Pinkbike Primer: How Does the Double Header in Maribor Work?
COVID has gutted the World Cup race season so to try and make the remaining races into more of a series, Maribor and the UCI have planned a double header round this week in Maribor. What that means is that there will be two separate rounds with two qualifying sessions and two finals with everything to play for. It's an experiment we have seen working already in other sports such as Formula 1 and the UCI has implemented it at XC World Cups too with the entire season happening in four races in under two weeks at Nove Mesto a fortnight ago.
The basic format will be qualifying Thursday, race Friday, swap tracks, qualifying Saturday, race Sunday. It's going to be a quick changeover with minimal turn around time, so it could bring some interesting tactics into play. Let's take a closer look at the format, schedule and look ahead to Lousa too.
The Tracks
The races will be run on two different courses but they will both have the same start and finish point. In between those two points, the tracks will remain largely the same but there are four sections that have two routes taped through them. Race 1 will take one of these options all the way down and then riders will race through the other options on Sunday.
The first track is the classic Maribor format and is a well bedded-in, fast, hardpack line. The second options are more fresh-cut, loamy and rooty. If the bad weather we've seen so far continues, it could mean another wild ride.
The first track split comes at the entry to the woods.
Riders have already been allowed to track walk both lines and have practiced on track 1 for the past couple of days. Riders will only have 90 minutes before qualifying to learn the second track on Saturday but thankfully it's only four short sections so shouldn't be too difficult. Riders that qualify will then have another hour of practice on Sunday to dial in their lines.
The Schedule
The UCI's schedule is outlined below:
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Is There an Overall Series?
Yes, with four rounds currently on the cards, the UCI will be doing an overall series this year. Points will be awarded as normal for both qualifying and race sessions in both rounds. Apparently, if the race in Lousa gets cancelled, then the overall will be called off. More on that below.
Where can I watch the races?
We're back to World Cups and that means no geo-blocking as Red Bull TV is the sole rights holder. That means you don't have to resort to a VPN or an inferior broadcast, just watch this race as you normally would. The times and links are below.
Oct 16th
Women's Downhill #1
PST 03:30 / EST 06:30 / BST 11:30 / CEST 12:30
Watch here
Men's Downhill #1
PST 04:45 / EST 07:45 / BST 12:45 / CEST 13:45
Watch here
Oct 18th
Women's Downhill #2
PST 03:30 / EST 06:30 / BST 11:30 / CEST 12:30
Watch here
Men's Downhill #2
PST 04:45 / EST 07:45 / BST 12:45 / CEST 13:45
Watch here
What about Lousa?
Don't hold your breath. Yesterday the Portuguese Government announced that gatherings will be limited to five people following the resurgence of COVID infections across Europe.
The measures will come into force on Thursday and, with rounds three and four of the World Cup series scheduled to happen in two weeks' time in Lousa, it looks increasingly likely that Maribor will now start and end the World Cup season.
Reuters reported that yesterday the country recorded 2,072 daily cases across 400 outbreaks, the highest number of infections in a single day in the country since the pandemic started. Fines for businesses that do not comply with the rules will be doubled from an upper limit of 5,000 to 10,000 Euros and the government said it would impose stricter restrictions if the spread of the virus did not begin to slow.
The final two rounds of the World Cup series were due to take place on 29 Oct to 1 Nov in Lousa, Portugal. We have reached out to the organizers for more information on how this will affect the race and will update you when we get it.
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So while you're 100% correct, the solution is to demand more realistic prize purses, it isn't "well, it's really peanuts anyway, the riders don't need that money." Not to mention, if you're a privateer, or even someone like World Champion Camille Balanche who is on a smaller team and probably not very highly paid, another 10k in your pocket is significant.
They should try asking Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow for a hand-out
Absolutely. Great last weekend seeing the usual top 10 getting totally mixed up. Same for qualis today!
I do have a dozen or two favorites, but somehow at the same time always kinda want to see Minnaar win.
In the meantime keep saying “f*ck Covid” and “down with Covid”. That surely helps
It pays to always take these messages with a grain of salt though. The popular media, an industry that was in serious trouble, is now enjoying much higher readership ratings. So straight away their motivations are not always trustworthy.
Social Media as we know feeds us algorithms to keep us afraid and returning to their product. There are a number of groups that benefit from freaking us out, least of all popular governemnt.
I know you don't know me from a bar of soap, but please take the time to listen to this 20 minute podcast from the BBC Inquiry. It was recorded a year before Covid, and is very illuminating. I am not saying that Covid is not dangerous, just that there are many things that can kill us and that we have got out of whack on this one.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csytft
All the best, and most importantly stay positive!
it's not that funny....
Can't believe they picked this year to add it to the calander. Would have loved to have gone. Actually, i cycled past the racetrack last time i was in portugal.
Your'e dumb
Cheers PB (saarcasticthumbsupemoji)