XC mountain bike race courses are becoming more technical in a bid to become more spectator-friendly and also to keep up with bike design and suspension technology.
This is the third installment in the Outlaw Diaries series that follows mountain biker Patrick "Bengel" Rasche as he seeks out rad adventures in Germany, British Columbia, and now Russia.
Jefferson County, Colorado is testing mountain bike only trails within the popular park system.
Matt Miller is a journalism graduate and enduro mountain biker based in Golden, CO.
The 10 mountain bike descents on the East Coast are among the best downhill trails to shred.
The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest features excellent mountain bike trails to explore, including the CAMBA system.
The Prestacycle TorqRatchet is a compact, packable torque wrench for trailside mountain bike repairs.
Ten of the best kids' mountain bikes of 2018, including lightweight hardtails and even full-suspension bikes. Recommendations range from 12-inch wheels up to 24-inch wheels.
The UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup brings fast-paced, XC competition to the streets complete with ramps, wall rides, and dirt rollers.
Another mountain biker falls victim to a trail trip, this time barbed wire in Ontario, Canada.
Roam Bike Fests are designed for women to have fun on mountain bikes. Riders won't find skills clinics, competitions, or men here.
The Fox Factory Tune program allows mountain bikers to get a custom suspension tune and/or to upgrade to the latest tech for a reasonable price.
The All in Multitool fits inside a mountain bike crank spindle, and includes a chain breaker plus hex and Torx bits.
These aggressive hardtail mountain bikes are designed for trail riding and beyond, and each offers at least 120mm of front suspension travel.
Guidebook author Stephen Hlawaty talks about his favorite MTB trails in Colorado, and why he's still a fan of paper books in the digital age.
The National Recreation Trails class of 2018 includes notable mountain bike trails like Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park in Florida and the Climax Trail in New Mexico.
The BLM in Idaho is testing a new travel management plan that would allow Class 1 electric mountain bikes on previously non-motorized, multi-use trails.
The BLM approved an additional 22.5 miles of singletrack mountain bike trails at Phil's World and has begun construction, despite minor opposition.
Summer mountain bike camps for young riders are popping up all across the USA this year. Campers can learn new skills and get ready for NICA race season.
The second annual Epic 17K mountain bike race claims to be the world's highest, and is set to take place in India's Sikkim state June 26 - 29.
Youth conservation corps programs offer paid trail building programs this summer. Participants gain useful skills, while mountain bikers get new and improved trails.
This kid's hardtail mountain bike build was tricked out with electronic shifting, 4-piston brakes, and color-coordinated hardware.
Tips for dealing with knee, back, neck, and arm pain associated with mountain biking through exercise, stretching, bike fit, and recovery.
The updated Shimano XTR mountain bike line includes a 12-speed drivetrain and new 4-piston enduro brakes.
On May 17, 2018 a revised bill to possibly give bikes access to trails in federally-designated Wilderness areas was introduced to the US Senate.
The ShockStop from Redshift is a mountain bike suspension stem designed to lend some squish to rigid bikes without adding a lot of weight.
If your mountain bike isn't in top condition, it's often be a good idea to call off the ride. A lack of confidence in equipment can result in injury.
Rock Bar storage bags can be mounted to bars, top and down tubes, and even mountain bike fork legs.
Squeeze another season or two out of your mountain bike with these essential upgrades.
A mountain lion attacked two mountain bikers in Washington, killing one and injuring the other.
Get up to speed on the latest changes and trail conditions at the Whistler Bike Park from opening weekend.
The Singletracks community shares their best (and worst) mountain bike crash stories.
A surprising amount of mountain bike prototyping, testing, and even production takes place in the USA.
The 2018 IMBA Ride Centers are all Silver-level, and include Roanoke, VA; Eagle County, CO; and Steamboat Springs, CO.
The Stompump is a portable, mini foot-actuated pump designed for use with mountain bike tires.
Cannondale drops the weight on the F-Si cross-country race bike and introduces the Lefty Ocho suspension fork.
The updated Pivot Trail 429 mountain bike gets longer, higher, and slacker while improving its ability to run 29er or 27.5+ wheels. The trail bike also gets the Super Boost Plus treatment.
Tips for choosing the best mountain bike light for night riding.
Get these enduro mountain bike races on your calendar for 2018. Enduro races are happening all over North America, from North Carolina to Arkansas, and New Mexico to British Columbia.
Game cameras are being used to identify mountain bikers who build illegal trails or trespass on private property. They're even being used to catch trail vandals.
