After the European MTB Championships in Munich and the UCI World Championships in Les Gets The final decisions of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2022 in Val di Sole, Italy. While the competition for the overall World Cup rankings seems to have already been decided in some disciplines, the cross-country racers in particular are still fighting for overall victory in the last race of the season. So everything is set for a thrilling World Cup final from 2-4 September on the 2021 World Championship routes in Val di Sole.
Timetable for the MTB World Cup races in Val di Sole 2022
Cross-Country Short Track (XCC)
- Friday, 2 September, at 17:30 - Ladies
- Friday, 2 September, at 18:15 - Men
Downhill (DHI)
- Saturday, 3 September, at 12:30 pm - Ladies
- Saturday, 3 September, at 13:30 - Men
Cross-Country Olympic (XCO)
- Sunday, 4 September, at 12:20 p.m. - Ladies
- Sunday, 4 September, at 14:50 - Men
Will Terpstra or McConnell win the 2022 World Cup overall?
Last weekend, French mountain bike legend Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was crowned the new short track world champion and, for the fourth time, the MTB world champion over the Olympic distance. However, other riders are setting the tone in the World Cup this season. The current World Cup leader Anne Terpstra (NED) and the runner-up, Australian Rebecca McConnell, are less than 70 points apart and are the clear favourites for overall victory. For both, it would be their first major international title and also the biggest success of their remarkable MTB racing careers. But Switzerland's Alessandra Keller, currently third in the overall standings, can also still hope for a major coup thanks to her improving form towards the end of the season.
Will world champion Nino Schurter finally break the World Cup record?
In the men's competition, one rider has dominated the entire cross-country season: Swiss rider Nino Schurter. The ten-time cross-country world champion has led the overall World Cup since the first race. Not even the injury-related cancellation at the USA World Cup in Snowshoe could knock him off the top spot. Before the final race in Val di Sole, Schurter's lead is definitely more comfortable than Terpstra's, but with 330 points still to be awarded, six riders are still within reach. David Valero Serrano (ESP), Luca Braidot (ITA), Alan Hatherly (RSA), Titouan Carod (FRA), Vlad Dascalu (ROM) and even Filippo Colombo (SUI) could theoretically still overtake Schurter and deny the Swiss MTB legend his eighth overall World Cup victory.
Overall ranking in the Short Track World Cup for the first time
The overall World Cup winners in short track will be honoured separately for the first time this season. Seven cross-country riders - four in the women's and three in the men's category - can still hope to win this honour, which is being awarded for the first time in the UCI MTB World Cup. The current leader Alessandra Keller only needs a sixth place to secure the overall XCC classification - regardless of the results of her closest rivals Anne Terpstra and Rebecca McConnell or fourth-placed Jolanda Neff (SUI).
The men's competition will be decided between the leader Alan Hatherly (RSA), Swiss Filippo Colombo and German Luca Schwarzbauer, all three of whom are only 154 points apart.
Downhill Overall World Cup: Three-way battle between Balanche, Höll and Nicole
The women's MTB Downhill World Cup has come down to a three-way battle: the decision in Val di Sole will be made between the current leader Camille Balanche (SUI), who has just made a lightning comeback from a shoulder injury at the World Championships, the new downhill world champion and reigning overall World Cup winner Vali Höll (AUT) and the 2021 Downhill World Champion, Myriam Nicole (FRA). A fourth place would be enough for Balanche to be crowned the new overall winner of the 2022 World Cup. But neither she nor Höll or Nicole can afford to look at the results of the competition, because the women's field is too strong overall for that.
In the men's World Cup, however, the downhill classification is as good as decided: Frenchman Amaury Pierron has simply been too dominant this season. Pierron, who leads with 249 points ahead of Canadian Finn Iles, only has to finish in the points to become the overall UCI MTB World Cup winner. Should he fail to score points for whatever reason, Iles would still have to win in Val di Sole to claim the full 250 points that would knock Pierron off the top spot. It will still be an exciting race, however, as there are a number of strong riders who want to end the season with a top result.
UCI MTB World Cup Val di Sole live broadcast
All races of the UCI MTB World Cup in Val di Sole 2022 will be live on Red Bull TV broadcast. You can watch the races at home either via the stream on the website or the app. The Red Bull broadcast of the World Cup final will also be a farewell. Because From 2023, Discovery will market and broadcast the UCI mountain bike races for the next eight years. This will be the last chance to listen to the English cult commentator Rob Warner in Val di Sole for the time being.
