Salzburg (AUT), August 18, 2015 – 16 races across eight countries are now behind us. Red Bull TV has trotted the globe capturing the sweat and tears (of joy), thrilling action and dramatic moments. Now the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano will come to an end in Val di Sole (ITA) on 22 and 23 August 2015. (Almost) nothing has been decided yet – it is tit-for-tat and wheel-to-wheel for the last time. Stay tuned with Red Bull TV when the best riders will roar out the gate in one final attempt to claim glory.
Greg Minnaar
After a year of respite, Val di Sole is back on the World Cup calendar – the only stop in Italy and an exciting venue for the season finale. You can expect the last races for the overall World Cup title (XCO & DH) to be fast and tough. Red Bull TV will be on-site, streaming the action on Red Bull TV and redbull.com/bike.
Rachel Atherton
The 2.2 km/ 1.24 mi long downhill track in Val di Sole is known to be one of the world’s most technical and demanding courses. After her victory in 2012, Rachel Atherton described it as “brutal, long, physically demanding and crazy”. Racers will be crossing the lines with empty tanks as they leave it all out the track for the last time. The course has been extended by 300 meters and now has an altitude difference of 519 m/ 1,703 ft. including a few new lines. Besides the typical stone and root sections, athletes will have to tackle faster corridors, flowy sections and a road gap. Rachel Atherton has already secured the UCI Mountain Bike DH World Cup overall title in Windham (USA) and can now enjoy the last race.
Aaron Gwin
Within the Men’s Elite, Aaron Gwin might want to try and keep his bike in one piece for this race in order to fend off his rivals. His closest competitor, Greg Minnaar could be fast enough to put a spoke in his plans in the final seconds. But the first World Cup overall title is still within reach for youngster Loic Bruni.
Watch the athletes cross the line live on Saturday, August 22 from 12:30pm GMT/ 05:30am PDT/ 08:30am EDT.
Nino Schurter
The XCO course of 4 km/ 2.5 mi per lap will be dominated by the rider who can best conquer its short, steep climbs and difficult descents. It starts at 830 m/ 2,723 ft. above sea level at Daolasa, before leading into the individual sections. Among them there are also a few new names: the New School section, the Corratec section and Snake Hit section, all of which are guaranteed to provide tingling moments. Three Swiss riders are placed in the top 5 Men Elite ranking, with Nino Schurter leading the pack. Can the defending champion Julien Absalon from France stop him from bagging the UCI overall title? This exciting duel will be decided in Val di Sole.
Julien Absalon
Amongst the Women Elite the defending champion Jolanda Neff also stands a good chance of claiming the crown. However, the Norwegian Gunn-Rita Dahle is close on Jolanda’s tail and never misses an opportunity to attack.
The ladies’ race will start on Sunday, 23 August from 09:00am GMT/ 02:00am PDT/ 05:00am EDT and the men’s race from 12:00am GMT/ 05:00am PDT/ 08:00am EDT.
Gunn-Rita Dahle
Red Bull TV will broadcast the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, live on Red Bull TV – online and on mobile via Android, iOS and Windows Phone, as well as on selected partners’ platforms such as Apple TV, Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV (US), Chromecast and as a pre-installed channel on Samsung Smart TVs (2011+) in 194 countries.