UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Short Track World Cup men’s race LIVE – Can Nino Schurter win on home soil?

Ones to watch

With Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) here to defend either of his wins in the XCC and the XCO from the last round, we’ll definitely be seeing a new winner.

Podium finishers from round one in Nové Město, Samuel Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLTV), will be hoping to go one or two spots better than last time out respectively, but with a less sprinter friendly course, it could be tough. Gaze is the World Champion in this discipline, however, and for good reason.

Cross-Country Short Track – Explainer

Today’s race is made up of laps around a loop just under 1km in length on a condensed version of the Cross-country Olympic track. The riders will be on the course for around 20 minutes and with a 40-rider field taking the start, it will be hectic all the way to the line.

The results this evening will determine the starting grid for the longer event, the Olympic cross-country race on Sunday, so expect a frantic fight to ensue with those grid positions holding huge value.

The last round in round in Nové Město ended in a bunch sprint, but with the more technical course here that has a tough climb in the middle and a rocky descent towards the end, alongside constant sections with roots to sap the legs, look for someone to go solo or a small group of leaders to emerge.

Hello and Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Eurosport’s LIVE text commentary of the second round of the UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Short Track World Cup. We’re set for around 20 minutes of non-stop racing in the iconic Lenzerheide, Switzerland, with tonight’s XCC race kicking off a huge weekend of MTB racing.

There are a record 800 riders getting amongst the racing throughout the weekend across Cross-country Short Track, Cross-Country Olympic and Downhill, which makes its highly anticipated return to the calendar here.

Weekend of Champions – where to watch

On June 10 and 11, strap yourself in for a live sport rollercoaster ride. With the finals of Roland-Garros, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Speedway Grand Prix, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, the Criterium du Dauphine, MotoGP and the Champions League final, it’s the Weekend of Champions live on Eurosport, discovery+ and BT Sport.

From Germany to Switzerland, Canada to the Netherlands and right across France including Paris, Cannes and Le Mans, wall-to-wall live coverage will showcase the breadth, depth and sheer volume of Warner Bros. Discovery Europe’s sports portfolio on the weekend of June 10-11.

Dubbed the Weekend of Champions, owing to the sheer amount of world-class action across multiple sports, over 300 Warner Bros. Discovery staff, including production staff, experts and reporters will be on-site across a host of locations over the weekend – from the UEFA Champions League final to Roland-Garros and Le Mans and more. Delivering over 70 hours of live, premium content to millions of sports fans across the continent across multiple platforms.

‘Hectic, fast, fun’ – What to expect when the UCI Downhill World Cup starts this weekend

Sure, it’s short track action on Friday, but tomorrow the MTB world heads downhill…

…as the UCI Downhill World Cup returns for 2023 with a new format that brings with it greater demands for all the riders taking part.

The addition of a semi-final race will determine which riders make the final, with the top 30 men and top 10 women all progressing.

“I would say downhill racing, there’s a set course, you go from the top to the bottom, you have to beat everybody else. There’s lots of preparation that goes into it but that’s the easiest way to describe it,” Iles said.

“It’s pretty hectic, a lot of crashes. It’s dirty, it’s fast, it’s a lot of fun.

“It’s changed things a little bit, it’s more of a mental prep for me. Being prepared to do two full speed runs in a day has been a big change for me, but I like the changes a lot.

“This is going to allow for a lot of different people to come to the top of the standings, a lot of different riders on the podium.

“The finals is everything. It’s still the most points, but I think being consistent through the whole weekend is a lot more important this year, so you’re getting maximum points in qualifying, semi-finals and then the finals. You have to be switched on the entire time.”

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