2023 UCI MTB XC Worlds Preview

UCI’s Mountain Bike World Championship is about to begin near Glasgow, Scotland. The competition will happen mainly in Glentress Forest, known for technical climbs and fast descents. Riders will need to be ready to shreddy on these rowdy courses in Scotland.

This year’s events and courses promise to deliver plenty of stoke, with technical features and lung-busting climbs and descents. (Okay, the technical features don’t include livestock, but, hey, they’re cute and one of Scotland’s icons.)

Competition Schedule and Courses

Downhill – Nevis Range (Fort William) August 3-5

100 miles north of Glasgow, Fort William is the longest UCI World Cup downhill course at 2.82 km.
This course dips 500 meters and has an average gradient of 11% with a peak of 20%.
Riders will hit 80 km/hour on this course.

*Photo credit to Tweed Valley Tourism Bid*

Marathon – Glentress Forest (Tweed Valley) Sunday, August 6

The Marathon course is technical, with 3200 meters of elevation gain over 100km.
The course is a mix of road, gravel, steep climbs, and long descents.

Cross-Country – Glentress Forest (Tweed Valley) August 8-12

The 96.5 km single-lap Cross-Country course takes riders on singletrack, forest roads, and three tarmac links.
Competitors will actually ride through five forests, with the last 20km through the stunning and challenging Glentress Forest.

E-MTB (yes, really) – Glentress Forest (Tweed Valley) Wednesday, August 9

The E-mountain bike course will feature the same terrain and challenges of the Cross-Country course, but there will be added technical sections to add to the challenge.

Who to Watch

As usual, look for “The Swiss Shredder,” a/k/a Nino Schurter, to dominate the competition on his Scott Spark, hoping to nab his 11th UCI World Champion’s XCO jersey. Schurter’s Scott-SRAM MTB Racing teammate Kate Courtney will represent the US team as she tests her cross-country skills.

Switzerland’s Jolanda Neff is always a force on the XCO Elite Women’s stage. We’ll be watching her shred on a Trek Supercaliber, though she did saddle up a plusher Top Fuel earlier in the season at Lenzerheide to handle some serious gnar on the course.

Gwendalyn Gibson will also be gunning for a US cross-country title in Scotland on a Trek Supercaliber, and her Trek Factory Racing teammates, Riley Amos and Maddie Munro will be shredding in the under-23 division.

The competition in Scotland promises full send thrills for riders and fans alike. We can’t wait to watch!

If you wanna ride like a pro, stop by Bikes Palm Beach for the Scott Spark and Scott Patron or the Trek Top Fuel and Trek Fuel EXe. We can at least help you look like a pro on the trails!