What is cross-country Olympic (XCO)?

Cross-country, where are you from and who are you? 

The first cross-country mountain biking World Cup dates back to 1990 and has seen radical changes over the last three decades. After winning its Olympic stripes in Atlanta in 1996, the discipline has been transformed over the years to create a shorter, more technical and more spectacular format. In short, it’s become more TV-friendly. Competitions lasting 2.5 to 3 hours, which were the norm twenty years ago, have been reduced to no more than 90 or even 80 minutes over courses of 3 to 4 kilometers. Athletes have also followed this trend and have a more complete skillset in a discipline where multiple bursts of short but very intense effort are required. 

What is a World Cup?

 

Unlike the World Championships which are run over a single race, the World Cup takes place in several stages and different continents during the season. The 2022 season consists of nine rounds in as many countries. Brazil, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Andorra, the United States, Canada and Italy are all on this season’s program. The general classification or GC is determined by adding up points won in XCC and XCO races (patience padawan, all will become clear below). No bonuses or jokers are awarded during the season. But it’s not uncommon to see athletes win the GC before the last round has even been run, which exempts them from competing in the final. A new feature for this year is a GC specific to the XCC and two trophies (for men and women) will be awarded at the end of the year. 

I can guess your next question: can anyone take part? No. There are two options for getting to the start line of the XCO: having at least 60 UCI points or gaining right to entry under the colors of your national team.

The course 

The changing trend in courses has had the undeniable advantage of “bringing mountain biking down from the ski resorts”. Today, an Olympic cross-country event can be organized “almost” anywhere. Long climbs are a thing of the past and have given way to 30’’ “humps” raced over 2- or 3-minutes max. This transformation has also had the benefit of bringing mountain biking closer to urban areas. Others also saw it as an opportunity to develop a summer sport on sites that were normally only used in the winter, for example Nove Mesto, a stage in the cross-country skiing and biathlon World Cup but also a classic of the mountain bike circuit since 2011. The courses are 3 to 5 km long and designed to be completed by the best riders in 12 to 15 minutes. Elite men and women, whose race times are similar, therefore do between 6 and 7 laps. Fifteen years ago, the Union Cycliste International (UCI) introduced technical zones (two per lap). If riders have a mechanical problem all parts of the bike can be replaced in this zone… except the frame. Riders have to keep the same bike from start to finish, unlike cyclo-cross where a bike change is allowed. If an athlete happens to have a mechanical issue after they’ve passed the technical zone, they can’t turn back and have to ride on to the next zone. 

Cross-country mountain bike races are held in natural environments but can also have specific features built in, such as jump bridges, rock gardens, etc.  

Equipment 

Bikes have changed as courses have evolved. The Canadian Roland Green may have been seen as coming from another planet when he won the 2001 World Championships on a full-suspension bike, but this is now the norm today. With rare exceptions, riders do pretty much their whole season on bikes with 100 or even 120 mm of suspension travel at both the front and rear. Why this choice? The technology allows an undeniable performance to comfort ratio, but the trend for ever more technical courses has pushed manufacturers to develop machines to cope with them. Some of the major developments in recent years include wheels that are now 29 inches instead of the original 26, which guarantees better momentum, and wider handlebars. 

A World Cup, twice!

 

The UCI introduced a new event in 2018 which takes place on Fridays and is known as the XCC. In a nutshell, this is a short version of the XCO (between 20 and 25 minutes) on a course no more than 2 kilometers in length. OK, but what’s the point of it? Hold your horses, we’re getting there: the XCC is open to the top 40 riders in the UCI ranking. Participation is mandatory but if someone in this famous elite happens to be absent, the next rider down would be invited to take the start. Once the pack is unleashed, the XCC is ultra-nervy and tactical, usually ending in a sprint. But its primary purpose is to determine the first three lines of the main event on Sunday. In other words, a World Cup leader who messes up this important race can easily find themselves having to defend their jersey from the third row on the Sunday. Beyond the third row, riders are placed according to their UCI ranking. Note that the XCC is currently reserved for the elite category only. A year after the first World Championships in the discipline, the UCI therefore decided to award specific trophies for this short cross-country format. So at the end of the season, there will be an XCC World Cup winner and a winner of the “general” World Cup which includes both formats. 

XCO: the main event 

On the Sunday, the elite riders are back for the Olympic competition (Out of all the cross-country disciplines only the XCO has Olympic status). 

After a mass start, to use the terminology of cross-country skiing, they’re off on a race that lasts no more than 1.5 hrs. With more than a hundred riders at the start, getting it wrong here can seriously complicate their chances of placing well. As circuits got shorter, the UCI introduced the 80% rule. If a rider’s time is 80% slower than that of the race leader, they have to pull out of the race but will still be classified. The general classification is determined by adding up the points won in the XCO and XCC.  

Oh yes, and a final little detail that can sometimes lead to misunderstandings. In the media you may see a sentence like “He finished 4th and took his first podium place in the World Cup.” This isn’t a mistake. On each XCO stage, the top five riders are called for the official ceremony. 

So there you have it, you’re now Olympic cross-country specialists, allowing you to show off your knowledge at parties or on your next trip to the sports bar! 

JULBO TEAM