Richard La China, founder of ridelikeaninja.com, shares his philosophy for mountain bike skills training and progression.
The most popular mountain bike trails in each US state and Canadian province, plus up-and-coming trails in select areas.
Traditionally mountain bikers have had free access to trails on public land, but these days more pay-to-play riding options are cropping up.
The Islabikes Creig 24 is a lightweight kids' mountain bike featuring a good component mix for young shredders.
Transgender athlete Kate Weatherly won the 2018 New Zealand Mountain Bike Championships in the DH event.
E-bikes are gaining mountain bike trail access in unexpected places, and for unexpected reasons.
The Salkantay Epic is an all-day, epic mountain bike shuttle ride in Peru located near Machu Picchu.
Singletracks has tested and reviewed more than 30 hip packs, and these are the ones that stand out as our favorites.
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![[feature]
[caption id="attachment_241699" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<img class="size-large wp-image-241699" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SCOTT-Sram_2018_WCStellenbosch_byJochenHaar_1600JHA_9017-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780"> World Cup Stellenbosch in South Africa. photo: Jochen Haar, Scott / SRAM[/caption]
[/feature]
The two highest levels of UCI World Cup mountain biking are easily distinguishable.
Cross-country racers push their limits up and down grueling courses meant to test their mental and cardiovascular abilities alike. An entire pro field is on the course at once, battling, usually aboard a 100mm travel full-suspension mountain bike or a hardtail.
In contrast, UCI World Cup downhill racers are on the track one at a time. Downhill bikes are usually fitted with 200mm of suspension travel and racers push the limits of physics while they compete against each other's times down steep, rocky, and technical tracks.
Both formats will remain the same and there's no sign of the two merging to form a UCI sanctioned enduro series. And yet, XC courses seem to feature more technical features than ever.
At the season opener in Stellenbosch, South Africa in March, XC racers fought for the fastest line down sections of the track that were littered with toppled trees and boulders.
"I loved it," said Chloe Woodruff (Pivot/Stan's No Tubes).
Woodruff has been racing since her high school days in Boulder, CO. She raced two World Cups as a junior and raced the first U23 women's championship race in Rotorua, New Zealand in 2006. Now she races in the pro women's field in national and World Cup cross-country races.
"I'm now fighting for a top-ten finish on my best days," Woodruff told Singletracks. This season she finished 12th in the pro women's field at Stellenbosch, 27th in Albstadt, Germany, and 13th in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic.
[caption id="attachment_241498" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<a href="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mdelorme_03102018-00571-1.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-241498" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mdelorme_03102018-00571-1-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780"></a> Chloe Woodruff picks her way down the 'Pick up Sticks,' section on the Stellenbosch, South Africa World Cup Course. Photo by Matthew Delorme, courtesy of Stan's-Pivot Pro Team.[/caption]
Woodruff says World Cup XC courses are undoubtedly more technical than they used to be. As a result, she was an early adopter of dropper posts on XC courses. Even though they are heaver than a traditional seat post, she doesn't mind the weight penalty because it means a smoother transition from lung-burning climbs to an anxiety-inducing descents.
"Now, it's not just one section of the course," she says. "Most of the descents are pretty technical."
Outside of spending time in the saddle to build endurance, Woodruff participates in skills camps to improve her bike handling and jumping, and she also cross-trains in the gym regularly.
And Woodruff isn't the only one training to handle the rough downhills on XC courses. These days, most of the top pros aren't deterred by messy, log-strewn descents either.
“You have to be able to be technically proficient to be competitive. That wasn’t the case a decade ago," says Woodruff.
Geoff Kabush (Yeti Cycles) has seen this change first hand. Kabush has been racing professionally for over 20 years. He says that individual features in UCI courses are more technical to a point since they're manmade, but since everyone is riding them at the same speed these days, it doesn't allow very technically proficient riders to gain much time.
[caption id="attachment_241499" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<a href="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/geoff-kabush-2.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-241499" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/geoff-kabush-2-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780"></a> Geoff Kabush takes flight on the Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic course in 2015. Photo: www.mtbcrosscountry.com[/caption]
"For the most part, you either pass or fail these sections," he says. "Some of them are steep, but they're quite short. The technical riders can make up time where it’s a more subtle, technical flowing descent where you can use your skill to maintain momentum.”
Kabush cited the Stellenbosch course as an example of how XC World Cup courses have changed over time.
"There were a couple of really technical sections, but in between it was a very smooth course," says Kabush.
