France’s Julien Absalon is looking for record fifth world championship.

By Fred Dreier

The world’s best cross-country riders must find their fast early this year, as the June 17-22 UCI world mountain bike championships, held in Val di Sole, Italy, fall nearly three months ahead of its traditional September date. August’s Beijing Olympics — fat tire racing’ most important event of the year — is to blame for the schedule change.

With medal contenders eyeing Beijing, the new date for worlds has potential to shakeup the traditional pecking order in the cross-country events.

“There are many riders who are focusing primarily on [the Olympics], and I think there are many others who see this year as a great opportunity to score a top result at worlds,” said New Zealander Kashi Leuchs, who will take the starting line in China. “We could see some surprises from guys who are really peaking for this event.”

So far, Val di Sole — which roughly translates to “Sun Valley” in English — has yet to live up to its namesake. The Alpine valley, roughly 70 kilometers northwest of Trento, has endured a week of rain, and the upcoming forecast does not look promising for sunshine.

And that means all eyes will be on four-time champ Julien Absalon (Orbea) for Sunday’s elite cross-country championship. The Frenchman is an ace in slippery, technical conditions. Absalon, who opened the season with three consecutive World Cup victories, has yet to relinquish the rainbow stripes he grabbed in 2004, just months after taking Olympic gold in Athens. And to no one’s surprise, Absalon says he is peaking for worlds.

“It is a big race for me, a big priority,” Absalon told VeloNews while watching his French national team win Tuesday’s team relay. “I am at my peak.”

Indeed the Frenchman, who won convincingly at April and early May World Cup races in Houffalize, Belgium; Offenburg, Germany; and Madrid, Spain, spent late May and early June in a fitness trough. Absalon finished a rare 11th at the June 1 World Cup in Andorra and then sat out the following week’s round in Fort William, Scotland, relinquishing his series lead to Swiss Christoph Sauser (Specialized) in the process.

The Frenchman has a lock on his spot for Beijing while Sauser and his Swiss compatriots are still battling each other to make their country’s Olympic team. The Swiss federation will pick its three Olympic riders after worlds, and currently Sauser, Florian Vogel and U23 sensation Nino Schurter (both Swisspower) own the best results. But worlds presents the final chance for Swiss riders to impress their federation, and the race within a race between Sauser, Vogel, Jurg Graf, (Swisspower), Ralph Naf (Multivan-Merida), Lukas Fluckiger, Martin Gujan (both Athleticum), and Andreas Kugler (Fischer-BMC) could propel Switzerland to the top of the worlds podium.

Choosing a winner for the women’s elite crown poses an even tougher challenge, as five individual women have won the opening five 2008 World Cup rounds. Chengyuan Ren (Chinese National), Irina Kalentieva (Topeak-Ergon), Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå (Multivan-Merida), Marga Fullana (Massi) and Marie-Héléne Prémont (Rocky Mountain) have all taken victories so far.

The 6km long world’s course features a series of steep climbs and drop descents not unlike the World Cup course in Offenburg. But while the Offenburg track enjoyed fast, dry conditions this year, Val di Sole has endured a week of constant rain. The course features greasy mud, a slippery rock garden and a few sectors of off-camber root sections.

“The mud and technical riding make it a tough course and the conditions are getting worse as more people are riding it,” said Czech rider Katerina Nash (Luna). “But if the sun comes out we could have an entirely different course on Saturday.”

Should the rain continue, the slop would all-but rule out the horsepower-heavy Chinese riders Ying Liu and Jingjing Wang and climbing specialist Fullana, all of whom suffer in foul conditions. The technically savvy Kalentieva and Prémont, on the other hand, would be the favorites.

Kalentieva, the 2007 world and World Cup champ, has struggled with a reoccurring infection in her sinuses through much of the year, missing World Cup rounds in Andorra and Scotland. The minute Russian — she weighs only 97 pounds — is healthy and looking to defend her crown.

Prémont took control of the World Cup lead with her victory in Scotland. Should the smiling Quebecer land on the top rung of the podium on Sunday, it would be the first female elite North American cross-country title since Alison Dunlap’s 2001 victory in Vail, Colorado.

Espoirs

The best two-man cross-country duel of the week will likely fall in the U23 men’s race, as World Cup heavy hitters Nino Schurter (Swisspower) and Burry Stander (GT) fight for the title. The two are currently ranked third and fifth, respectively, in the World Cup standings, with Schurter owning a pair of second-place finishes, and Stander having finished second once.

Stander owns the horsepower to derail the Swiss rider, who grabbed the title in 2006 and finished a close second in 2007. But Schurter excels in technical descending and slippery riding, and will hold an advantage if the weather remains poor.

Another battle worth watching is between espoir strongwomen Tereza Hurikova of the Czech republic and 2006 U23 world champ Ren. The Chinese rider arguably owns the horsepower to win the elite world crown, but the challenging conditions could play into the hands of Hurikova, the 2005 junior world champ.

North Americans battle for Beijing

Canada and the United States both own four spots (two men, two women) for the Beijing Olympics, and will name their respective teams after the world championships based on results earned at the opening five World Cup races and worlds. With five of the six selection races already in the books, a cast of eight Canadians and Americans own sizable leads in the Olympic chase. Canadians Geoff Kabush (Maxxis), Seamus McGrath (Fuji), Prémont and Catherine Pendrel (Luna) and Americans Todd Wells (GT), Adam Craig (Giant), Georgia Gould (Luna) and Mary McConneloug (Seven-Kenda) have all proven they are their respective countries’ most competitive riders on the international circuit.

But the world champs presents one final chance for a cast of long-shot Olympic hopefuls to impress their national federations. Americans Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Willow Koerber, Heather Irmiger, Sam Schultz (all Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Michael Broderick (Seven-Kenda) and Canadians Max Plaxton (Rocky Mountain) and Kiara Bisaro (Opus) are still in contention for Beijing, but anything short of a podium performance won’t be enough.

Americans Susan Haywood and Jeremiah Bishop (both Trek-Volkswagen) will not compete. Haywood is dealing with an injury and Bishop is looking to focus on domestic races.

The 2007 UCI mountain bike world championships run June 17-22 in Val di Sole, Italy. Stay tuned to velonews.com for a preview of the gravity mountain-bike events, as well as news and results from the event.

Calendar

Cross-country races

Wednesday
10:30 a.m. — junior women
1:00 p.m. — U23 women

Thursday
11:00 a.m. — junior men

Friday
1:00 p.m. — U23 men

Sunday
11:00 a.m. — elite women
2:14 p.m. — elite men

FILED UNDER: Mountain