Media

The final day of the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships presented by Mercedes-Benz once again saw twenty thousand spectators heading to Lenzerheide, raising the total number of fans attending the races to 65,000. Following the Cross-Country races of the previous days, Sunday was all about Downhill and track that challenged the riders with dusty, slippery and loose conditions.

The fourth day of racing at the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships presented by Mercedes-Benz in Lenzerheide saw the Cross-Country Elite Men and Women battling it out for the title. Following a cloudy and cold day, the Women’s and Men’s races went ahead under the brilliant late summer sun of the Swiss Alps with nothing but rainbows in the forecast. The 24,000 Swiss fans who made the pilgrimage to the shore of picturesque Lake Heidsee in Lenzerheide, were hoping for another successful day after three days of racing that all saw Team Switzerland winning gold. In the end Kate Courtney took the first Cross-Country gold medal for the USA since 2001 and local hero Nino Schurter (SUI) made history by winning on home soil to take his 7th UCI World Championship individual title in a close fight with Italian Gerhard Kerschbaumer.

Following nightly rainfall, the third day of racing at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships presented by Mercedes-Benz got under way beneath a moody sky. Low hanging clouds kept the already difficult Cross-Country track from drying up, providing the U23 Cross-Country racers with difficult and slippery conditions. As a result, the thousands of spectators lining the course were treated to spectacular racing, that once again saw a dominant performance by the Swiss team.

Following the exciting and action packed first day of racing that saw Switzerland defending its Team Relay UCI World Championship title on home soil, it was time for the Women and Men Juniors to battle it out for the UCI Rainbow Jersey. After a beautiful, sunny morning the weather was to change come race time, but luckily didn’t affect the races.

The 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships presented by Mercedes Benz got off to a great start for the host nation as Switzerland took gold in the Cross-Country Team Relay, followed by Germany in second and Denmark in third place. The Parade of Flags featuring the 57 participating nations officially kicked off the biggest mountain bike event of the year. Shortly after the opening ceremony, the first medal race, the Cross-Country Team Relay, got underway in the glorious late summer sun of the Swiss Alps. The thousands of fans lining the cross-country track were especially excited to cheer on their own team, as Switzerland stood to defend their 2017 UCI World Champion title.