It’s starting a little later than originally planned, but the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup kicks off for South African fans this week. There are new organisers, new venues, new disciplines and new formats to look forward to; and we have some news regarding how South Africans can watch Greg, Candice, Alan and the others racing live.
By Sean Badenhorst
As we have reported, Red Bull no longer has any involvement in the broadcast or organisation of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. For a decade we became accustomed to the formats and presentation of mountain biking’s highest-level of racing. But, as we recently wrote that’s all changing from 2023. There are six disciplines – Enduro, eEnduro, Downhill, Short-track XC, Olympic XC and Marathon XC – each with its own World Cup series. The collective of them all is known as the UCI Mountain Bike World Series.
Although the 2023 UCI MTB World Cup already kicked off back in March with the first round of the Enduro World Cup (and a second round in April), the disciplines South Africans are most interested in kick of this weekend. Round 1 of the XCC, XCO and XCM World Cups will take place at Nove Mesto, Czech Republic this week. We wait another month for the Downhill World Cup to start in a month at Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
While most of us have our favourite World Cup cross-country racers, we all have a patriotic interest in the South Africans in the mix. For Round 1, there are six South Africans preparing to compete against the world’s best – Alan Hatherly (Elite men), Candice Lill (Elite women), Johan van Zyl (Under-23 men), Daniel van der Walt (Under-23 men) and Tyler Jacobs (Under-23 women). Amy Wakefield is the only South African contesting the XCM race.
On Friday, Hatherly will contest the Men’s XCC race. As the 2022 UCI World Cup XCC Champion, the pressure in this discipline is off, although he does find the short race suits his strengths. He will be wearing the South African champion’s jersey for this discipline after winning the inaugural national XCC title at Thaba Trails, Johannesburg last month.
Hatherly has spent the first quarter of the year focusing on some road racing. At the South African Road Race Championships, he claimed the silver medal in the Individual Time Trial and was fifth in the Road Race. He also did some racing as a member of the EF Education Nippo Development team in Europe.
On the mountain bike, he’s also shone this year, famously beating legend, Nino Schurter, at the King Price Trailseeker marathon race in South Africa in January. He then won Round 1 of the XCO SA Cup in Stellenbosch against an international field and won a Shimano Super Cup XCO race in Banyoles, Spain against a strong international field in February. His only real disappointment came when he finished second to Phil Buys at the SA XCO Champs in April, a race he was expected to win. He did however claim the SA XCC title the following day.
If Hatherly’s trajectory is anything to go by, this should be the year he starts to challenge more consistently for a XCO World Cup win. He came close in 2022 with second in Lenzerheide and a third in Leogang. His only World Cup win so far came in the XCC race in Brazil last year.
There won’t be any South African women in the XCC race. Marsike Strauss is still sidelined with a heart condition and not racing at all and Lill is currently ranked 69th on the UCI rankings. Only the top-40 ranked racers are eligible to race the XCC World Cup events.
Marathon racing makes its World Cup debut with the first of four rounds taking place on Saturday. South Africa’s Amy Wakefield will contest the 120km Women’s race which is a two-lap course with a total of 2500 metres of ascent.
On Saturday afternoon, the Under-23 men and women will contest their XCO races respectively. Van der Walt and Van Zyl will be looking for a strong showing. It’s their final year in the Under-23 division and both are capable of a top 30 finish on a good day. Van Zyl’s form has been particularly impressive this year and he could well see himself in the top 20 with a smooth race.
For Jacobs in her first year as an Under-23, it will be her first World Cup appearance. She’s raced strongly against small fields in South Africa, but will be up against a far stronger international field where she will be looking at gaining experience and finishing in the top 30.
On Sunday, Lill will contest the Women’s XCO race. The South African champion has had a good build-up to the World Cup this year, but hasn’t raced in Europe, opting for the stability and consistency of staying home. She changed coaches in October 2022 and it will be interesting to see her first World Cup performance under the guidance of Barry Austin.
A Commonwealth Games bronze medal and some dominant performances in both XCO and marathon races at home see her start this World Cup season with a high level of confidence and she will be keen to secure a top 30, although she will need to do some overtaking to get there.
The Men’s XCO race is the final event on Sunday and all South African eyes will be on Hatherly. His record at Nove Mesto over the past three years has been 6th and 5th (2020), 6th (2021) and 5th (2022). Not traditionally his favoured course but that may change if he’s on form on Sunday.
HOW TO WATCH FROM SOUTH AFRICA
We received confirmation from SuperSport that the South African pay channel has acquired the rights to the 2023 UCI MTB World Cup. This has been the case in recent years, but unfortunately, other sports can take preference so you may not see all the races live on the TV feed. SuperSport does however have an online feed where you should be able to watch all the races live. Just know that it’s not intuitive to find. You can only access this service if you are a Premium package subscriber, which costs R879 per month (excluding decoder and installation).
If you are a GCN+ subscriber, you will experience geo-blocking, because SuperSport has the rights for South Africa. Acquiring a VPN helps you circumvent this challenge.
The Under-23 Men and Women’s XCO races will be shown live (for free) on the UCI YouTube channel, here.
