It will be the first of six confirmed rounds between now and September, packing in some of the best and most challenging courses and destinations, after which the best riders will return to Indonesia for the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Championships in Palangkaraya. UCI World Champions Gaia Tormena (ITA) and Titouan Perrin-Ganier (FRA) are amongst the leading protagonists in the season full of action and opportunities.
Setting the pace
Last year, Tormena and Perrin-Ganier came out on top at Sakarya’s Ayçiçek Vadisi Bisiklet Adası bike stadium, which hosts this year’s opening round on Sunday 21 May: “I had to go full gas, full gas, full gas until the finish line,” said the Frenchman after conquering the tough climbs and spectacular downhills.
Two weeks later, the UCI World Cup returns to the historic venue of Leuven (Belgium) for a city-centre blast. Leuven also hosted the second round in 2022, where the year’s overall UCI World Cup winners ‘Torpedo Tormena’ and ‘Mr Moustache’ Simon Gegenheimer got the better of the slippery cobbles. “I was a bit afraid of crashing again,” said the Italian. “I had to fight with that fear, but the feeling was pretty good and I had a strong focus.”
Round 3 on 15 July takes place in Aalen (Germany) for what promises to be a noisy home race for Gegenheimer, Marion Fromberger (2nd overall in 2022), Lea Schrievers and Felix Klausmann. Gegenheimer thanked the huge crowd after last year’s home victory: “All these people, they pushed me to the win. This win is for them.”
The deciding races
Oudenaarde (Belgium), known for hosting the finish of the Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres, is where the Eliminator riders will put on the show to open the second half of the 2023 UCI World Cup season on 13 August. And like the Monument competed on the road, it’s a tough challenge! “Oudenaarde is always a hard one,” said Gaia Tormena after last year’s win in Beligum.
Then it’s Paris (France), promising a stunning venue and a hard-fought battle on 16 September. Last year, home riders Coline Clauzure, Noémie Garnier, Hugo Boulanger and Titouan Perrin-Ganier (2nd overall in the 2022 UCI World Cup) all made it to the podium, but none to the top step which was occupied by Tormena and Klausmann. French riders will be looking forward to this September to put that right on a new course in the City of Light!
Two weeks after Paris, the ‘Grande Finale’ of the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup powered by citymountainbike.com will unfold in Barcelona (Spain). It’s a venue that has previously hosted the final round – not least the thrilling 2020 encounter, dominated by Tormena and Dutchman Jeroen van Eck – with a superb course that includes navigating the iconic flights of steps in front of the impressive Montjuïc National Palace. Last year it hosted the UCI MTB Eliminator World Championships, and is a fitting venue to conclude the UCI World Cup on Saturday 30 September.
Diversification & the dream team
Twenty-year-old Gaia Tormena is known best for her Eliminator success, but despite her young age has a diverse range of disciplines in her repertoire. She has been mixing up her pre-season, riding on the road for the UAE Development Team, and last weekend competed in the Under 23 cross-country short track race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup (22nd). But how will this help her explosive Eliminator pace?
In the men’s competition, an intriguing piece of pre-season news came from Mountain Bike Racingteam with their announcement that reigning UCI World Cup overall winner Gegenheimer is joined by reigning UCI World Champion Perrin-Ganier. Their head-to-head battles have lit fireworks in the Eliminator competitions over the years, but how will it work with the two old adversaries – and friends – on the same team?
All these questions and many more will be answered in the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup powered by citymountainbike.com, starting this weekend.
Highlights of the 2022 UCI MTB Eliminator World Cup powered by citymountainbike.com