The first World Cup double header of the season is upon us, XCO and Downhill action is on the cards in Leogang, Austria, this weekend! Of course the track is already in terribly muddy conditions for downhill qualifiers and the XC Short Track on Friday but that’s par for the course here. Good thing is that the weather is looking to clear up for the weekend so let’s wait and see what kind of tracks get served up as we go.
The Tracks
The Leogang Downhill track has remained much the same for 2022. Up top they have taped a few sections of the track a touch narrower, requiring some precise manoeuvres to stay on a fast line around the well know tree stump section. The lower woods look much the same but the ruts will be shifting all over the place throughout practice and qualies as the ground is very muddy from rain this week. Have a look at Ben Cathro’s course preview below!
On the XCO side of things, we’re looking at a fairly technical course that is 2.6km in length. You can have a look at the Pivot OTE team’s 2021 course preview below for an idea of what it rides like!
Who’s Racing
Our there repping the South African flag will be Mr Greg Minnaar of course who is certainly still on pace this season though had a very slow P52 in quails today! Also racing in the downhill is Christopher Philogene who finished 25th in Fort William a couple weekends back! The UK based Saffa looks to have found the right recipe to put together a fast time on the DH Track and we’re hoping he can make it stick again in Leogang! Rory Kirk, Theo Erlangsen, Connor Finnis, and Johan Potgieter will also be attempting to slay the steeps of Leogang this weekend. Ike Klaasen and Alex De bruin will be racing in the junior ranks.
On the XCO Course, Alan Hatherly will be fighting once again for his first XCO World Cup Win. He came away with a hard fought for 5th place in Nove Mesto but has his sights firmly set on the top step. He’s showed that he means business with a class act in Brazil, taking the opening XCC win of the season but hasn’t quite cracked it in the XCO. He placed 17th in today’s XCC with sloppy conditions on track which would certainly not be what he was hoping for. Recap our pre-season podcast with the man here.
Also out on the XCO track will be Faces athlete Candice Lill (Mariske Strauss unfortunately not racing due to injury) and u/23 Johan Van Zyl (Computer Mania MTB Racing).
Schedule
Friday 10
XCC Elite Women and Men – 17:20
Saturday 11
Elite Women Downhill Finals – 12:25
Elite Men Downhill Finals – 13:45
Sunday 12
Elite Women XCO Finals – 12:00
Elite Men XCO Finals – 14:30
Watch the racing live on Red Bull TV here
See some more content from the World Cup in Leogang below!
