Offenburg prepares World Cup course

Work has begun on preparing the course for the opening round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup for cross country in Offenburg-Rammersweier, Germany. The mild winter has given the course constructors plenty of time to prepare the 5.1 km long track, and a few changes have been made to the Dual Speed section in order to make it safer for the riders and spectators. The Offenburg round is scheduled for April 26-27.

In 2007 there were a number of crashes on this steep section. "This is something we would like to prohibit, for the safety of the riders and spectators," said a concerned Event Manager Jörg Scheiderbauer.

Special attention is also being paid to widening the course to give racers the best possible chance of getting a top result - especially with the race serving as an Olympic qualifier for some. With a great majority of the course being singletrack, chances to pass are limited. The section known as Wolfsdrop will now allow two riders side by side to battle it out on the technical downhill.