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This weekend, the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano will begin its 20th season, with a new course and a new venue in Yorkshire Dalby Forest, England, for the first round of the cross-country series.
Photo: International downhiller, Jared Graves
Copyright Ian Hylands

In addition to being the opening round of the 2010 series, Dalby will offer British organizers their first chance at producing a world-class mountain bike event in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

This will be the first time the Cross-country World Cup has been held in England since 1999 and the first ever World Cup round to take place in the beautiful Yorkshire region.

Despite some worries, it also appears that the volcanic activity that shut down European airspace for almost one week will not keep any of the top competitors from attending Dalby.

On the women's side, World Cup winner Elisabeth Osl (Central Ghost) will try to retain the jersey she wore for much of last season. However, early season racing has already shown that Lene Byberg (Specialized), the Luna duo of Catharine Pendrel and Georgia Gould, and recent Pan American Continental Champion Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher) are all showing good form.

Add to this World Champion Irina Kalentieva (Topeak-Ergon) and Canada's Marie-Hélène Prémont (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) and we can expect a very hard fought battle for the right to don the World Cup leader's jersey for the first time in 2010.

The men's race is just as interesting. Julien Absalon (Orbea) is always a favourite, but last year he proved to be vulnerable, with Jose Antonio Hermida (Multivan-Merida) taking the first round win. American Todd Wells (Specialized) also having a strong start to the season, winning the Pan American Continental title, as well as two UCI races in California within the past three weeks.

Wells' team mate Burry Stander, the Under-23 World Champion, won the UCI sanctioned Sea Otter Classic just last weekend in California.

The organisers have worked with top riders past and present to devise a brand new course at the well established Dalby Forest venue.

The course will challenge even the most capable of riders, ensuring that the thousands of spectators who are expected to flock to the forest at the end of April have a fantastic weekend of entertainment.

In addition to the World Cup Juniors and Elite races, the organisers in Yorkshire will also be hosting an urban mountain bike race on Friday evening in the local town of Pickering. (collapse)

This weekend, the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano will begin its 20th season, with a new course and a new venue in Yorkshire Dalby Forest, England, for the first round of the cross-country series.
Photo: International downhiller, Jared Graves
Copyright Ian Hylands

In addition to being the opening round of the 2010 series, Dalby will offer British organizers their first chance at producing a world-class mountain bike event in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

This will be the first time the Cross-country World Cup has been held in England since 1999 and the first ever World Cup round to take place in the beautiful Yorkshire region.

Despite so... (expand)

CADEL EVANS was lauded like cycling royalty for his win in the Fleche Wallonne one-day race in Belgium on Wednesday night that made him the first Australian to win an Ardennes classic.

But as important as the victory - and as deserving of the cycling world's praise - was how he won the 198-kilometre race that finished on the third and last ascent of the brutally steep Mur de Huy. Evans's calmness in waiting before moving to the front of a regrouped peloton on the 1.3km climb, while his rivals and their teams scrapped for their positions, smacked of the trademark authority and confidence of a rider in full control of the race and, importantly, his adrenaline-fused emotions.

That Evans (BMC) then timed his winning move with 100 metres to go, where he has been beaten before, and chased down reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (Astana), who finished third after attacking near the end, and second-placed Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha), showed he is becoming a rider with street smarts to burn.

Evans also pulled it off as the marked rider he has become since winning the world road championship and donning the rainbow jersey, strengthening the argument he may be emerging as a boss of the peloton.

''To race in the rainbow jersey is an honour and to win is even sweeter,'' Evans said. ''I've been second before [in 2008], so to finally win is just great. It's a special honour to ride with the rainbow jersey on my shoulders and the goal this season is to honour the rainbow jersey."

While there are thousands of kilometres to be raced before Evans will be recognised as the boss of the pack, the manner of his win confirmed how much he has changed as a rider.

His physical attributes and perseverance have never been questioned. With his two overall seconds in the Tour de France - in 2007 and 2008 - there has been no chance of that. But his ability to handle the big pressure moments has been open to regular debate.

By backing up from a disastrous Tour last year to finish third in the Vuelta a Espana and then win the world road title at Mendrisio, Switzerland, with a solo attack near the end, Evans made huge inroads to dispel those doubts. But by racing so confidently in not only Wednesday's victory but in earlier races, he should have finally earned the credit he deserves.

Evans may say he has not felt any great change, other than a switch in teams. But most observers have noticed his transformation from a nervous odd-bod into a confident champion who may reach his heights this year, starting this weekend in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege one- day classic in Belgium, followed by the Giro d'Italia, starting on May 8, and the Tour, which kicks off on July 3.

