September 10/05 5:31 am - MTB World Cup Final: XC Racing Starts in under 1 Hour, 2006 World Cup Schedule

Posted by Editoress on 09/10/05
 

MTB World Cup Final Fort William, Scotland

We are one hour from race time for the World Cup Final in Fort William, Scotland. As expected, the women will do 4 laps and the men 5. The first lap will skip some singletrack to give the riders a chance to spread out. The sun keeps trying to show through, but so far high cloud and rather damp.

There are a few technical problems bedevilling the race. First, internet service has, basically, collapsed. Last year organizers used satellite service to bring in broadband, which worked well. This year, the provider switched to a new (ie, cheaper) satellite which cannot handle any of the traffic required for the event - without informing the organizer, of course. So, there is a scramble to provide some sort of service. Our live updates will happen, but photos and full reports will be delayed.

Second, neither Sabine Spitz (Specialized) nor Jose Hermida (Multivan Merida) appear on the start lists. Both are number two in their respective standings. The riders are here (Spitz is out warming up right now), so hopefully it will "get sorted" before the race starts.

However, we do have fine Scottish shortbread in the press tent, and the likelihood of smoked salmon and single malt to come, so not all is lost...

We also have some more information about the 2006 calendar. It is all tentative, with the UCI not confirming anything (other than the dates) yet. So some of these locations could change.

April 1-2 - XC World Cup #1, Curacao (Caribbean)
April 29-30 - Marathon World Cup #1 Europe
May 6-7 - DH/4X World Cup #1 Europe
May 6-7 - Marathon World Cup #2 TBA
May 13-14 - XC World Cup #2 Houffalize or Madrid
May 20-21 - XC World Cup #3 Spa or St Wendel
May 27-28 - XC #4 and DH/4X #2 World Cup Willingen
June 3-4 - DH/4X World Cup #3 Europe
June 17-18 - Marathon World Cup #3 Mont Ste Anne, Canada
June 24-25 - XC #5 and DH/4X #4 World Cup Mont Ste Anne, Canada
July 1-2 - DH/4X World Cup #5 Brazil
July 8-9 - Marathon World Cup #4 TBA
July 15-16 - XC/DH/4X National Championships (Worldwide date)
July 29-30 - Marathon World Cup #5 TBA
August 13 - Marathon Worlds Oisans, France
August 22-27 - XC/DH/4X Worlds Rotorua, New Zealand
September 9-10 - XC/DH/4X World Cup Final Fort William, Scotland
September 23-24 - Marathon National Championships (Worldwide date)