Tour de France, start of the BIKE Transalp and the double World Cup in Les Gets. A cycling weekend of superlatives is on the cards. For the cross-country elite, it will be the last major test of strength before the Olympic Games in Tokyo at the end of July. Almost all nations have now named their riders who will be competing at the Olympics. There will be 38 men and 38 women in total. As expected, the quartet of Manuel Fumic, Max Brandl, Ronja Eibl and Elisabeth Brandau will start for Germany. Gerhard Kerschbaumer, Luca Braidot, Nadir Colledani and Eva Lechner will be travelling to Japan for Italy. But before that, the XC aces have the fourth stop of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2021 in Les Gets on. Unlike in Leogang, there will be no spectator restrictions in the French Alps. Nevertheless, it is unlikely to be as full and loud at the side of the track as in 2019. However, many French fans are expected to make the pilgrimage to Les Gets on Saturday to cheer on their compatriots Loic Bruni, Remi Thirion and Myriam Nicole in the downhill finals. The world's best downhill bikers can also expect a completely new course in the French ski resort in 2021. The technically demanding and fast downhill piste will also host the World Championships in 2022. The World Cup race this weekend will therefore also serve as a dress rehearsal for the downhill elite.
Pidcock back - van der Poel not
Mathias Flückiger (Thömus) is travelling to Les Gets as the overall World Cup leader after his success in Leogang. But his focus is clearly on the Olympic race. The multi-talented Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) also wants to put the finishing touches to his training in Les Gets before the Olympics. The Brit broke his collarbone in a training accident with a car 30 days ago, but was back in the saddle just a few days later. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Fenix) will be missing in Les Gets as he is currently (still) riding the Tour de France - and that even in the yellow jersey. In the women's race, shooting star Loana Lecomte (Massi) will try to build on her successes in Albstadt, Nove Mesto and Leogang in front of her home crowd.
Short track, downhill and cross country
As in Leogang, the short track races on Friday evening herald the hot phase of the World Cup weekend. On Saturday, the downhill stars such as Nina Hoffmann and Vali Höll will compete in the finals. The cross-country races over the Olympic distance will then take place on Sunday. All races will run as usual at Red Bull TV livestream.
Livestream for the double World Cup Les Gets 2021:
Click here for the Livestream of the World Cup races in Les on Red Bull TV.
