Haute-Savoie, France
Downhill
Downhill mountain biking is a format that sees the world’s fastest men and women race their bikes down a gravity fed track, and it’s quite literally the fastest time on finals day that wins the event. A controversial new format was introduced in 2023 that saw the introduction of semi-finals; a round that takes place after qualifying, and before the finals day runs which means riders are doing three runs at close to race-pace. It’s high risk, high reward, the racing is always fantastic and the atmosphere is pure electric.
Enduro
Enduro as a race format is one of the most expansive and impressive. Riders will be challenged by between 3 and 6 timed stages that are mostly downhill (some will include a pedal) and vary in length and difficulty. Between each stage they will have an untimed ‘transfer stage’ that could include a hike-a-bike, chair lift, or a good old fashioned pedal; your time on the way up does not matter- all you have to do is make your allotted start time. Riders have to be full throttle on multiple natural and technical tracks, and the person with the best over all time will win the event. The racing is gnarly, the riders are incredibly talented and the speed over huge distances is insane.
Cross Country
XC was the original form of mountain bike racing, and remains one of the most popular disciplines to this day. Confusingly, we can break down XC into three categories; XCO, XCC and XCM.
XCO is the pinnacle of the sport and sees a large group of riders do a mass start, then race a natural off-road circuit littered with features both man-made and natural.
XCC is basically a short circuit version that allows riders to qualify for the first three rows of the XCO.
XCM, or cross country marathon, sees riders competing on vast stretches of single track in a super long point-to-point race.
Pretty much all XC races are fast, furious and extremely exciting, so check it out if you haven’t already!