After a 12-week break, the Endurance action returns in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series with this weekend’s Mt Van Hoevenberg - Lake Placid UCI Cross-country World Cup in New York, USA, a brand-new venue of the 2024 calendar. 

Riders and fans haven’t had to go completely cold turkey in that time, with the Olympic Games of Paris 2024 and UCI Mountain Bike World Championships taking place in July and August respectively. But we now enter the nitty-gritty end of the season in the Cross-country Short Track (XCC) and Cross-country Olympic (XCO) formats – this weekend’s round the penultimate UCI World Cup of the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. 

There is an unknown quality to the venue too – Mt Van Hoevenberg - Lake Placid becoming the fourth Endurance location to make its UCI World Cup debut this year. Five hours north of Manhattan, Mt Van Hoevenberg - Lake Placid is located in the Adirondack Mountains. It has a sporting heritage – hosting the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980 – and at the end of its summer season, the forests turn into a picturesque golden, early autumn hue. 

With titles on the lines though, riders will be focused on the racing at hand, with only a handful of points left to decide the outcome of the series. 

FUN, FEATURE-PACKED COURSE 

The course is so new that it was built this summer and finished towards the end of August, meaning not even local riders would have an advantage. Although the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will be the first time anyone has raced on the Mt Van Hoevenberg - Lake Placid course, it has some serious trail construction credentials.

Local managers Kris Cheney-Seymour and Allan Serrano have collaborated with industry experts including Max Van Wie and Martin Seddon – designer of the London 2012 Olympic course – to create a parcours that should provide a stern test for all competitors.

Starting and finishing within the stadium area of the Mt Van Hoevenberg Nordic ski trails, riders will have to tackle rock gardens, a dual slalom course, a section designed to emulate the mountain’s Olympic bobsled run, and a feature that will see them jump through a modified cabin – something that will truly have to be seen to be believed.

HATHERLY TARGETTING UCI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS-WORLD CUP SERIES DOUBLE, KELLER IN CRUISE CONTROL

There are a maximum of 660 points up for grabs in the UCI XCO World Cup, which means that only a handful of riders realistically have a chance of winning the title.

In the women’s field, Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) has a 200-plus point lead over the new UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Olympic World Champion Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck). The Dutch rider has opted to stay in Europe to try and add the road and gravel rainbow jerseys to her collection, meaning the Swiss star – who has been the queen of consistency all year with four podiums and no finishes outside the top 10 – could wrap up the overall this weekend. Keller’s closest competitors are the Americans Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) and Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) and although both faded since strong starts earlier in the season, they can’t be ruled out. Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) meanwhile is another who will be aiming to put on a show for the home fans.

Things are tighter in the men’s contest, but the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Olympic World Champion and series leader Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) appears to be hitting form just at the right time. His last three results read win-third win, and second-place Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) has his work cut out if he’s going to catch the South African. The pair won’t have to face Olympic champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), with the multi-discipline Brit competing at the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich (Switzerland) this weekend, but Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) and Matthias Flückiger (Thömus Maxon) are two riders to watch.

All of the above will be in contention during the XCC, and in the women’s field again it’s Keller’s title to lose. But a handful of specialists might also have a say in how the spoils are shared this weekend. 

Reigning UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Short-Track World Champion Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) and Samuel Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) have two wins a piece from the first six UCI XCC World Cups of 2024, while the new women’s UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Short Track World Champion Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli) has history in the US – winning both XCC races she entered at West Virginia’s Snowshoe venue in 2021 and 2023.

Racing gets underway in Mt Van Hoevenberg - Lake Placid on Friday with the U23 UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup – full schedule and event details are available here.