The official mountain bike test event in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will take place next week. Swiss Cycling will be represented in Japan by four female and two male athletes. Sina Frei, Linda Indergand, Alessandra Keller, Jolanda Neff, Lars Forster and Nino Schurter will be competing on the approximately four-kilometer-long "Izu Mountain Bike Course". World Championship silver medallist Mathias Flückiger and European Championship silver medallist Florian Vogel, who have also been called up, will not be making the long journey to the Far East at the end of the exhausting season. The test event is primarily about getting to know the newly built track.

And it has a lot to offer - super steep climbs, for example. "It's a crazy route. It has lots of steep climbs, some of which you have to pedal hard to get up. Apart from that, the circuit is technically demanding and still pretty wild in places. There are still some off-camber sections where you still need a riding groove and there is also a proper slalom between the trees," says Lars Forster after the track walk, giving an insight into the characteristics of the course.

Further insights, such as those in the picture gallery, can be seen on the Instagram accounts of the BMC team, Nino Schurter and Jolanda Neff.
www.instagram.com/bmcmtbracing
www.instagram.com/nschurter
www.instagram.com/jolandaneff

More mountain biking than before

In fact, the 2020 Olympic route stands out from the last two. Although it resembles the retort courses in many places, some sections are more technically demanding than those in London or Rio. The course also has some natural, unpaved sections where good riding technique is required and good technicians can also make a difference.

The races start on Sunday, October 6, at 11.00 a.m. or 4.00 a.m. Swiss time for the women and at 2.00 p.m. / 7.00 a.m. for the men. Almost everyone who is anyone will be at the start. In addition to the aforementioned Swiss riders, there will be Henrique Avancini, Gerhard Kerschbaumer and Stephane Tempier, for example. Mathieu Van der Poel, on the other hand, has decided not to start at short notice. Pauline Ferrand Prevot, Kate Courntey, Anne Terspstra and young rocket Laura Stigger will be riding in the women's race.

The complete starting lists can be downloaded here.