Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will take place in Albstadt's Bullentäle from 7 to 9 May 2021. The organisers, led by the city of Albstadt and the Skyder Event and Track Company agency, are working on this assumption. Although the current situation can lead to unexpected changes at short notice, the organisation is currently firmly assuming that the World Cup can take place in a little less than two months. A final decision on whether spectators will be admitted will be made at the end of the month after the state premiers meet with the German Chancellor on 22 March.
Accordingly, the organisers will also be making structural changes to the course in Albstädter Bullentäle. Although the basic characteristics of the 4.2-kilometre course with 190 metres of elevation gain will remain the same as in previous years, it will be modified in some places to make it more challenging and safer at the same time.
The biggest current construction project is at the so-called "Albstadt Drop", which is located in the centre of the Bullentäle and was one of the big crowd pullers in the past. "We have modified the A-line there slightly," reports Ingolf Welsch from Skyder, who are largely responsible for the track construction. "The track no longer runs straight over the drop, but has a small loop at the top before the riders then ride sideways onto the existing wooden elements. They then ride over the large berm into the Teufelswellen." This conversion measure was primarily tackled for safety reasons. "We realised that very high speeds were reached here in 2019 and that the athletes reached enormous heights when exiting the Albstadt drop in the large berm. The risk of someone falling heavily here is too great, which is why we want to reduce the speeds somewhat with the conversion work."
Extensive work has also been carried out in other areas. The wooden bridges in the Dual Climb and Devils Corner were replaced as they no longer met the structural requirements due to the weather. Other sections of the course have been updated in terms of weather resistance and erosion protection. "The respective passages are the same as in previous years. Basically, these measures are merely a structural reorganisation to make the course more stable," reports Welsch.
Although the course in the Bullentäle is considered to be one of the most physically demanding in the World Cup circuit, the UCI believes that there are still a few sections that could be modified so that the descents offer shorter recovery times. Accordingly, the Devil's Waves and the final, long slalom downhill shortly before the finish will have a few more small jumps. "This will simply make it even harder to recover in the downhill sections and make the course a little more selective. We are thus fulfilling a request from the UCI, which we were able to implement without a great deal of effort," says Ingolf Welsch, expressing his satisfaction with the construction work so far.
Further modifications are currently in progress or are still being tackled: The approach to the last big devil's wave will be changed slightly and a so-called B-line will be set up. The Skyder team is also redesigning the rock field in the last descent before the finish so that speeds are also reduced there and the risk of falling is minimised. "We want to be finished with the work by April and then just fine-tune it," Welsch continues. This also includes the creation of spectator paths, even if this may sound rather abstruse in times of a global pandemic. "In Devils Corner, for example, we've created a great new spectator platform - it's unclear whether it will be needed this year or not, but we're thinking long-term and have decided to further expand the infrastructure in the Bullentäle with a view to 2022."
The course should be completely ready for the World Cup by 24 and 25 April at the latest, as the top-class HC Bundesliga race will take place in Heubach on this date. The majority of the world's elite will probably be at the start in the Ostalb region, so it is not unlikely that some of the pros will be travelling directly to Albstadt afterwards and training in the Bullentäle and the region two weeks before the competitions.
More information about the UCI MTB World Cup in Germany can be found at www.bikezone-albstadt.de
