UCI reschedules XCO world championships due to weather

Weather is throwing racing schedules into disarray in Andorra for a second year in a row. This year, its cross country world championships that are being reschduled at the last minute.

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced on Saturday that Sunday’s under-23 and elite XCO events would be shortened and shuffled to earlier in the day. The local organizers and cycling’s governing body are hoping to dodge a looming lightening storm forecasted to hit the Pal Arinsal venue on Sunday afternoon.

Races combined, shortened

This is not exactly a minor rescheduling, either. UCI decided to combine the under-23 and elite women into one time slot, though separate rankings will remain for both categories. It’s not immediately clear if there will be separate starts for the U23 racers or if the fields will be combined and results sorted out at the finish line.

All races will be moved forward. The under-23 men will now race at 8:30 a.m. local time. The combined women’s race will be at 10:15 a.m. instead of the planned 1:30 p.m. The elite men see their race moved forward from 3:30 p.m. to the new start time of 12:00 noon (all in times local to Andorra).

All races are now a lap shorter than the planned distance, too. Except for the under-23 women, who will race teh same five laps as the elite women (who were scheduled to race six, initially).

Repeat of 2023 World Cup

Saturday’s rescheduling is a near exact repeat of what happened at the 2023 World Cup at the same venue, though that year it was the downhill racers that saw their schedule drastically changed. Like this year, the changes were the result of looming lightening and, particularly relevant for the downhill crowd, high winds.

The world championships venue in Andorra is located high up in the mountains where the weather can be very variable, fast changing and, at times, extreme. The changes to Sunday’s schedule are made by the UCI with an eye to “Ensuring the safety of our athletes, fans, and all personnel.”

Elite races will still be broadcast on FloBikes in Canada. A silver lining for the under-23 women is that they might now squeeze onto the live broadcast.

Statement from the UCI

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), in close collaboration with the Local Organising Committee and local authorities, has been compelled to adjust the competition schedule for tomorrow’s events at the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, in response to an extended storm with lightning forecast…