Lenzerheide, UCI MTB World Series Round 8 - Preview

Hardly time to process the emotions of the World Championships in Valais, and the focus is already shifting back to the UCI MTB World Series. This weekend (September 19–21) the riders will once again line up in Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team colors for the eighth round in Lenzerheide, Switzerland—just 250 km from Valais, where the rainbow jerseys were awarded.

It’s the last European stop before heading to North America. Lenzerheide has a rich World Cup heritage, hosting the top level of MTB racing since 2015, including the 2018 UCI Downhill and Cross-country World Championships. Today it’s known as the “Bike Kingdom,” a title well earned by linking Arosa, Lenzerheide and Chur into Switzerland’s largest bike area.

Once again Wilier-Vittoria will field a full roster: Simone Avondetto, fresh off his XCO silver medal in Valais, Italian champion Luca Braidot and Juri Zanotti, silver medalist in the Team Relay, will race in the men’s elite events, alongside Sofie Heby Pedersen in the women’s elite. In the U23 fields, all eyes will be on Elian Paccagnella, also a Team Relay medalist, Gustav Heby Pedersen, who claimed XCO bronze at Worlds and currently sits 2nd overall in the World Cup XCC standings and 3rd in XCO, and Ella MacPhee, who is 2nd overall in the women’s U23 XCO rankings.

WHERE TO WATCH THE LENZERHEIDE WORLD CUP?

CLICK HERE to find out which channels/platforms are broadcasting the World Cup in your country. Here are the local start times for the XCC and XCO races, so you won’t miss a single pedal stroke from the Wilier-Vittoria riders!

Friday September 19th

• 10:45 - 11:05 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women U23 (MacPhee)

• 11:35 - 11:55 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men U23 (G.Pedersen, Paccagnella)

• 17:30 - 17:50 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Women Elite (S.Pedersen)

• 18:10 - 18:30 – UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup | Men Elite (Avondetto, Braidot, Zanotti)

  
  

Sunday September 21st

• 09:00 - 10:10 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women U23 (MacPhee)

• 11:00 - 12:10 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men U23 (G.Pedersen, Paccagnella)

• 13:30 - 14:50 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Women Elite (S.Pedersen)

• 15:30 - 16:50 – UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup | Men Elite (Avondetto, Braidot, Zanotti)