UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Haute-Savoie, France: preview, schedule, how to watch
On 4 July, mountain bike fans from around the world will turn their attention to Les Gets, the French ski resort, for the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Haute-Savoie as the best of the best race for the title with just weeks to go until the kickoff of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
From 4-7 July, the course, the lineup of athletes and the stakes promise nothing short of a gripping weekend in the Alps.
The event will parallel that of last year, as all formats of the international series will take place on consecutive weekends, with the cross-country Olympic races going down at the very end on 7 July.
Read on for athletes to follow, the full schedule and how to watch all the action live.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024
Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
(L-R) Nino Schurter of Switzerland, Victor Koretzky of France and Mathias Flueckiger of Switzerland pose on podium after the Cross-Country Olympic Men Elite race during UCI Mountain Bike World Cup on May 09, 2021 in Albstadt, Germany.
Athletes to watch
The start list for this Cup is stacked with the best of the best, as the top three men and first and third ranked women on the UCI’s world leaderboard for the Olympic class will be going head-to-head in their respective divisions.
For the women, all eyes will be on Switzerland’s Alessandra Keller, who currently sits ranked as world number one, and Dutch breakout star Puck Pieterse.
Keller won the individual World Cup in 2022 and took the cross-country short track world title the same year. According to the Swiss Cycling Team’s Instagram, she will be representing her country in Paris at the Olympic Games in less than one month.
Recently dropping from a second place ranking to third, 22-year-old Pieterse sits just 29 points behind France’s three-time Olympian Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, who will not be competing at this event. The Dutch cyclist took three individual wins at XC World Cups in 2023 and boasts two European U23 titles.
Switzerland’s dominance on the world rankings is not just in the women’s division, as Swiss Olympic champion Nino Schurter holds the top spot on the world leaderboard for the men. He is also set to represent his country in Paris after racing in Haute-Savoie, according to the team’s Instagram.
Going up against the world leader in the men’s race is USA’s world number two Riley Amos and France’s two-time Olympian Victor Koretzky, who sits one place below Amos on the leaderboard. Both of these athletes will turn their attention to Paris 2024 following this race.
How to watch
With official broadcasters including Max, discovery+ and Staylive, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series can be streamed on these digital platforms from around the world.
For the United States and most of Europe, including host country France, Max is where to stream the competition. In the United Kingdom, and a few more European countries, Discovery+ is the way to go. In Canada, the series can be found on Flosports and through most of the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, Staylive is where to find it.
Click here for the full list of countries and how to watch from each one.
Schedule
4 July
08:30 - 16:30: Training, DHI
11:00 - 17:00: Training, XCO
5 July
12:00: UCI Downhill World Cup Qualification - Women Elite
12:30: UCI Downhill World Cup Qualification - Men Elite
14:00: UCI Downhill World Cup Qualification - Women Junior
14:15: UCI Downhill World Cup Qualification - Men Junior
15:00: UCI Downhill World Cup Semi Final - Women Elite
15:30: UCI Downhill World Cup Semi Final - Men Elite
16:45: UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup - U23 Women
17:20: UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup - U23 Men
18:00: UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup - Women Elite
18:35: UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup - Men Elite
6 July
11:30: UCI Downhill World Cup Final - Women Junior
12:00: UCI Downhill World Cup Final - Men Junior
13:15: UCI Downhill World Cup Final - Women Elite
14:00: UCI Downhill World Cup Final - Men Elite
7 July
09:00: UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Women U23
11:00: UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Women Elite
13:30: UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Men Elite
15:30: UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Men U23