Elites count down to MTB & Trials World Championships MyZA

South Africa Greg Minnaar will look to build on his 2012 victory when he races on home soil at the UCI MTB Trials World Championships 2013 at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg. Photo: Darren Goddard / Gameplan Media

After months of anticipation and preparation, organisers, participants, officials and spectators alike are counting down the hours to the start of the UCI MTB Trials World Championships in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday, August 27.

With Monday’s programme filled with course inspections and the like, Tuesday will see the first action as riders in the various disciplines take to the tracks and familiarise themselves with every twist and turn before the first competition gets under way on Wednesday afternoon.

The event, being staged for the first time on African soil, will follow on from the very well received UCI MTB Masters World Championships, which took place at the same venue last week.

Having hosted a leg of the UCI MTB World Cup in 2009, 2011 and 2012, Cascades MTB park is well known among the globe’s elite competitors and riders are looking forward to tackling Nick Floros’ cross country and Nigel Hicks’ downhill creations.

Both the men’s and women’s cross country clashes promise to be hotly contested affairs with the likes of Nino Schurter (SUI), Julien Absalon (FRA), José Hermida Ramos (ESP) and Jaroslav Kulhavy (CZE) likely to lead the charge in the men’s event, while Tanja Zakelj (SLO), Eva Lechner (ITA), Alexandra Engen (SWE) and Maja Wloszczowska (POL) will look to battle it out on the women’s front.

However, the vast majority of the large local crowd expected to flood the Cascades course on Sunday afternoon will have one goal and one goal only as they cheer on men’s downhill defending world champion and hometown hero Greg Minnaar.

He will be up against the likes of Gee Atherton (GBR), Steve Smith (CAN) and Sam Hill (AUS) for the rainbow striped jersey.

For more UCI MTB Trials World Championships news, click here.

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