April 10/14 13:17 pm - MTB Tidbits from the World Cup Opener

Posted by Editoress on 04/10/14
 

The start of the season is when all sorts of stuff that has been worked on over the winter begins to trickle out.  So, here are some of the latest tidbits - some are confirmed and others still at the 'vapourware' stage:

- The 2016 world championships venues will be announced in June ... yes, multiple venues, because the Downhill and Cross-country/Eliminator will take place at different times and in different locations.  This is in part due to it being an Olympic year, and the plan is (as in some previous Games years), to run the XC/Eliminator prior to the Olympics.  So, there are two bids for those Worlds - Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, and Albstadt, Germany.  It would take place on the first weekend in July.  The Downhill has bids from Leogang, Austria, and Val di Sole, Italy, and would take place at the usual time; beginning of September.  The final locations will be announced in June.  It has already been announced that Vallnord, Andorra, will be the venue next year, Cairns, Australia, in 2017 and Lenzerheide, Switzerland, in 2018.  Lenzerheide will host a World Cup in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

- Tracy Moseley (Trek Factory Racing), who transitioned to Enduro after a long and successful career as a Downhiller (including a world title), is racing the Cross-country, with a view to qualifying for the British team at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer.  Moseley turns 35 on Saturday.

"I stopped racing downhill at the end of 2011/2012 and over the last two years I have been racing Enduro, which is almost a mix between downhill and cross country for about four or five hours, so you need to be fit."

"I actually won the first ever world Enduro series last year so I guess I achieved the ultimate goal in that sport and I am definitely getting to the end of my cycling career, so the chance to possibly take a place at the Commonwealth Games was something I thought about last year."

"Even having achieved everything that I wanted to in downhill, there is still that desire to be part of something that is maybe one bigger than a World Champs. Obviously the World Champs is massive for us as a sport but, as downhill competitors, we don't get the chance to go to the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games so that was definitely the carrot that was out there for me when considering the switch to cross country."

"Just to make it onto the start list would be the ultimate achievement, I don't ever expect to be competitive because you can't expect to transition from one completely different sport to another just like that!  It is a huge goal to just be selected (for Commonwealth Games) and that is the reason why I am here."

- This one is still at the rumour stage, but with the action camera maker GoPro on board as a sponsor, there is a lot of chatter that helmet cams (GoPro, of course) will be used by the top ten riders during race runs.  There is some discussion that this will be only for online TV supplier Red Bull, and others that it will be for GoPro to broadcast.  Of course, the UCI will have to dance around the previous ban on cam use in races (they are currently allowed for practice).

- Emily Batty and long time partner/coach Adam Morka will be tying the knot on July 5th of this year.  The couple announced their engagement in 2011. Congrats Emily and Adam