Starting tomorrow, Friday, things will get serious in Daolasa di Commezzadura with the short track in the evening and the crowd-pleasing four-cross at night. It’s an event with big numbers in Trentino, and it takes place under the banner of ecology and environmental protection
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The wait is over. The spotlight is once again shining on the Italian home of beefy wheels. A little more than a year after a memorable edition of the World Championships, Val di Sole Bikeland is ready to host a new event of world significance in mountain biking: the World Cup Finals, scheduled from tomorrow, Friday, September 2, to Sunday, September 4, in Daolasa di Commezzadura, Trentino.
A true open-air amusement park for MTB lovers and more, with hundreds of kilometers of high-altitude trails, alpine gravel trails, and one of the most popular bike paths in Italy, as well as two bike parks for gravity enthusiasts, Val di Sole Bikeland is preparing once again to become the main stage for several mountain bike show downs live and on screens around the world.
In preparation for the first official races, today, Thursday, Sept. 1, athletes have already begun to conduct their own racecourse reconnaissance, both in downhill and cross-country. This evening starting at 8:15 p.m., the four-crossers will take to the track to qualify for the last two stages of the 4X Pro Tour, scheduled for the evenings of Friday, Sept. 2 and Saturday, Sept. 3, starting at 8:45 p.m.
If Friday, Sept. 2, is all about downhill, with racers campaigning for a spot in Saturday's finals during Friday’s qualifying round (junior men at 12:30 p.m., elite women at 1:30 p.m., and elite men at 2 p.m.), tomorrow will be no less important for cross-country racers.
To win in Val di Sole on Sunday, September 4, racers will need great legs. They will also need a favorable position on the starting grid, which will be determined by tomorrow afternoon's short track (elite women at 5:30 p.m., elite men at 6:15 p.m.). At stake – in addition to the valuable points that determine racers’ cross-country rankings – is also the world cup series title for XC. Among the men, South Africa's Alan Hatherly is ready to defend his rank against the onslaught of Switzerland's Filippo Colombo, who is only 62 points down, while in the women's category, Switzerland's Alessandra Keller should be able to defend her solid 116-point margin over Dutch racer, Anne Terpstra.
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A total of more than 800 athletes from more than 50 countries and five continents will be engaged in the Val di Sole weekend across four MTB disciplines: short track, cross-country, downhill, and four-cross. To the delight of the hometown crowd, there are also great hopes for the Azzurri – elite world cross-country bronze medalist, Luca Braidot, U23 World Champion, Simone Avondetto, and Trentino downhiller, Eleonora Farina, – to write a page in the event’s history books.
Val di Sole 2022 is already writing its own page of history by building on a now long-standing commitment to environmental protection on various fronts. This grand finale weekend in Val di Sole will be the first MTB world cup event to achieve carbon neutrality, thanks to two environmental compensation projects promoted in Congo and Sierra Leone with the support of Climate Partner.
UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE VEZZALI'S PRESENCE IS ANNOUNCED
Daolasa di Commezzadura, which is preparing for unprecedented fan participation, has announced the presence of the Undersecretary of State and Delegate for Sport, Valentina Vezzali, who will perform the awards ceremony following the short track finals and four-cross qualifiers tomorrow evening, Friday, September 2.
