This weekend marks the return of the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Cup (XCM) in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, as riders line up in Megève, Haute-Savoie, France, for the second long-distance Endurance event in the format’s three-race season.

After May’s opener in rider favourite Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ, Czechia, the Megève event poses a new challenge – the venue making its WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series debut. But it’s not a complete unknown to fans of long-distance off-road racing – the 100km XCM race joining the iconic Mont Blanc Ultra Somfy, organised by the MB Race, a legendary event regarded as the world’s most difficult one-day mountain bike race.

CLIMB-HEAVY COURSE

The stunningly beautiful foothills of the Mont Blanc massif are the setting for the race, but riders will have little chance to admire the views with 5,000m of elevation gain to tackle across the 100km course.

The climbing starts on leaving the race village in Megève with an ascent of the Col du Jaillet to Tête de Torraz – a gruelling 16km mountain pass packed with 1,200m of elevation gain. Riders return to Megève at 70km having summited Sommet Bellastat, before a final 30km loop with a jagged profile that finishes with a descent down to the finish line.

RABENSTEINER AND LOOSER OFF TO A STRONG START

The three-race nature of the UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup means every position and UCI point counts in the contest for the overall series win.

Fabian Rabensteiner got his defense off to the perfect start, taking maximum points with a strong final climb in Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ that enabled him to build a small but unassailable lead on his fellow breakaways Alex Miller, Samuele Porro and Marc Stutzmann (Canyon Sidi MTB Team).

The Italian has only raced once since the opening XCM round – a DNF in the Dolomites where he retired due to stomach issues – allowing him to focus on this weekend’s racing in France.

Porro and Stutzmann will also be in contention in Megève with Miller not racing in France, while Wout Alleman (Buff Megamo Team), Simon Stiebjahn (Singer Racing Team) and Héctor Leonardo Páez Leon have all recorded strong rides in the intervening weeks after missing out on the podium positions in Czechia.

In the women’s field, Vera Looser continued her impressive UCI World Cup form, adding another victory to her first and third place in the two races she competed at in 2023.

Last year’s overall winner Lejla Njemčević couldn’t keep up with the Namibian’s pace on the second lap in Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ, settling for second, with Rosa Van Doorn (Buff Megamo Team) third.

All three and Van Doorn’s teammate Janina Wüst (Buff Megamo Team) go into this weekend’s race as contenders, while recently crowned French National Champion Margot Moschetti, is the best chance of a local victory.

HOW TO KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION

You can stay up to date with all the action from the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Megève, Haute-Savoie, France wherever you are in the world.

There will be live timings on the official WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series website and highlights on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series’ Instagram and Facebook channels, with top stories from the race weekend to be published on the YouTube channel on Wednesday 3 July.

The UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Cup gets underway in Megève, Haute-Savoie at 6:00 (UTC+2) on Saturday, June 29 with the Men’s Elite, followed by the Women’s Elite at 6:05 (UTC+2) – full schedule and events details are available here.