Preview: World Cup racing returns to North America this weekend

For the first time this year, World Cup racing is back in North America. Both cross country and downhill racers are descending on Snowshoe, W.Va. for a combined weekend of racing. Action starts Friday with the Short Track (XCC), before downhill on Saturday and XCO on Sunday.

Snowshoe kicks off a busy two-week stint of international racing on this side of the Atlantic. From West Virginia, most racers will head north to Canada for the iconic Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup. Many of the gravity crowd will then head west to Whistler for the return of Crankworx. At the same time, the Enduro World Series is hosting a trio of N.American events. Starting with Crankworx Whistler on Aug. 6-7, the EWS then heads stateside to Burke Mountain in Vermont and Sugarloaf in Maine the following two weekends. All this follows after both Canadian XCO and downhill national championships and U.S. nationals. Oof.

All the elite World Cup racing will be broadcast live from West Virginia on Red Bull TV. Check the bottom of this page for the schedule.

Cross country

Snowshoe is the venue where Catharine Pendrel raced her last World Cup last year. This year, it’s Emily Batty carrying momentum into America. Batty scored her best World Cup finish this year with a 10th in Andorra last round. She then carried on to re-capture her XCO national title at Hardwood Ski and Bike. Batty will be looking to continue that trajectory in Snowshoe.

Last year, it was Evie Richards taking the elite women’s win. The reigning world champion will be absent this year, with back issues being followed immediately by a bout with COVID. Instead, the Trek Factory Racing rider will focus on the Commonwealth Games in the first week of August.

The men’s race will also be missing a significant rider. Mathias Flueckiger is sitting out both North American stops. After his altercation with Nino Schurter, and the resulting backlash online, Flueckiger won Andorra’s XCC only to test positive for COVID. He’s taking time to get fully back to health before starting his season again.

That leaves Nino Schurter the chance to continue his quest for a record-breaking 34th career World Cup win. The Swiss star was foiled in Andorra by Italian Luca Braidot. In Snowshoe, it could be Christopher Blevins challenging Schurter. Blevins took his first World Cup XCO win at home in the U.S.A. last year and will be keen on a repeat for the home crowd.

The Canadians will be looking to newly-minted Canadian XCO national champ Peter Disera for the top men’s result. He’ll have outgoing chap Léandre Bouchard and a fleet of younger riders all chasing strong results on North American soil this weekend.

Downhill

Snowshoe has historically served up a dramatic conclusion to the downhill World Cup series. This year there is only a single event, instead of two back-to-back races, and W.Va is in the mid-point of the season calendar. That shouldn’t make racing any less exciting, though. The sharp rocks and technical track at Snowshoe could still make or break the season for those riders in contention for the overall title.

Right now that’s Amaury Pierron and Canada’s Finn Iles on the men’s side. The French rider was looking unstoppable this season until a tree literally stopped him in Andorra. Pierron still raced, but will be hurting from the heavy impact. Finn Iles will have the advantage of racing closer to home this weekend. Both will have to watch for Andorra’s winner, Loris Vergier.

On the women’s side, it’s Camille Balanche and Myriam Nicole battling for the top spot. But Vali Höll, winner of the last round in Andorra, won her first elite World Cup in Snowshoe. That win helped catapult her to the overall title for 2021.

Canada’s dominant juniors

Canada’s juniors are also carrying momentum into the West Virginia World Cup weekend. Five landed on in the top-five at the last round in Andorra, including a podium for Gracey Hemstreet and Tegan Cruz and a win for Jackson Goldstone. Hemstreet and Cruz used the week off after Andorra to earn junior national champion titles so they’ll wear the maple sleeves in the U.S.A. while Goldstone’s staid focused on his overall campaign.

Broadcast Schedule: World Cup DH#6 & XCO/XCC #7 – Snowshoe, W.Va (U.S.A.), July 29-31, 2022

Racing in West Virginia starts Friday with Short Track XCC. Elite races will be broadcast all weekend live on Red Bull TV. Racing on this side of the Atlantic means fans can sleep in for once and watch racing live at a more reasonable hour.

July 29 – World Cup XCC #7

Elite Women XCC: 14:20 PST / 17:20 EST
Elite Men XCC 15:10 PST / 18:10 EST

July 30 – World Cup Downhill #6

Junior Men/Women (Not Televised)

Elite Women DH: 09:25 PST / 12:25 EST
Elite Men DH: 10:45 PST /  13:45 EST

July 31 – World Cup XCO #7

Under-23 Men/Women (Not Televised)

Elite Women XCO: 09:00 PST / 12:00 EST
Elite Men XCO: 11:30 PST / 14:30 EST