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The 2022 Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Cross-Country competition kicks off in Petrópolis, Brazil

Follow all the action Live and On-Demand on Red Bull TV this Friday and Sunday

 

Henrique Avancini - Credit : Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool

Petrópolis, 5 April 2022:  This weekend the Cross-Country mountain bike season kicks off in Petrópolis, at the 2022 Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - bringing Brazil back on to the international mountain bike radar six years after the Olympic Games. Follow the World Cup action live and for free on Red Bull TV this Friday and Sunday.

Live finals schedule on Red Bull TV: 

XCC

·       The Women’s Elite final takes place on Friday, 08 April, at 7:20 pm (GMT)

·       The Men’s Elite final takes place on Sunday, 10 April, at 8:15pm (GMT)

XCO 

·       The Women’s Elite final takes place on Sunday, 10 April, at 2:20 pm (GMT)

·       The Men’s Elite final takes place on Sunday, 10 April, at 5:35pm (GMT)

Petrópolis is the hometown of local hero and cyclist Henrique Avancini, the first Brazilian mountain bike rider to ever win a UCI World title when he competed in the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships. He will be looking for the win this weekend as he is joined on the starting line by the world’s best XCO mountain bike riders, including 2021 Overall Mercedes-Benz UCI World Cup winners Mathias Flueckiger (SUI) and Joana Lecomte (FRA), World Champions Evie Richards (GBR) and Nino Schurter (SUI), Olympic Gold medalist Jolanda Neff (SUI), as well as French XCO legend Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

Avancini said: “It’s a chance to show the World my hometown and the MTB Culture that my people developed.It’s a chance to bring good entertainment and action to my town, a very special place to me”.  

Alongside Avancini most of the international superstar athletes have already arrived in Brazil to adapt to the time difference and acclimatize to the subtropical conditions. Will the unique conditions give Avancini the edge over the other competitors? 

Superstar seasoned cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot said : "I'm happy to come to Brazil for the second time in my career. I love the Brazilian public. The people are really kind and welcoming. I'm looking forward to Friday and Sunday to race and get to know the Brazilian bike fans a little bit more".  

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
Mathias Flückiger
Loana Lecomte

Fellow rider Joana Lecomte said of the new stop: "I am happy to start the World Cup season in Brazil. Before I got on the plane, I saw pictures of the circuit on social media and it made me really want to ride. Even though I won the overall World Cup last year, the counters are back to zero. I don't have a specific goal for this first race, the season is long”. 

Mathias Flückiger, who will also join the start line adds: “Especially in Brazil and South America, mountain bike has certainly grown strongly. You can hear a huge resonance from there and that is cool. I still remember how the Olympics were in Rio. The fans are very excited. That makes me really happy.” 

 

 As the race gets underway this weekend, five questions that will be on everyone’s minds:

1.    Will the young guns Loana Lecomte and Evie Richards continue to fly high and dominate like they did in 2021?

2.    How are seasoned athletes Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Jolanda Neff going to reply to the talented young riders coming through the competition?

3.    Who is going to stand out in a very tight men’s competition? Ones to watch include defending overall World Cup winner Mathias Flueckiger (SUI), World Cup winners Victor Koretzky, Henrique Avancini and Christopher Blevins, Olympic Champ Tom Pidcock and legend Nino Schurter. 

4.    Will Nino Schurter become the sole record holder for the most single World Cup wins?

This stop follows the first 2022 Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup stop that took place two weeks ago in Lourdes, France, where we saw all the Downhill legends take to the slopes to start their season. Check out the race highlights here: https://www.redbull.com/sg-en/uci-dh-mtb-world-cup-lourdes-results-and-race-report.  

Looking ahead to the next stop, the XCO riders will compete in Albstadt Germany, on 6-8 May and the next Downhill race will take place in Fort William, Great Britain, on 21-22 May. In total, the 2022 Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup season includes eight rounds of Downhill competition and nine rounds of Cross-Country racing.  The final races will take place as a double header, in Val di Sole, Italy in September.

Watch the entire 2022 Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup season live and for free on Red Bull TV and follow us on facebook.com/RedBullBike and youtube.com/RedBullBike for even more of the action. 

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