Preview of the 2024 Olympic mountain biking: No Van der Poel, but Pieterse and Terpstra!

Friday, July 26 is the start date of the 2024 Olympic Games, and cycling enthusiasts need to be alert from the get-go. After the individual time trials on Saturday, the mountain bike races will take place on Sunday and Monday at Élancourt Hill, just outside Paris. Without Mathieu van der Poel, but with Puck Pieterse and Anne Terpstra.

Mountain biking has been part of the Olympic Games since 1996, a fact we remember well as Bart Brentjes won gold in Atlanta for the USA. Four years later, Frenchman Miguel Martinez, father of current cycling pro Lenny, won gold, followed by MTB legends Julien Absalon, Jaroslav Kulhavy, and three years ago, Tom Pidcock, who claimed the title for the men. Swiss rider Jolanda Neff is the current titleholder among the women.

From a Dutch perspective, all eyes were on Mathieu van der Poel and Milan Vader in Tokyo, with Van der Poel being a prime candidate for gold. However, that ended disastrously due to the now-infamous plank incident. This year, Van der Poel is focusing entirely on the road race in Paris on August 3 and is skipping mountain biking, leaving the Netherlands without a male participant. However, there is a strong chance for the women, with Puck Pieterse and Anne Terpstra at the start.

Practical information mountain biking Olympics 2024  

• Sunday, July 28 and Monday, July 29, 2024
• Participants
• Classification: Olympics

In this article

• Latest winners
• Course, weather and times
• Favorites
• TV information

Latest winners mountain biking Olympics men

2020 Tom Pidcock / Jolanda Neff
2016 Nino Schurter / Jenny Rissveds
2012 Jaroslav Kulhavy / Jullie Bresset
2008 Julien Absalon / Sabine Spitz
2004 Julien Absalon / Gonn-Rita Dahle Flesja
2000 Miguel Martinez / Paola Pezzo
1996 Bart Brentjes / Paola Pezzo

Course, weather, and times for mountain biking at the 2024 Olympics

In September of last year, a test event was held on Élancourt Hill in preparation for this year’s Olympics, attended by Dutch mountain bike coach Gerben de Knegt. "The entire loop takes place on an old landfill from the 1800s, but it's beautifully overgrown. It’s really stunning," he remarked.

Puck Pieterse also rode the course on Élancourt Hill, the highest point in the Paris area at 231 meters above sea level, and, as usual, filmed it with her GoPro. The Dutch medal candidate posted the footage on YouTube.

"It's truly an internationally worthy mountain bike course. When you arrive, it's very beautiful. I'm satisfied, and I think our riders are too. It should suit them quite well," De Knegt said following the test races, which were won by Victor Koretzky and Loane Lecomte.

In 2023, heavy rainfall turned the area into a muddy mess, which the organizers resolved with gravel. Regardless of the conditions, De Knegt expects a race for powerhouses. "It's more of a physical course than a technical one; on other courses, you can make more of a difference in that regard. The uphill sections are not too technical."

Weather
Rain is expected in the Paris area on Friday and Saturday, including on Élancourt Hill. This will make the course a bit tougher, though there will be some time to dry out on Sunday and Monday. Temperatures on the race days will range between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius.

Times
Start women: 2:10 p.m. (Sunday, July 28)
Finish women: 3:30 p.m. (Sunday, July 28)

Start men: 2:10 p.m. (Monday, July 29)
Finish men: 3:30 p.m. (Monday, July 29)

Favorites mountain biking Olympics 2024 women

A call to all of the Netherlands: tune in on Sunday afternoon to watch the mountain biking in Paris, as there is a good chance that Puck Pieterse will secure a medal on Élancourt Hill. The Dutch rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck has marked this race as her main goal for the summer and appears ready to shine.

She will need to contend with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the local favorite. The versatile French rider sees the Olympic title as the missing piece in her list of achievements and has gone all out to make one final grand performance on home soil before focusing more on road racing for the next season. France also has Loana Lecomte, the winner of the test event, in their lineup.

The Swiss women occupied the entire podium in Tokyo, but defending champion Jolanda Neff is not even participating this time. Alessandra Keller and Sina Frei will represent Switzerland. Other European outsiders include Laura Stigger and Mona Mitterwallner from Austria, Jenny Rissveds, the former Olympic champion from Sweden, and Hungarian Kata Blanka Vas. And of course, our own Anne Terpstra.

The Anglophone countries also have strong contenders, with Evie Richards (Great Britain), Savilia Blunk, Haley Batten (United States), and Candice Lill (South Africa) being the main medal prospects.

According to IDLProCycling.com, who are the favorites for mountain biking Olympics 2024 women?

Top favorite: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France) and Puck Pieterse (Netherlands)
Outsiders:Loana Lecomte (France), Alessandra Keller (Switzerland) and Evie Richards (Great Britain)
Long shots: Haley Batten (United States), Jenny Rissveds (Sweden), Sina Frei (Switzerland), Laura Stigger (Austria), Candice Lill (South Africa) and Anne Terpstra (Netherlands)

Favorites mountain biking Olympics 2024 men

In the men's competition, there is one clear top favorite in Tom Pidcock, according to the bookmakers. However, there's a catch: the Brit recently had to leave the Tour de France due to COVID-19. The INEOS Grenadiers rider was ill from the virus and will need to prove his worth on Monday.

Aside from Pidcock, we'll keep an eye on the consistently strong French and Swiss riders. The host nation has Victor Koretzky, the winner of the test event, among its ranks, while Jordan Sarrou and Luca Braidot will also be aiming for at least an Olympic diploma. Switzerland will rely on the legend Nino Schurter and his major rival Mathias Flückiger.

Sam Gaze will represent Alpecin-Deceuninck and New Zealand, while Alan Hatherly (South Africa), Riley Amos, and Christopher Blevins (United States) are non-Europeans who could also perform well on Élancourt Hill.

Other outsiders include Simon Andreassen (Denmark), Luca Schwarzbauer (Germany), Ondrej Cink (Czech Republic), Simone Avendetto (Italy), and David Valero (Spain). The Netherlands does not have a male participant, and for Belgium, Jens Schuermans is still racing against the clock after a wrist fracture.

According to IDLProCycling.com, who are the favorites for mountain biking Olympics 2024 men?

Top favorite: Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) and Victor Koretzky (France)
Outsiders:Nino Schurter, Mathias Flückiger (Switzerland) and Sam Gaze (New Zealand)
Long shots: Jordan Sarrou, Luca Braidot (France), Simon Andreassen (Denmark), Alan Hatherly (South Africa), Luca Schwarzbauer (Germany) and Christopher Blevins (United States)

TV mountain biking Olympics 2024 

Eurosport and HBO Max will definitely provide extensive coverage of the Olympic Games, so you can watch the mountain biking events in full on those channels. NOS will likely also cover Puck Pieterse on Sunday, though, like Sporza, the exact timings are still to be confirmed.

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