Sam 🎶Schultz (Subaru-Trek)🧸 in action on an infamous rocky downhill section (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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An extended giant rock on the downhill course (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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The Costa Rican team washes its bikes (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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The podium awaits the winners. (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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A look at the start/finish of the cross country (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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There are lots of bridཧges like this out on the cross co𒈔untry course (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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𒀰A rider on a steep drop on the cross c🎀ountry course (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Jeremiah Bishop (Cann🧜ondale) powers up and over a fly🔯over (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale) said all the flyovers w🤡ill take a to🙈ll on the legs. (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek) was recently named to the Canadian Olymౠpic team (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale) (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Heather Irmiger check out a 🌠tire after pre-ridin🔴g the course (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Downhill world champion Danny Hart (Giant) just bef𓃲ore his qualifying run (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Sa🍌m Schultz (Subaru-Trek) will represent the US at the Ol🐈ympic Games (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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This ꩵdrop might not look big in the photo,♑ but it is. (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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A rock drop off on the downhill course (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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The difference between a downhill in your backyard riding 🍸ar𒆙ea and a UCI World Cup is orange paint on some rocks. (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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A jump high up on the downhill course (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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The start ramp of the downhill (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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The start ramp of the downhill (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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One of the views from the s༒ta🉐rt of the downhill course (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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A view from atop the do𒐪wnhill course. Look carefu✨lly and you can see a rainbow. (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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World Cup leader Nino Schurter's number plate (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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A rider goes through a c🧸ulvert th🐽at is used for a course crossover (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Heather Irmiger (Subaru-ꦅTrek) demonstates the best line for some juniꦏors (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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A rider on the cross country course's only stream crossingᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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German national champion Moritz Milatz (BMC) (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Christoph Sauser (Specialized) takes a drop (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Sarah Kaufmann (NoTubes Women's Team) (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Riders on a steep climb (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Rocks and roots on course are typical of Mont-Sai꧅nte-Anne (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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A lo🔥ok up to a climbing portion of the cross country cou🌳rse (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Some workers dial in the pump track (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Two Americans pre-ride the course (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Todd Wells leads Speci🃏alized teammate Burry Stander up and over the flyover. (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Stephen Ettinger (BMC) (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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The day before is the perfect time to p𓆉ractice some rock garden sections (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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A young Canadian rider practices her line (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Kris Sneddon (Kona) on a pre-ride (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Max Plaxton (Specialized) was recently ꧂named to the Canadian Olympic team (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Christoph Sauser (Specia𒊎lized) leads another rider on a bermy section (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Stephen Ettinger (BMC) (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Anton Cooper (Trek World Racing) (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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The c🌞ross country course tw💫ists around a lot in this section. (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Christoph Sauser (Specialized) nails a quick downhill section of t𒉰ꦓhe cross country course (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek) (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
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Mont-Sainte-Anne is one of the most popular World Cup venues among cross country and downhill ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚracers. (Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)
High heat and humidity made for a sweaty day of cross country pre-riding and dow🦂nhill🍷 practice and qualifying on Friday.
"It's a little bit on the chilly side," joked 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Sam Schultz (168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Subaru-Trek) to Cyclingnews. "No, r🐠eally I'm melting. It's been unseasonably cold and rainy in Missoula lately. I'm used to being wet when I ride, but not from my own sweat🎐; rather from the rain."
Schultz, who was recently selected for the US Olympic team, is enjoying the always technical course at Mont-Sainte-Anne, which has hosted cross country World🔯 Cup or World Championship action every year but one in the past 20 years.
"It's like a fu꧅ll body workout out there.🦩 It'll be great to race," he said. "It's super fun. They changed things up a little bit. Where we had a gravel road climb before, we have full body technical climbing. The back stretch used to be more recovery in the past, but now it's full on. It's going to hurt out there, but if things are going well, it's going to be good."
Schultz's teammate 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Jeremy Horgan Kobelski shared his impressions of the course after pre-riding it. "This year, the course is hard. Physically it's more demanding than it has been. There are a couple more technical bits in there, mostly climbing," said JHK to Cyclingnews. "It feels like you can'♚t ride anything easy out there. You have to be pushing just to make it through some of the section🐓s smoothly. It's going to be hard tomorrow."
"There is more up and down and ꦰthey routed one of the singletrack sections the opposite way. It used to be slightly downhill, so you had a lot of rest and you could get into the flow and recover, and now that part is all uphill. It feels like there is no rest anywhere. I feel like this race is always hard from start to finish, so maybe it will just be a bit more of a race of attrition than usual."
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The cross cou༺ntry course is exceptionally dry, ཧeven covered with powdery dust in some places. An overnight shower would make conditions perfect, but only time will tell if the weather will cooperate.
"I like wet races here, but I feel comfort🉐able either way, wet or dry, and I'll take whatever," said JHK.
"I wasn't too keen on the top section. It's just a straight line like it was a few years ago. Once you get into it, it's good," said Hart to Cyclingnews. "We'll see who can stay off the brakes the most. It'ꦛs getting rough ﷽now and it's dusty. It's good, and I really like it."
"I'd like to see a little rain overnight to ✅pad down the dust, but not torrential rain. I like it like it is. It was a little like this at Worlds a few years ago when I got ♏eighth in my first year as an elite. But last year, it rained and was wet."
The reigning world champion paused for moment, and said, "It's all the 𓃲same💎 track for everyone. We'll see who can go fastest down it."
In the attached gallery, Cyclingnews captures some of the action of day one. Stay tuned to Cyclingnews for full coverage from 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Mont-Sainte-Anne. &nꦺbsp;The elite women will race four laps plus a start lap and the elite men will race five laps plus a start ♈lap on Saturday while the downhill finals will happen on Sunday.
Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain ꦰbike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
