The final round of the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup takes place from 22-23 August in Val Di Sole, Italy with a number of British riders racing across the cross-country and downhill disciplines.
The sixth round which has hosted cross-country racing offers Rio Olympic qualifying points with British champions Grant Ferguson and Annie Last among those in action for Britain.
In the downhill competition, Rachel Atherton has already wrapped up the elite women’s title after an imperious run of five consecutive wins while Laurie Greenland leads the junior men’s standings.
Cross-country
After mechanical issues scuppered his chances at the under-23 men's races in Lenzerheide and Mont-Sainte-Anne, 21-year-old British Cycling Olympic Podium Programme rider Ferguson got his season back on track with fourth in Windham in the USA.
The result puts the Scot eighth overall in the standings and he will hope to push for a podium spot once more, having achieved the feat three times during the 2014 world cup campaign.
Annie Last has continued her resurgence after a torrid period of injury as she aims to qualify a spot for Great Britain in the women’s race at the Rio Olympic Games. A puncture in Windham saw the London Olympian finish 13th and she sits 14th overall.
In the under-23 women’s race, Alice Barnes is missing having followed up her first world cup podium in Mont-Sainte-Anne with sixth in the USA.
Downhill
Rachel Atherton may have wrapped up her fourth world cup title but the 27-year-old will want to sustain her form ahead of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Andorra in early September.
Behind Atherton, Great Britain can complete a 1-2-3 with world champion Manon Carpenter in second and Tahnee Seagrave in third.
Josh Bryceland has been the sole British winner of an elite men's world cup round so far this year, in Mont-Sainte-Anne, and holds a slight advantage in fifth overall ahead of world champion Gee Atherton.
Danny Hart is also in the top ten and the trio will hope to take strong performances into Andorra.
In the junior men's event, Laurie Greenland can complete a stunning world cup with the overall victory, having put together a hat-trick of wins at Lenzerheide, Mont-Sainte-Anne and Windham though he will need one more excellent weekend to secure the honour.
How to follow the racing
- Watch the downhill finals live on Red Bull TV from 12.30pm on Saturday.
- Watch Annie Last in the elite women’s cross-country race live on Red Bull TV from 9am on Sunday.
- Updates on Twitter @BritishCycling.
- Report and reaction on the British Cycling website.
