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Mountain Bike Test Events

The world’s best mountain bikers have a rendezvous with the Olympic track on Elancourt hill! Paris 2024 is testing itself by organizing a day of competitions on Sunday September 24 to allow world athletes to get their marks with less than a year to go before the Games. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Loana Lecomte, Tom Pidcock, Mathieu Van der Poel and Nino Schurter: all of them will be there!

The event in brief

Paris 2024 is organizing two cross-country mountain bike competitions on September 24, 2023, to test a number of different features, such as sports operations, less than a year ahead of the Games. The competitions will be held on the hill of Elancourt, the highest point in the Île-de-France region at 231 meters. Although the competition is not a qualifying event for the Games, delegations will be watching their athletes familiarize themselves with this new track and race against each other. Between 3,000 and 5,000 spectators are expected to enjoy the event. Tickets have been allocated for free to local authorities involved in the project, members of Club Paris 2024 and members of local cycling clubs!  

Elancourt, an emblematic site

Organizing the mountain bike cross-country competition on the Elancourt hill was an logical choice. First, the terrain allows us to imagine a interesting track, worthy of a top-level competition. In addition to the terrain, the site has many other qualities. Just 35 km from Paris, the hill of Elancourt offers a wooded environment ideal for mountain biking. It is already popular with local sports lovers. In the immediate proximity of the Vélodrome National, the BMX track of the Games and the Headquarters of the French Cycling Federation, the development of the Elancourt hill will contribute to establishing Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines as a major cycling spot in France. 

2 races on the program on September 24, 2023 

  • Women’s individual race, starting at 1pm
  • Men’s individual race, from 3pm

Awards ceremonies, from 4:30pm 

Race formats  

The individual women’s and men’s Mountain Bike races take place in the standard cross-country format. The Elancourt hill track is 4.350 km long. Athletes start in groups, and the first lap (“start loop”) is shorter (2.2 km) to allow the peloton to stretch out. The number of laps to be completed is determined on training days by the president of the Union Cycliste Internationale jury. The event takes place over several dozen kilometers, with a race time of between 1h20 and 1h40. 

Sport infos 

  • Number of women athletes: 34
  • Number of men athletes: 39  

How to follow the race 

The race will not be broadcast on television. Written and video summaries will be available on the Paris 2024 website and in the media after competition day. 

Practical information

Discover the spectator guide

  

The test event news

Daily news from the Moutain bike test event

Check out the race results – Women Check out the race results – Men Read more about the Paris 2024 testing programme