The World’s best riders will compete at the Casa de Campo park on may 4th, only a few months before Olympic Games.

The show is back. Madrid will host the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup for it’s seventh time in the short History of this Olympic sport. The Elite of Mountain Bike will meet at the Casa de Campo park, near downtown Madrid, to compete for the victory, and test themselves with the Beijing Olympic Games on sight.

Madrid will host the third of 9 events of the World Cup, which will start in Belgium on April 20th, and will visit Germany before arriving to the capital city of Spain. The crowd will enjoy this spectacular competition, with the participation of the world’s top riders:

- Julien Absalon (France): World Champion, and overall winner of the 2007 World Cup
- Christophe Sauser (Switzerland): 2007 Runner up
- Irina Kalentyeva (Russia): Female World Champion, and overall winner of the 2007 World Cup
- José Antonio Hermida (Spain): 2007 European Champion
- Gunn Rita Dahle (Norway): Former World and European Champion, and overall winner of the 2006 World Cup.
- Sabine Spitz (Germany): 2007 European Champion

The 7 kilometre track will keep it’s traditional "Hot Spots" for the visitors. The most spectacular one is the "Cuesta de la Muerte" ("Death Downhill"), a very technical downhill, where many riders will easily fall down if they don’t ride with caution. The spot with more spectators is the "Subida Infernal" ("Hell’s Uphill"), because it’s very hard for the bikers, and almost no one can climb it pedalling over the bike, and has to do it by foot. The third spot is located closer to the Start and Finish area, attracting a large number of spectators. It’s a downstairs made of wooden steps, that force the riders to go slow and be aware of stones and other obstacles.

A weekend for cycling
Visitors and fans of mountain biking will also be able to feel like the pros on saturday, May 3rd, the day before the World Cup. The organization is working on a Guided Route, as well as on the "Emotion XC Races" (known as "Citizen’s Races" by the UCI), which will be held at the same venue than the Elite races.

The "Emotion XC Races", for licensed riders only, will start at 12 p.m. and will run at the exact same track than the World Cup. It is opened for riders of different categories (Cadet, Junior, Master, male and female Elite-Sub23 and Female Cadet-Junior) who will not need 20 UCI points like the top riders do in order to take the start at the elite World Cup race. Riders can pre-register at the official site (www.mountainbikemadrid.com), but payment must be done in cash (10€) at the Registration Area in the Casa de Campo Park.

Madrid’s World Cup also offers the opportunity to participate in a mountain bike Guided Route through the Casa de Campo Park. It will be a 25 kilometre ride, starting at 11 a.m., and will be lead by Spanish former professional biker Eduardo Chozas and by professional rider Carlos Sastre, who ended in 2nd place at Spain’s La Vuelta and 4th in the Tour of France 2007. The Registration for this Route can be done at the official website (www.mountainbikemadrid.com) with a 5€ cost.

SCHEDULE

Saturday, may 3rd
11h00 – 12h00: Guided Route (25 km), with Carlos Sastre and Eduardo Chozas
12h00 – 15h00: "Emotion XC Races" - Cadet, Junior, Master (30, 40 and 50-60), male and female Elite-Sub23 and Female Cadet-Junior
15h00 – 15h30: "Emotion XC Races" Award Ceremony

Sunday, may 4th
10h00 – 12h00: Cross-Country Olympic Women’s World Cup
12h30 – 14h45: Cross-Country Olympic Men’s World Cup
14h50 – 15h00: Awards Ceremony Women’s World Cup
15h00 – 15h10: Awards Ceremony Men’s World Cup