No fewer than 44 nations will be represented at the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships this week in Mont-Saint-Anne, Canada. After 1998 and 2010, this is the third time that the title fights have been held at this traditional venue. Mont Saint Anne has been part of the World Cup for the longest time, so there is probably no more venerable host for the anniversary World Championships.

It is not surprising that Canada is not underrepresented as the host nation: 73 of the total of 635 athletes come from the host country. That's 16 more riders than Switzerland fielded for the home event in Lenzerheide last year.

Relay competition at the opening

Traditionally, the title fights start with the team relay, and the Swiss team is one of the big favorites. The European Championships were proof enough that the Swiss team does not have to draw on its full potential to be competitive. But they will be drawing from the full: Nino Schurter leads the Swiss relay team, followed by Jolanda Neff (women's elite), Sina Frei (women's U23), Joel Roth (men's U23) and Janis Baumann (juniors).
However, the quintet will not have it easy. Nations such as Germany, France, Italy and Denmark have often proven that they are just as dangerous for the title with well-coordinated teams and tactics.
The starting signal will be given on Wednesday, August 28 at 6.30 p.m. Swiss time - 12.30 p.m. local time.

Continuation with the juniors

The race program continues on Thursday with the juniors. Ronja Blöchlinger and Jacqueline Schneebeli will start the race at 19:00 Swiss time, followed two hours later by the juniors with Janis Baumann,
Dario Lillo and Luke Wiedmann. Schneebeli and Baumann are regarded as the greatest Swiss hopes among the juniors. After all, the two have already brought home gold and silver from the European Championships.

Friday is the first real downhill day: the downhill elite start the qualifying runs from 12.30 pm. After that, the first predictions for Sunday's title races will be made.
Things get serious for the male U23 athletes on August 30. With Filippo Colombo and Joel Roth, Switzerland has two hot irons in the fire. Under normal circumstances, however, Colombo could win a medal. Roth has performed solidly in the top 10 so far, but is also capable of more with an exploit. Vital Albin should not be ignored either.
The U23 men start the race at 3.30 pm - 9.30 pm Swiss time.

Suspense in the women's race - men's race without MVP

The program continues on the cross-country track. On Saturday morning, at 16:00 on the Swiss clocks, Sina Frei and Nicole Koller will start the women's U23 race. Frei is the big title contender, Koller could reconcile herself with her disappointing season with an exploit.

At 12.15 pm (18.15 CH time), the women's race will be extremely exciting. The race is very open here. Pauline Ferrand Prevot, Jolanda Neff, Jenny Rissveds, Anne Terpstra and of course defending champion Kate Courtney could all win. Elisabeth Brandau and Yana Belomoina or the Canadians Catharine Pendrel and Haley Smith are among the extended group of favorites.
The three other Swiss women are difficult to predict. Linda Indergand, Alessandra Keller and Ramona Forchini can be expected to achieve good results, and with one or two exploits even more.

Nino Schurter will once again start the race at 20:45 (Swiss time) as the defending champion and big favorite. It's a shame that the Dutchman Mathieu Van der Poel won't be at the start, but that doesn't diminish Schurter's competition. And that competition comes from his own ranks with Mathias Flückiger, but also from Henrique Avancini, Gerhard Kerschbaumer and the strong French riders. The forecast for the other Swiss athletes is also open. Lars Forster's form is clearly on the rise, which is why he must be counted among the favorites. If things go well for the Swiss, they are all capable of achieving top 10 results.

Swiss medal chances in the downhill

Two Swiss women, Camille Balanche and Emilie Siegenthaler, celebrated a World Cup podium finish in the downhill. And so such a result is also possible at the World Championships. The elite women will be riding for best times from 19.00 Swiss time.

The same applies to the juniors: Janosch Klaus made the long-awaited podium at the World Cup in Lenzerheide. This should also be possible again at the World Championships. From 3.30 p.m. (CH time), Yannik Bächler and Janosch Klaus will have to hold their nerve and keep their line. There are no Swiss athletes competing in the juniors shortly beforehand.

The last decision of the World Championships in Mont Saint Anne will be made in the men's elite from 20:00. There is a good chance that the title will go to a Frenchman. Loic Bruni and Amaury Pierron have dominated the World Cup season so far, with just one exception: Laurie Greenland was one of the winning riders in Val di Sole. But veteran Greg Minnaar is also still riding at the highest level and with him there are still a handful of medal candidates.

Unfortunately, the only two Swiss qualifiers are not among them. Results among the top 30 are realistic for Basil and Lutz Weber. More is possible, but for that they need an exploit - the perfect ride.

Flicker box on!

The main races of the World Championships - the men's and women's elite categories in cross country and downhill - will be broadcast as usual by Red Bull TV. These will start at 6.00 pm and 8.30 pm on Saturday, and at 6.45 pm on Sunday in the Downhill.
Those who prefer home television can tune in to SRF2 at 6.05 pm, and to the same channel on Sunday at 7.30 pm for the downhill decisions.

E-mountain bike: exhibition race of the alumni

Not everyone is happy that the UCI is organizing e-mountain biking as an official World Championship discipline for the first time. Many don't see it as a competitive sport, including Swiss Cycling: the Swiss association prohibits its squad athletes from taking part. Fans, on the other hand, are well-known names, active but also many former World Cup riders. It is interesting that mountain bikers from all disciplines take part in the e-mountain bike title fights.

For example, Christoph Sauser, Marco-Aurelio Fontana (ITA) and former cross-country superstar Julien Absalon (FRA). Of the active athletes, even the South African Alan Hatherly dares to compete. But downhill and enduro specialist and entertainment cannon Wyn Masters (NZL), top downhill rider Bernard Kerr and Jean-Pierre Bruni, the father of Loic Bruni, are also expected to be among the 46 riders.

Former celebrities from the endurance and gravity disciplines will also be competing in the women's race: Nathalie Schneitter is chasing a power medal at the same venue nine years after her cross-country world championship participation in Mont Saint Anne. Among the former World Cup celebrities is Anneke Beerten from the Netherlands, who was the measure of all things in the 4x for several years.

The electric title fights will be held on a 5.6-kilometer circuit. The e-mountain bikes must not exceed a maximum continuous output of 250 watts and assistance of up to 25 km/h. And while the usual technical assistance is provided to all riders, neither bikes nor batteries may be changed during the race.
The races last around 90 minutes, with the men starting at 8.15pm according to Swiss clocks and the women at 10.30pm.

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