<h2>Spectator-friendly courses</h2>
The courses have become shorter and more manufactured over the years so that they can stand up to wet weather and be televised more easily. Course builders were asked to keep courses within a certain distance from the start and finish line, so they beefed up shorter technical sections as much as the UCI allowed.
"It almost became a competition between events, who could have the best rock garden, or the biggest drop-off," says UCI's Deputy Mountain Bike Coordinator, Simon Burney. "If anything, we had to start to reel the course builders in as they were becoming a little bit too extreme for the range of ability we have at a major race."
Burney says the major way World Cup courses have changed over the years is that they are a shorter distance and duration, and are actually built up. In the 90s, the courses may have been simply a dirt road between race tape without any built-up features.
"It depends how far you go back in World Cup history, but we have had World Cups on 10-12km circuits with race durations for the winner of over 3hrs," says Burney. Now the courses are around 4km in length with an average time of 80-90 minutes.
New Zealand's Anton Cooper (Trek Factory Racing), says that the time and distance is good for racers and spectators.
“It’s a length of race that makes it exciting and it’s a good mix of endurance and speed at that time frame,” he said in an interview.
Cooper lost to the reigning World Champ Nino Schurter in a frenzied sprint by the width of a tire at the last World Cup stop. It would have been near impossible to tell the winner without a frame-by-frame replay.
With 16-18 cameras on the course for Red Bull TV alone, an exciting and televisable sports event is a priority.
Cooper, now 23, has been racing for 12 years. He believes the courses are more technical than they ever have been, but with a caveat. With the addition of 29-inch wheels and new suspension technology, the courses have had to step up to the bikes, and the cameras have had to adapt also.
[caption id="attachment_241544" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<a href="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AP-1VSVZPFTD2111_hires_jpeg_24bit_rgb.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-241544" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AP-1VSVZPFTD2111_hires_jpeg_24bit_rgb-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780"></a> Anton Cooper blasts down the Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech Republic course. Photo: Bartek Wolinski, Red Bull Content Pool.[/caption]
“They focus on these sections which look visually imposing, but in reality, there’s one line that everyone’s taking, or there's a fast line and an easy line.”
Cooper doesn't believe it's a bad thing, but it's how racing has evolved over time.
“I know a lot of riders don’t agree with the manmade stuff, but it’s a part of our modern racing and it has to appeal to a TV audience," he said regarding some of the jumps and manmade technical sections on today's courses. "Sometimes there’s courses that are more fun for the riders, but don’t look great on TV.”
World Cup XC racing will continue to evolve. If mountain bikes are eggs and the courses are chickens, it doesn't matter which came first, because each will continue to catch up to the other. It's up to the athletes to show the public how fast it can happen.](https://images.singletracks.com/graphics/no_photo_750x500.png)
![[feature]
[caption id="attachment_241699" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<img class="size-large wp-image-241699" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SCOTT-Sram_2018_WCStellenbosch_byJochenHaar_1600JHA_9017-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780"> World Cup Stellenbosch in South Africa. photo: Jochen Haar, Scott / SRAM[/caption]
[/feature]
The two highest levels of UCI World Cup mountain biking are easily distinguishable.
Cross-country racers push their limits up and down grueling courses meant to test their mental and cardiovascular abilities alike. An entire pro field is on the course at once, battling, usually aboard a 100mm travel full-suspension mountain bike or a hardtail.
In contrast, UCI World Cup downhill racers are on the track one at a time. Downhill bikes are usually fitted with 200mm of suspension travel and racers push the limits of physics while they compete against each other's times down steep, rocky, and technical tracks.
Both formats will remain the same and there's no sign of the two merging to form a UCI sanctioned enduro series. And yet, XC courses seem to feature more technical features than ever.
At the season opener in Stellenbosch, South Africa in March, XC racers fought for the fastest line down sections of the track that were littered with toppled trees and boulders.
"I loved it," said Chloe Woodruff (Pivot/Stan's No Tubes).
Woodruff has been racing since her high school days in Boulder, CO. She raced two World Cups as a junior and raced the first U23 women's championship race in Rotorua, New Zealand in 2006. Now she races in the pro women's field in national and World Cup cross-country races.
"I'm now fighting for a top-ten finish on my best days," Woodruff told Singletracks. This season she finished 12th in the pro women's field at Stellenbosch, 27th in Albstadt, Germany, and 13th in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic.
