The MTB World Cup finale MEGA preview

The Trek Factory Racing XC and Downhill squads are officially in the home stretch of the MTB World Cup season. This week, they are in Snowshoe, West Virginia, for the first of two North American legs to close the season, with Mont-Sainte-Anne in Montreal just a week later. 

Both courses are notoriously rough-and-tumble. And they typically take place late in the season, adding another layer of punishment on top of the riders. 

TFR riders have shined brightly at Snowshoe and Mont-Sainte-Anne in the recent past. The current roster of riders have racked up 33 top five finishes across both venues, including wins in Mont-Sainte-Anne by Jolanda Neff in 2022, and in Snowshoe by Evie Richards and Reece Wilson in 2021. (You can scroll down for the full list.)

The North American rounds are the perfect setting for season-ending fireworks. Here’s your primer to the final two MTB World Cup weekends of the year, including how to watch down below.

Short summary: 

Fast, technical, lots of rocks.

Slightly longer summary: 

Let’s start with the cross country tracks. Snowshoe is an undulating course with no long climbs, which forces riders to stay on the gas. It’s fast until a wooded section with lots of roots and rocks to trip up riders, and a setpiece rock garden before the finish line that could decide the race. Mont-Sainte-Anne ramps up the technicality even further with steeper climbs and trickier descents. If you know anything about Jolanda Neff, you can understand why it’s her favorite track.

Snowshoe’s downhill course is fast … until it’s not. Riders speed down a steep, open track until the rock gardens begin. Mont-Sainte-Anne raises the vertical drop from 474 meters to 600. It’s somehow even faster and steeper than Snowshoe, making it a test of bravery as much as skill.

TFR riders have taken 22 World Cup podiums this season across XC and DH, and two wins courtesy of their young men’s riders Riley Amos (Andorra U23 XCO) and Bodhi Kuhn (Val di Sole Junior DH). TFR’s elite riders have yet to record a World Cup win this season, which is rare for the squad, especially considering how strong and consistent they’ve been all year.

Evie Richards and Loris Vergier have come the closest. Richards has a pair of short track second-places from Andorra and Les Gets, and appeared to be on a winning pace in Nové Mesto before suffering a mechanical and finishing fourth. Vergier, who has won two World Cup races in each of his last two seasons, has taken second in Lenzerheide and third in Les Gets in 2023. 

You’ll also want to keep an eye on Jolanda Neff, Vlad Dascalu and Anton Cooper. Neff is always a threat to win, especially on technical tracks late in the year. Meanwhile, Dascalu and Cooper appear to be heating up at just the right time. Dascalu took third in Les Gets three weeks ago, while Cooper finished second at the Paris 2024 Olympic test event last weekend.

Just two races remain to determine the final World Cup overall podiums, and there are a number of battles worth paying attention to involving TFR riders.

• Riley Amos is currently in in third place on the men’s U23 short track standings, just 10 points ahead of Canadian rider Carter Woods. However, he’s in fourth place in the Olympic-distance standings, 40 points behind Woods. Amos has been coming on strong lately, finishing first or second in his last four World Cup XCC and XCO races combined. If he can maintain momentum on his home continent, he could take both overall podiums in one swoop. 
• Evie Richards is in fourth place on the elite women’s short track overall podium, 14 points behind Pauline Ferrand Prevot, setting up a duel between two former World Champions for the final podium spot. 
• Loris Vergier has been perhaps the most consistent rider in elite men’s DH racing, and is currently third overall at 112 points behind first place Loic Bruni. Given how DH scoring works — with points given out for qualifying and semi-finals, as well as finals — Vergier is still very much in the running for the overall prize. Do not count out the Frenchman.

Special mention goes to Vali Höll of the RockShox Trek Race Team. Aboard her Trek Session, she has cleaned up the elite women’s DH circuit, winning three World Cup races (not to mention a World Championship!) to take a commanding lead on the overall standings. She is currently on pace to win her second career World Cup overall.

The home team 

Riley Amos, Madigan Munro and Gwendalyn Gibson make up the American contingent of TFR XC. Amos and Munro have won U23 National Championships, with Munro currently bearing the Stars and Stripes jersey. Gibson won her first ever World Cup race in Snowshoe last year, beating Anne Terpstra by two seconds in the short track event. For TFR DH, Bodhi Kuhn will be representing Canada, and is sure to be one of the most closely watched riders in Mont-Sainte-Anne. These riders are going to be highly motivated to show out in front of friendly crowds.

The Hattie Harnden show

Hattie Harnden just wrapped up her Enduro World Cup racing season with a second straight overall podium. Now, one of the most versatile athletes in cycling is aiming her sights on the DH World Cup. Harnden entered the women’s DH field for the first time this year, and showed out well in Lenzerheide, where she placed top 10 in all three of her race runs. She also won the women’s British DH national title against a strong field that included Tahnee Seagrave and Phoebe Gale. She’s finding more speed with every DH start. Her runs in Snowshoe and Mont-Sainte-Anne will be appointment viewing.

Jolanda Neff was made for Mont-Sainte-Anne

Jolanda Neff is one of the most decorated XC riders ever, and no course has been as good to her as Mont-Sainte-Anne. She has taken the podium five times at the venue, including an XCO win in 2018, a World Championships silver medal in 2019, and a perfect weekend just last year. The ultra-technical course is perfectly suited to her vast skill set. Even after an up-and-down season by her standards, Neff will be one of the favorites.

