World Cycling Championships in Scotland 2023: Cheers & scandal in the Highlands

BIKE

· 15.09.2023

Completely unleashed: Nobody could hold a candle to local hero Tom Pidcock in cross country.

Vali Höll was the only one to stay under 5 minutes on the Höll track.

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Photo: Gruber Images

The 2023 World Cycling Championships in Scotland were a wet celebration in the Highlands and a drama of bends in the Tweed Valley. Old battled against young, and MTB specialists against road stars. The downhill and cross-country competitions formed the backdrop to the mega event and made headlines outside of the racing action.

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Where better to see rainbows than in Scotland, the land of changeable weather! The perfect place for the 2023 World Cycling Championships, where over 200 (!) rainbow jerseys were awarded in 13 disciplines. The downhill and cross-country competitions formed the backdrop to the mega-event and made headlines outside of the racing action.

2023 Downhill World Championship

After her surprise triumph on her comeback in Lenzerheide, Rachel Atherton was considered the top favourite. However, the grande dame of downhill cycling dislocated her shoulder in training. Nina Hoffmann - who had also crashed heavily in training - helped to set it.

In the final, the Thuringian was even on course for a podium finish at one point, but crashed again. Vali Höll, on the other hand, defended her Rainbow jersey from the previous year very confidently, ahead of Camille Balanche and third-placed Marine Cabirou. Behind them, local favourites Louise Ferguson, Phoebe Gale and Tahnée Seagrave secured fourth to sixth place.

Just in time for the men's race, the heavens opened and the mud championships began. Familiar terrain for Britain's Charlie Hatton, who enjoyed an extremely emotional home victory. Behind the 25-year-old Hatton, Austria's Andi Kolb secured the silver medal, while Laurie Greenland took bronze. Fourth to sixth place went to Loic Bruni, Troy Brosnan and Loris Vergier.

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Vali Höll: When she skis with a clear head, she is hard to beat. She was tired at the start, said the 21-year-old from Saalbach. There was no sign of this on the almost three kilometre long course. She was the only one to conquer the brutal track in under five minutes.

Photo: Will Matthews/dpaVali Höll: When she skis with a clear head, she is hard to beat. She was tired at the start, said the 21-year-old from Saalbach. There was no sign of this on the almost three kilometre long course. She was the only one to conquer the brutal track in under five minutes.

MTB World Championship 2023: Marathon, Schort Track & Cross Country

We travelled from the Highlands to the Lowlands. The marathon, short track and Crocc Country (CC) took place in Glentress, south of Edinburgh. The weather? Changeable. The courses? Tough! At the age of 39, Adelheid Morath from the Black Forest surprisingly took bronze in the marathon. However, the race was dominated by 21-year-old Tyrolean Mona Mitterwallner. She was also aiming for the CC podium, but was prevented from doing so by Puck Pieterse, who is the same age.

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But the youngsters could do nothing against the French. Like last year's World Championship Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was fit to the point and, after winning short track gold, also secured the CC title ahead of Loana Lecomte.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot: No, the double triumph was not on the cards during the season. The Frenchwoman was rather reserved in the 2023 World Cup.
But her mission was to win gold, which she did with her usual confidence in both short track and cross-country.

Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/GettyPauline Ferrand-Prévot: No, the double triumph was not on the cards during the season. The Frenchwoman was rather reserved in the 2023 World Cup. But her mission was to win gold, which she did with her usual confidence in both short track and cross-country.

Scandal of the street stars

Before the men's race, the road stars caused a scandal. After the Pidcock-Schwarzbauer curve drama in the short track, the UCI announced a rule change shortly before the CC final and allowed Mathieu van der Poel and Peter Sagan without MTB World Cup points from the last to the fifth starting row. Over 20 athletes made their displeasure known in a public letter.

Road world champion van der Poel crashed in the starting lap, Sagan finished 63rd. The other all-rounder then took centre stage: Tom Pidcock wanted to win the last MTB title he was missing in front of a home crowd - and did so confidently ahead of short track world champion Sam Gaze and Nino Schurter.

Tom Pidcock: The multi-talented rider from Leeds enjoys superstar status not only at home. Despite problems with his gears, he left Nino Schurter, twelve years his senior, standing. His verdict on the UCI's last-minute rule changes (from which he also benefited): "Shit show".

Photo: Gruber ImagesTom Pidcock: The multi-talented rider from Leeds enjoys superstar status not only at home. Despite problems with his gears, he left Nino Schurter, twelve years his senior, standing. His verdict on the UCI's last-minute rule changes (from which he also benefited): "Shit show".

Henri Kiefer

"Germany wins gold in downhill" - hardly anyone would have bet on this headline beforehand. But the sensation was perfect on 4 August when 18-year-old Henri Kiefer took the top spot in the junior category. Henri had never won a World Cup before
so far. Let's see how gold spurs him on. The next generation of downhill women seems to come from Down Under: All the medals in the juniors went to New Zealand.

Photo: Ewan Bootman/GettySensation! The 18-year-old German Henri Kiefer wins the gold medal in the junior downhill.

Charlie Hatton

The Master of Mud can be seen as representative of an extremely strong performance by the British DH team. Behind the 25-year-old Hatton and Andi Kolb in second place, Laurie Greenland took bronze.

Photo: And y Buchanan/GettyCharlie Hatton, winner of the 2023 Donwhill World Championship.

Lukas Baum

Lukas Baum said after his third place in the marathon that he was slowly "getting used to" the bronze medal. The 28-year-old Cape Epic champion from Neustadt an der Weinstraße had clearly worked towards gold and felt great both mentally and physically. But: "The course was brutally difficult," Lukas summarised at the finish.

Photo: Andy Buchanan/GettyLukas Baum takes bronze at the 2023 World Marathon Championships.

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