The legendary Canadian bike park welcomes the Endurance and Gravity athletes for the final UCI World Cup of the season, and with titles still on the line in the Cross-country Olympic and Cross-country Short Track, fans can expect a nail-biting conclusion to the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series on the slopes of Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec. 

The dust hasn’t even settled after an attritional and fast-paced Mt Van Hoevenberg – Lake Placid UCI Cross-country World Cup in the USA, but the best mountain bikers on the planet are gearing up to do it all again. 

While the Downhill contingent have had a month to rest and recover since their last UCI World Cup in Loudenvielle - Peyragudes (France) there’s less than a week between the race weekends on either side of the USA-Canadian border for the Endurance athletes. 

Loudenvielle-Peyragudes drew the curtain on the UCI Enduro World Cup, and last weekend’s round in the USA saw the final round of the UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup. But riders in the Cross-country Olympic (XCO), Cross-country Short Track (XCC) and Downhill (DHI) competitions will line up for the last time of the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Mont-Sainte-Anne. 

With three out of the remaining six series titles still yet to be decided – downhillers Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Valentina Höll (YT Mob) confirmed their overall series wins in Loudenvielle – Peyragudes, while Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) already clinched the Women Elite UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup overall last time out – expect the racing to be bar-to-bar from the off. 

The venue – Mont-Sainte-Anne’s world-famous bike park, with more than 130km of trails and runs for all disciplines from Cross-country Olympic (XCO) to Downhill (DHI) and freeride – is a fitting location for the season finale too.

The Laurentian Mountains spot will be hosting its 29th UCI World Cup, while next year’s edition will mark the 30th anniversary since it held its first UCI World Cup in 1991. It has also held the UCI World Championship three times – 1998, 2010 and 2019 – in that period. 

PLENTY STILL ON THE LINE IN DOWNHILL DEAD RUBBER

Although Bruni and Höll can’t be mathematically caught by the chasing pack, there’s still plenty to play for in the final UCI Downhill World Cup of 2024.

Both these athletes will be aiming to finish their seasons on a high and get back to winning ways after missing out on top spot in the French Pyrenees. The pair have previous wins at the venue too, Bruni victorious in 2018 and 2019 (UCI World Championships) while Höll has back-to-back wins in Canada and is targeting a hat-trick.

There will be plenty of other riders looking to make their mark –particularly as we enter the transfer season ahead of the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Home favourite Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) knows what it takes to stand on the top step in Mont-Sainte-Anne and will be looking to channel his 2022 race-winning run, while new UCI Downhill World Champion Loris Vergier (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) will be hoping for a better performance in the rainbow bands after a disappointing 14th last time out.

In the women’s field, Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) looks back to her best after securing her 10th UCI World Cup victory last month in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes, while Tahnée Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV FMD) has a point to prove after her challenge to Höll faltered in France.

Mont-Sainte-Anne will also be the last time that we get to see a legend of downhill between the race tape – Greg Minnaar (Norco Race Division) hanging up his full-face helmet after 28 years of competing. The 42-year-old South African has won it all in downhill, including four UCI World Championships and three overall UCI Downhill World Cup titles, and is rightly regarded as the greatest of all time. His record of 22 UCI Downhill World Cup wins is the most of all time for men, and few would bet against him signing off in style with victory number 24.

TITLES GO DOWN TO THE WIRE IN CROSS-COUNTRY FORMATS

While everything has been settled in Downhill, it’s still all to play for in three out of four series in the UCI Cross-country World Cup.

Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) and Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) both sit in pole position in the Men’s and Women’s UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup standings and their respective points advantages mean that their titles appear to be foregone conclusions. But there’s still plenty of racing between now and the end of the series, and as last weekend’s events proved, both are only a puncture away from disaster.

New UCI XCO World Champion Hatherly can seal his title before Sunday’s XCO if he wins Friday’s XCC. But if he finishes second or worse, the battle goes to the final race. Only Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) and Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) are mathematically within striking distance of the South African, but with both on the podium (Koretzky first, Colombo third) in Mt Van Hoevenberg – Lake Placid, expect them to bring the fight to Hatherly.

Things are even more straightforward for Keller. The newly crowned UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup overall winner simply has to finish 34th or better in Friday’s XCC to win the XCO overall and do the XCC-XCO series double. If she somehow fails to score any points all weekend, Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) and Candice Lill are the only riders who can still catch her, but both would need to win the XCC and XCO double to pip the Swiss rider to the overall title.     

In the Short Track, the tension went out of the men’s series with then-series leader Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) crashing and finishing 32nd in Mt Van Hoevenberg – Lake Placid, while the new UCI XCC World Champion Koretzky claimed his third XCC win of the year. The Frenchman has a 154-point lead over the New Zealander and needs to finish in the top nine to add the overall to his season haul. Gaze, Hatherly and Colombo are the only riders able to overhaul Koretzky but would need big points swing to make it happen.

With the women’s XCC series wrapped up in North America, the pressure is off for Keller, and we can expect to see someone else contesting for the win. Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing – Pirelli) hasn’t been off the XCC podium since Crans-Montana, Valais, so expect the 2024 UCI XCC World Champion to be up there. Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) appears to be finishing her season strongly, while her team-mate Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) won in Mont-Sainte-Anne in 2023.

Racing gets underway in Mont-Sainte-Anne on Thursday, October 3 with the Men’s U23 and Women’s U23 UCI XCC World Cup. Full schedule and event details are available here.