Organizers of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles have finally pulled back the curtain on their mountain bike venue. And it’s not some distant alpine setting. Riders will tackle the Industry Hills MTB course, perched on a ridgeline in the San Gabriel Valley in the City of Industry Zone, just east of downtown L.A.
The new course promises to be “ultramodern,” with organizers hyping it as a winding network of jumps, drops and technical terrain that cuts straight through one of North America’s largest metro areas.
“It’s a tribute to L.A.’s rugged natural terrain,” reads the announcement. “And fans will be part of the action.”
The Dutch wildcard
Whether Mathieu van der Poel will be on the start line for the 2028 Olympics is still up in the air. But if the road race doesn’t entice him, there’s a chance he’ll pivot to mountain biking for what could be one of the final big targets of his career.
“In three years, I’ll probably be near the end of my career,” van der Poel said. “So it would be a nice goal to race mountain bikes at the Olympics.”
He’s hinted that a tough Olympic road course could sway him away from the mountain bike start line.
“If the road course in L.A. is very hard, then it’s an easier choice,” he told WielerFlits. “Then we might focus on mountain biking a bit earlier.”
Eyes on Worlds first
Even without a firm Olympic plan, van der Poel is already making a return to dirt. He’ll race XCO World Cup in Haute-Savoie on August 31. Then he’ll ride in the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Crans-Montana on September 14.
That should give him plenty of time to decide whether the hills of Los Angeles, or the slick chaos of an Olympic road race, will shape the final chapter of his career.
Van der Poel’s upcoming MTB schedule:
Aug. 31: UCI MTB World Cup XCO – Haute-Savoie
Sept. 14: UCI MTB World Championships – Crans-Montana
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