[caption id="attachment_241498" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<a href="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mdelorme_03102018-00571-1.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-241498" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mdelorme_03102018-00571-1-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780"></a> Chloe Woodruff picks her way down the 'Pick up Sticks,' section on the Stellenbosch, South Africa World Cup Course. Photo by Matthew Delorme, courtesy of Stan's-Pivot Pro Team.[/caption]
Woodruff says World Cup XC courses are undoubtedly more technical than they used to be. As a result, she was an early adopter of dropper posts on XC courses. Even though they are heaver than a traditional seat post, she doesn't mind the weight penalty because it means a smoother transition from lung-burning climbs to an anxiety-inducing descents.
"Now, it's not just one section of the course," she says. "Most of the descents are pretty technical."
Outside of spending time in the saddle to build endurance, Woodruff participates in skills camps to improve her bike handling and jumping, and she also cross-trains in the gym regularly.
And Woodruff isn't the only one training to handle the rough downhills on XC courses. These days, most of the top pros aren't deterred by messy, log-strewn descents either.
“You have to be able to be technically proficient to be competitive. That wasn’t the case a decade ago," says Woodruff.
Geoff Kabush (Yeti Cycles) has seen this change first hand. Kabush has been racing professionally for over 20 years. He says that individual features in UCI courses are more technical to a point since they're manmade, but since everyone is riding them at the same speed these days, it doesn't allow very technically proficient riders to gain much time.
[caption id="attachment_241499" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<a href="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/geoff-kabush-2.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-241499" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/geoff-kabush-2-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780"></a> Geoff Kabush takes flight on the Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic course in 2015. Photo: www.mtbcrosscountry.com[/caption]
"For the most part, you either pass or fail these sections," he says. "Some of them are steep, but they're quite short. The technical riders can make up time where it’s a more subtle, technical flowing descent where you can use your skill to maintain momentum.”
Kabush cited the Stellenbosch course as an example of how XC World Cup courses have changed over time.
"There were a couple of really technical sections, but in between it was a very smooth course," says Kabush.
<h2>Spectator-friendly courses</h2>
The courses have become shorter and more manufactured over the years so that they can stand up to wet weather and be televised more easily. Course builders were asked to keep courses within a certain distance from the start and finish line, so they beefed up shorter technical sections as much as the UCI allowed.
"It almost became a competition between events, who could have the best rock garden, or the biggest drop-off," says UCI's Deputy Mountain Bike Coordinator, Simon Burney. "If anything, we had to start to reel the course builders in as they were becoming a little bit too extreme for the range of ability we have at a major race."
Burney says the major way World Cup courses have changed over the years is that they are a shorter distance and duration, and are actually built up. In the 90s, the courses may have been simply a dirt road between race tape without any built-up features.
"It depends how far you go back in World Cup history, but we have had World Cups on 10-12km circuits with race durations for the winner of over 3hrs," says Burney. Now the courses are around 4km in length with an average time of 80-90 minutes.
New Zealand's Anton Cooper (Trek Factory Racing), says that the time and distance is good for racers and spectators.
“It’s a length of race that makes it exciting and it’s a good mix of endurance and speed at that time frame,” he said in an interview.
Cooper lost to the reigning World Champ Nino Schurter in a frenzied sprint by the width of a tire at the last World Cup stop. It would have been near impossible to tell the winner without a frame-by-frame replay.
With 16-18 cameras on the course for Red Bull TV alone, an exciting and televisable sports event is a priority.
Cooper, now 23, has been racing for 12 years. He believes the courses are more technical than they ever have been, but with a caveat. With the addition of 29-inch wheels and new suspension technology, the courses have had to step up to the bikes, and the cameras have had to adapt also.
[caption id="attachment_241544" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<a href="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AP-1VSVZPFTD2111_hires_jpeg_24bit_rgb.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-241544" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AP-1VSVZPFTD2111_hires_jpeg_24bit_rgb-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780"></a> Anton Cooper blasts down the Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech Republic course. Photo: Bartek Wolinski, Red Bull Content Pool.[/caption]
“They focus on these sections which look visually imposing, but in reality, there’s one line that everyone’s taking, or there's a fast line and an easy line.”
Cooper doesn't believe it's a bad thing, but it's how racing has evolved over time.
“I know a lot of riders don’t agree with the manmade stuff, but it’s a part of our modern racing and it has to appeal to a TV audience," he said regarding some of the jumps and manmade technical sections on today's courses. "Sometimes there’s courses that are more fun for the riders, but don’t look great on TV.”
World Cup XC racing will continue to evolve. If mountain bikes are eggs and the courses are chickens, it doesn't matter which came first, because each will continue to catch up to the other. It's up to the athletes to show the public how fast it can happen.](https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GIrls-on-Wheels-group-shot.jpg)
