Guide: 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - Vallnord

Guide: 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - Vallnord

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The final round of the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup takes place this weekend in Vallnord, Andorra.

Both cross-country and downhill riders will be in action with overall titles or podium positions still up for grabs in every event and a number of British stars will be in action across the weekend.

Cross-country

Elite

Grant Ferguson heads to Andorra on the back of an impressive Olympic debut earlier in August.

The 22-year-old represented Team GB for the first time in Rio, finishing 17th and outperforming several big names, including Marco Aurelio Fontana and Peter Sagan.

Team GB's Grant Ferguson competes at the 2016 Rio Olympics

CST Superior Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Team’s Ferguson already has two top-20 finishes in the world cup this season and a third in Vallnord would help him improve on his 29th place in the overall standings.

Alongside Ferguson in the elite men’s race is fellow Brit Tom Bell.

In the elite women’s event, national champion Annie Last is in action after two good performances in August.

Annie Last

The Novus OMX Pro Team rider was 17th in Mont-Sainte-Anne in the previous round of the world cup before finishing third in the Windham Pro GRT/XCT in New York.

The result in Canada took Last from 50th to 38th in the world cup standings and she could improve further in Andorra.

Also competing in the elite women’s race is Kerry MacPhee, currently 83rd in the standings.

Under-23 and juniors

Great Britain Cycling Team will be represented in the under-23 men’s event in Andorra by Iain Paton.

Iain Paton

The young Scot has had a mixed season in 2016 and is yet to score points in this year’s world cup but will look to finish the international season on a high.

Fresh from winning the British Cycling MTB Cross-country Series, Isla Short will be in action in Vallnord.

Representing Novus OMX Pro Team, Short is currently 22nd in the standings and fellow Brit Lucy Grant will also take to the start-line in Andorra.

Start list

Downhill

Rachel Atherton stands on the verge of completing a perfect world cup season.

The Trek Factory Racing DH rider has won 12 world cup stages in a row across 2015 and 2016 and has already secured the 2016 title.

Atherton’s title in 2015 came from six wins and a second place finish. Can she complete a 100% season in Andorra?

Looking to stop her is fellow British rider Manon Carpenter. The Madison Saracen Factory Team rider took the win at last weekend’s round of the British Cycling MTB Downhill Series in Wales and will look to cement her second place in the competition.

Manon Carpenter

There could even be an all-British podium for the overall world cup standings. Transition Factory Racing / FMD’s Tahnee Seagrave is currently fourth, just 25 points behind Australian Tracey Hannah.

Katy Curd will look to see if she can crack the top 10 – she currently sits in 13th place in the standings.

All four British riders will then head to Italy for the world championships the following weekend, alongside junior rider Aston Tutt who also competes in Andorra this weekend.

In the men’s competition, Danny Hart has a chance of claiming the overall world cup title.

Danny Hart

Timing his form to perfection, the MS Mondraker Team rider has won back-to-back world cup stages and could overtake American Aaron Gwin with another win in Vallnord.

With the upcoming world championships in mind, a number of other British riders will be looking to find form ahead of representing Great Britain Cycling Team in Italy.

Trek Factory Racing DH’s Gee Atherton, national champion Greg Williamson of Cube Global Squad protected by Bliss, Adam Brayton, Gstaad-Scott’s Brendan Fairclough, Laurie Greenland of MS Mondraker Team and Santa Cruz Syndicate’s Josh Bryceland have been selected for the world championships and will be in action in Andorra.

In the men’s junior race, British riders Elliott Heap and Matt Walker will do battle over third place overall.

Heap of Chain Reaction Cycles / Paypal currently has the advantage with 140 points in third, but Walker of Madison Saracen Factory Team, who picked up the win in Cairns earlier in the season, is just 20 points behind him in fourth.

Both will then head to the world championships to represent Great Britain Cycling Team where they’ll be joined by Charlie Hatton, Kaos Seagrave and Joe Parfitt (Transition Factory Racing / FMD), Joe Breeden (Solid Reverse Factory Racing) and James Purvis (Propain Dirt Zelvy) – all of whom are also competing in Andorra.

Start list

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