We weren’t kidding when we said that TFR riders really enjoy these venues. Below, take a look at the current riders’ history of top 5 finishes in Snowshoe and Mont-Sainte-Anne:

Top 5 XC finishes at Snowshoe

• Maddie Munro — 3rd place U23 XCO ’22
• Vlad Dascalu — 2nd place elite XCC ’22
• Gwendalyn Gibson — 1st place elite XCC ’22
• Jolanda Neff — 5th place elite XCO ’22
• Jolanda Neff — 5th place elite XCC ’22
• Evie Richards — 1st place elite XCO ’21
• Evie Richards — 1st place elite XCC ’21
• Jolanda Neff — 2nd place elite XCC ’21
• Vlad Dascalu — 2nd place elite XCO ’21
• Gwendalyn Gibson — 4th place U23 XCO ’21
• Evie Richards — 1st place U23 XCO ’19
• Vlad Dascalu — 4th place U23 XCO ’19

Top 5 XC finishes at Mont-Sainte-Anne

• Jolanda Neff — 1st place elite XCO ’22
• Jolanda Neff — 1st place elite XCC ’22
• Madigan Munro — 2nd place U23 XCO ’22
• Gwendalyn Gibson — 2nd place elite XCC ’22
• Jolanda Neff — 2nd place elite XCO ’19 World Championships
• Evie Richards — 4th place U23 XCO ’19 World Championships
• Vlad Dascalu — 1st place U23 XCO ’19 World Championships
• Jolanda Neff — 1st place elite XCO ’18
• Jolanda Neff — 2nd place elite XCC ’18
• Evie Richards — 4th place U23 XCO ’18
• Anton Cooper — 4th place elite XCC ’18
• Jolanda Neff — 1st place elite XCO ’14
• Jolanda Neff — 4th place U23 XCO ’12

Top 5 DH finishes at Snowshoe

• Reece Wilson — 1st place elite DH ’21
• Loris Vergier — 3rd place elite DH ’21

Top 5 DH finishes at Mont-Sainte-Anne

• Bodhi Kuhn — 3rd place junior DH ’22
• Loris Vergier — 5th place elite DH ’18
• Kade Edwards — 2nd place junior DH ’18
• Kade Edwards — 5th place junior DH ’17
• Loris Vergier — 3rd place junior DH ’14
• Loris Vergier — 1st place junior DH ’13

World Cup broadcasts move to GCN+, Eurosport and discovery+. You can stream all men’s and women’s elite racing with subscriptions to any of those services. For those who also want to see the young guns, you’re in luck. The U23 men’s and women’s XCO races, as well as junior men’s and women’s DH finals, will be broadcast for FREE through the UCI MTB World Series YouTube channel.

Click here for a complete list of broadcast providers by country. 

Here’s how the next two weekends will unfold for TFR riders:

MTB World Cup – Snowshoe

Thursday, Sept. 28

• Women’s junior DH qualifying – 3:45 p.m. ET
• Men’s junior DH qualifying – 4 p.m. ET
• Women’s U23 XC short track – 4:45 p.m. ET
• Men’s U23 XC short track – 5:30 p.m. ET

Friday, Sept. 29

• Women’s junior DH finals – 12:45 p.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Men’s junior DH finals – 1:15 p.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Women’s elite DH qualifying — 2 p.m. ET
• Men’s elite DH qualifying — 2:40 p.m. ET
• Women’s elite XC short track – 4:45 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)
• Men’s elite XC short track – 5:30 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)

Saturday, Sept. 30

• Women’s elite DH semi-finals – 10:45 a.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Men’s elite DH semi-finals – 11:20 a.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Women’s elite DH finals – 1 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)
• Men’s elite DH finals – 2 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)

Sunday, Oct. 1

• Men’s U23 XCO – 9 a.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Women’s U23 XCO – 11 a.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Women’s elite XCO – 1 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)
• Men’s elite XCO – 3:30 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)

MTB World Cup – Mont-Sainte-Anne

Thursday, Oct. 5

• Women’s junior DH qualifying – 3:15 p.m. ET
• Men’s junior DH qualifying – 3:30 p.m. ET
• Women’s U23 XC short track – 4:45 p.m. ET
• Men’s U23 XC short track – 5:30 p.m. ET

Friday, Oct. 6

• Women’s junior DH finals – 12:45 p.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Men’s junior DH finals – 1:15 p.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Women’s elite DH qualifying — 2 p.m. ET
• Men’s elite DH qualifying — 2:40 p.m. ET
• Women’s elite XC short track – 4:30 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)
• Men’s elite XC short track – 5:15 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)

Saturday, Oct. 7

• Women’s elite DH semi-finals – 10:45 a.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Men’s elite DH semi-finals – 11:20 a.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Women’s elite DH finals – 1 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)
• Men’s elite DH finals – 2 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)

Sunday, Oct. 8

• Men’s U23 XCO – 9 a.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Women’s U23 XCO – 11 a.m. ET (Watch FREE on YouTube)
• Women’s elite XCO – 1 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)
• Men’s elite XCO – 3:30 p.m. ET (BROADCAST)

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