Paris 2024 Mountain Bike Test Event: Elancourt hill transformed into the theatre of a beautiful Olympic celebration

In less than a year (July 28 and 29, 2024), the Olympic Games Paris 2024 mountain bike events will take place in Élancourt, in the Yvelines, around 30 minutes by car from the French capital.

Until this weekend, the course was unknown to the athletes and aroused a lot of curiosity. But this Sunday 24 September, the Parisian autumn offered up some of its last warm temperatures for the Paris 2024 MTB test event, allowing the best mountain bikers on the planet to shine brightly on the Olympic course.

Olympics.com was as close as possible to the athletes at Élancourt and gathered the feelings of Mathieu van der Poel, Loana Lecomte and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot after they competed on the same track that they could win the Olympic title on next summer.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot on the fast and physical course: "It's a circuit that suits me"

The course of the mountain bike event is located in Élancourt, in the city of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

Elancourt hill, the highest point of the Île-de-France region of Paris at 231 metres, is an old quarry. Over time, it has become a place where nature has regained its rights.

When arriving at the venue, the first thing that strikes you is the immensity of the site, which is a real attraction in itself. The 4.3km course was conceptualised by Nick Floros, who was also the mind behind the MTB courses for Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

A rolling, physical course, Elancourt hill will not suit all riders. But for France’s Loana Lecomte, the silver medallist at the 2023 Glasgow World Championships, it has been a real pleasure to ride there. Her answer to our question about her favourite part of the course was delivered with a large smile: "Everything" she said.

The reply was perhaps not a surprise after Lecomte won the women's race on Sunday. “It is a beautiful Olympic circuit that will evolve in the right direction. It’s real mountain biking, whether downhill, uphill or in the transition phases. We have no right to make mistakes.”

"Everything is positive," added 2023 world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. The Team France rider finished third despite suffering with fatigue after a gruelling XXL season.

“It’s a course that needs you to be dynamic, to be present. When you walk along it, the circuit doesn’t seem very difficult, but after two bike rounds you realise that there are no real places to recover.”

“But it’s a circuit that suits me. It’s the first time I’ve said that about an Olympic circuit, so it’s a pretty good sign.”

• How to qualify for mountain bike at Paris 2024

"Vamos", "come on", "allez": Elancourt hill delivers an Olympic atmosphere

At the very top of Elancourt hill, the crowd waits silently and nervously for the arrival of the athletes. Comfortably seated on his father’s shoulders, a young fan stares at the horizon for a number of long minutes before exclaiming. “Dad, we can see the Eiffel Tower!” Indeed, La Dame de Fer is there to remind any observer that the test event is taking place only a few kilometres from the City of Light.

Amateurs who are enjoying a first taste of Olympic action and mountain bike specialists take advantage of the calm moments between two passages to exchange their opinions on the race. Among them is Cyril Quenia, who has been involved in mountain biking for more than 30 years.

His mission today? “To set the mood, even without a microphone!” Quenia encouraged all the audience to cheer on the cyclists who, after climbing a hard hill, needed the support. Chants of "vamos", "come on" and "allez" alternated with the rhythms of the pedals of the riders.

The upper part of the course is not the favourite of Dutch rider Puck Pieterse, the world number one and reigning European champion, although the athlete did admit to being charmed by the venue. “I really liked the part in the forest and having the opportunity to discover this course.”

With around 3,000 people, the public was more than satisfied, with the Olympic venue buzzing twice in a row to the sounds of French anthem La Marseillaise, after the victories of local athletes Loana Lecomte and Victor Koretzky.

“It’s great to be here, to feel that positive energy. Overall, this track is already on a very good level. It corresponds to the sporting expectations of an Olympic event,” said Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet, who was delighted with the success of this test event.

Mathieu van der Poel: “I learned some interesting things”

No mountain biker would have refused victory in the test event, however, the main thing was to gather information in order to prepare for the next Olympic Games.

Ranked sixth in the world, France's Joshua Dubau confirmed that assertion. “Today the most important thing was to take information to work with in the future. The men’s level is quite high so, yes, it’s a fight.”

The Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel was one of the most acclaimed riders at the test event. Having recently been crowned road race champion at the World Championships in Glasgow, he has returned to mountain biking, finishing 28th at the test event. 

“I learned some interesting things. I knew I wasn't in the physical condition to finish in the top positions, but it’s good to have seen the course and the start too. I like the course. The Olympic title is still a goal, but it’s going to be difficult.”

Also expressing his satisfaction was Switzerland's Rio 2016 Olympic champion Nino Schurter: “It’s a fun course. There’s a bit too much gravel, but they’re going to work on it and I think it’s a good course for everyone.”

At one point, the 20-year-old Junior European champion Adrien Boichis shared a joyful moment with Van der Poel, taking a picture with the Dutch star. It was a symbol of an afternoon where mountain bike was at its very best, under the warm sun of Elancourt hill.

READ ALSO - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot retains women's mountain bike cross-country world title