Sadly there was one blemish to his latest success. Just after he won, it was announced Swiss teammate Thomas Frei had been withdrawn from racing for testing positive in an A-sample to the drug EPO.

After BMC withheld Italian riders Alessandro Ballan and Mauro Santambrogio from racing because of their involvement in a doping investigation when riding for another team two years ago, Frei's case will place Evans's team under added pressure. But Evans, who has never failed a drug test, should handle that with ease. (collapse)

CADEL EVANS was lauded like cycling royalty for his win in the Fleche Wallonne one-day race in Belgium on Wednesday night that made him the first Australian to win an Ardennes classic.

But as important as the victory - and as deserving of the cycling world's praise - was how he won the 198-kilometre race that finished on the third and last ascent of the brutally steep Mur de Huy. Evans's calmness in waiting before moving to the front of a regrouped peloton on the 1.3km climb, while his rivals and their teams scrapped for their positions, smacked of the trademark authority and confidence of a rider in full control of the race and, importantly, his adrenaline-fused emotions.

That Evans (BMC) ... (expand)

Australia’s track cyclists may have dominated arch rivals Britain at the world championships, but they won’t be crowing about it for long.

National performance director Shayne Bannan believes his youthful Australian squad's ability to top the medal table convincingly in Copenhagen over the past week bodes well for the London 2012 Olympics.

However, he pointed out that while Australia topped the medal tally, Britain won more medals in Olympic events and both countries won three golds each in disciplines on the next Games program which has been reshaped to ensure gender parity.

"Great Britain is still the No.1 nation in Olympic disciplines. We’re not too far behind them," Bannan said.

"We finished with three gold medals in Olympic disciplines and they finished with three gold medals in Olympic discipline events.

"But they have more depth than us across the board, which highlights the areas that we need to improve on.

"It’s going to be pretty tough these next couple of years."

Australia finished with six gold, two silver and two bronze medals, including three golds to 22-year-old Cameron Meyer for the points race, madison and team pursuit.

Team stalwart Anna Meares, a veteran among the new generation at the age of just 26, won gold in the 500m time trial and the team sprint, where she and Kaarle McCulloch broke the world record.

Of those events, only the team pursuit and team sprint have retained their Olympic status with men and women to contest five disciplines each in London.

Of the other Olympic events, Australians Ashlee Ankudinoff, Sarah Kent and Josephine Tomic beat Britain to win the women’s team pursuit.

On Sunday, the final day of racing, Australia’s Shane Perkins took silver in the men’s sprint behind Gregory Bauge of France and compatriot Leigh Howard was second to British rider Ed Clancy in the omnium.

Victoria Pendleton looked unbeatable in the women’s sprint and fellow Briton Sir Chris Hoy was below his best but won the men’s keirin.

Canadian Tara Whitten took the women’s omnium and Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania won the women’s keirin.

"Overall in the Olympic disciplines we’re extremely happy but there are some areas we’ve identified during the week that we need to work on," Bannan said.

"The success here, the coaches and I, we’re going to make sure we neutralise it in the coming months because it’s all about the real challenges that it takes to win an Olympic Games gold medal and that’s what we’re all focusing on.

"Certainly they’re enjoying the moment and a rainbow jersey at the world championships is such a fantastic thing in the sport of cycling so we’re really happy but tomorrow we get back to the nitty gritty again."

Perkins clocked a personal best 9.948sec in the flying 200m to join the exclusive sub-10-second club under the watchful eye of coach and former Australian sprinter Sean Eadie.

"Dipping under the 10, I don’t think it’s sunk in yet what I’ve done, but I want to improve on that," Perkins said.

"I wanted to go 9.8, but 9.9 I’m happy.

"It would have been nice to get the jersey like Sean did here eight years ago but I’m still very pleased.

"There’s still a lot of work to do but I’m looking forward to the challenge heading towards London." (collapse)

Australia’s track cyclists may have dominated arch rivals Britain at the world championships, but they won’t be crowing about it for long.

National performance director Shayne Bannan believes his youthful Australian squad's ability to top the medal table convincingly in Copenhagen over the past week bodes well for the London 2012 Olympics.

However, he pointed out that while Australia topped the medal tally, Britain won more medals in Olympic events and both countries won three golds each in disciplines on the next Games program which has been reshaped to ensure gender parity.

"Great Britain is still the No.1 nation in Olympic disciplines. We’re not too far behind them," Bannan said... (expand)