.
Women: UCI World Cup winners
Alessandra Keller (SUI) has performed well throughout the season leading up to her first UCI World Cup win of the year in Snowshoe (USA) at the beginning of August. Her fellow Swiss Jolanda Neff scored her first 2022 UCI World Cup victory in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, the last round before the UCI World Championships. Not only did she win the XCO but also the cross-country short track (XCC). When Neff won the UCI World Championship in 2017, the only UCI World Cup race she had one won was the one immediately prior. It’s an ominous sign for her rivals! Anne Terpstra (NED) is regularly in the fight for the top placings, and won in Vallnord Pal Arinsal (Andorra) in July. She’d love to go one better than her 2021 UCI World Championships silver medal.
Women: UCI World Cup absentees
The woman who beat Terpstra in Val di Sole 2021 was Evie Richards – who went on to win the season’s remaining two UCI World Cup rounds. After missing much of this year, the Briton returned from injury to win the Commonwealth Games in the first week of August.
French Champion Loana Lecomte did not travel to Snowshoe or Mont-Sainte-Anne, after having decided not to compete in Andorra. In 2021 Lecomte took the first four UCI World Cup wins and the overall, but couldn’t ride in the UCI World Championships - so this tactical move to concentrate on the rainbow jersey battle in her homeland might just pay off.
Lecomte’s countrywoman, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot also skipped travelling to North America. “The disadvantage of not hiding your goals is that it creates a lot of expectations,” she explained. “The advantage is that it gives even more motivation to train.”
Men: question marks after early form
According to the tables, Vlad Dascalu (ROU) and Alan Hatherly (RSA), who occupied 2nd and 3rd overall in the UCI World Cup before the Canadian round, should be in contention. But the Romanian missed the last race with injury and the South African’s mid-season podium form seemed to fade: he crashed in Snowshoe and finished 17th in Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Men: the Swiss question
In 2021 Mathias Flückiger had won the two rounds ahead of the UCI Worlds, but narrowly lost out to Nino Schurter in Val di Sole. Rewind to 2019 and the pair had been winning races throughout the season until Mathieu Van der Poel (NED) won the two UCI World Cup races before the UCI World Championships – yet it was Schurter who won the rainbow bands again.
These two Swiss adversaries have had different lead-ups to the 2022 UCI Worlds. After their crash at Lenzerheide (Switzerland) a month ago - that cost them a likely 1-2 finish - Flückiger tested positive for Covid and missed the next races. After recuperating and training, he may be fresh but will he be race-ready?
Meanwhile, 9-time UCI World Champion Schurter took third at Vallnord, was injured in the XCC at Snowshoe and finished 6th in Mont-Sainte-Anne. It’s hardly the ideal preparation, but this man defies normal expectations.
But don’t rule out their younger compatriot Filippo Colombo who is coming into form at the right time.
Men: coming in from outside
Italy’s Luca Braidot hit the form of his life to win Lenzerheide and Vallnord: on the day he can beat anyone. The same could be said of Spain’s David Valero, who went from 2nd at Vallnord to 1st at Snowshoe. French Champion Titouan Carod didn’t trouble the UCI World Cup podiums all year until the last two races with 2nd in Snowshoe and the win in Mont-Sainte-Anne. Would he love to win on home soil?! Beating the world’s best is a huge confidence boost for the man who took bronze in the 2020 UCI Worlds.
“It’s the best thing to do is to win the last World Cup before the World Championships!” he said after victory in Canada.
A man who’s hardly featured in this year’s UCI World Cup campaign – but won both XCO races he did attend (Albstadt, Germany and Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, both back in May) – is Britain’s Thomas Pidcock. After winning a stage at the Tour de France, the Olympic XCO Champion is set to focus on XCO again for Les Gets! It will be interesting to see whether three weeks of 4hr road stages have put him in world-conquering mountain bike shape.
The pattern shows that strength throughout the season is no guarantee of a rainbow jersey, but timing peaks of form does roughly correlate. We can see who has peaked at UCI World Cups but those who stayed away from the cameras may also be preparing the form to deliver.