Athletes with safety concerns Is the new World Cup course in Valais too dangerous?

This weekend, the 2025 World Cup mountain biking course in Crans-Montana will undergo its baptism of fire. The course is so demanding that it has to be made less difficult after the training sessions.

Is the new World Cup course in Valais too dangerous? Various athletes expressed safety concerns during the training sessions. One thing is clear: the technically demanding course with its tricky stone passages and complicated descents demands everything from the riders just over a month before the Olympic Games.

Athletes like Nino Schurter have nothing against technically demanding courses, on the contrary. However, there should not be too much risk and danger of injury, especially not in the run-up to the Olympic Games. In Crans-Montana, some passages had to be defused before the race.

Large stones, treacherous bends

Two sections in particular proved to be problematic: the large stones in the Rock Garden and a bend in the descent that sloped outwards instead of inwards. The UCI took corrective action here, for example by removing stones and revising the profile of the bends in question. The slippery roots in the forest and the very high speed in the fastest sections also raised concerns.

There are usually different lines in the technical passages, the most demanding is usually the fastest, the easier the slower. For the pros, an A line (high difficulty) and a B line (medium) are usually sufficient. In Crans-Montana on Sunday there will be a D line as well as a C line.

Opportunity for Colombo and Guerrini

The circumstances, or rather the fact that the Olympic participants are likely to dose the risk five weeks before the race in Paris, could play into the hands of Filippo Colombo and Marcel Guerrini in particular. The two Swiss athletes lost out in the tough internal battle for the only two Olympic starting places per nation and gender. However, they have repeatedly shown in recent months that they too can be among the front runners. In technical terms, the Swiss athletes are among the best anyway.

Valais is hosting the world championships in nine different mountain bike disciplines next year. The cross-country races will take place in Crans-Montana. The Swiss Championships were already held on the Valais high plateau in 2023, but only around half of the course was identical to the current one.

SDA