Rio Mountain Bike Course "Way Better" Than London

(ATR)A leader of the International Cycling Union says he thinks mountain bike events during next year's Olympics will one-up competition staged at London 2012.

"I was very involved in the London Games, which were excellent," Peter van den Abeele, head of off-road for the UCI, said in a statement on Sunday.

"I thought it would be very difficult for upcoming organizers to do better.But after seeing the Rio course, it will be way better than London, so congratulations."

Van den Abeele's comments came on the heels of a mountain bike test event that took place in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

The test drew 80 riders from 32 nations, men and women.

Rio 2016 released a statement following the event and said riders, organizers, and UCI leaders were "delighted" with the outcome of the competition.

"We are extremely satisfied," van den Abeele added.

"The course was really well delivered and we only received positive comments."

Van den Abeele told organizers that any changes between and August of next year would only be "minor tweaks" and suggested that the start-section of the course be re-examined.

Paul Davis, the Rio 2016 mountain bike manager, echoed van den Abeele's sentiments. "It was amazing, the riders were super happy with everything we did, they loved the course.

"It's got big climbs, technical features and it's fast. The Rio 2016 team was excellent and I couldn't ask for more."

Davis, who also managed mountain bike events at London 2012, added, "Now we'll sit down with UCI and address some small issues, but I think we're 99 percent there. We just need a few tweaks, but it's truly special."

The men's race, six laps of the approximately 3-mile course at Deodoro Olympic Park, ended with a close competition between Switzerland's Nino Schurter and France's Maxime Marotte.

Schurter, the reigning world champion, finished first and said the test event signaled an exciting race for next year's Games."The organisation was great, everything went well, and I'm sure we are going to have an awesome Olympic race here next year.

He added, "The challenge was the heat - for us from Europe it's difficult to handle the hot conditions."

Italy's Eva Lechner won the women's race which was comprised of five laps.Poland's Maja Wloszczowska finished second and said the course in Rio "has everything.

"Shorts climbs, long climbs, technical climbs, technical descents that are a very nice to ride.It's a lot of fun for the riders."

Wloszczowska, a Beijing 2008 silver medalist, also said that Brazilian weather would be an obstacle for European riders who would need to pace themselves and stay well-hydrated.

The mountain bike competition was the 13th test event for Rio 2016 and the second staged at the X-Park complex within the Deodoro Olympic Park.

A test event last week for the BMX course encountered problems with weather and rider safety

The next test event taking place at the X-Park complex will be for slalom canoe, slated for Nov. 26-29.

Written byNicole Bennett

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