MTB Marathon World Champs this weekend are first in North America

2021 Elite Women’s XCC race at Snowshoe, WV. US riders Simone Berger (leading) and Madeline Depman. File photo: Jeff Barber.

The 2024 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championship race is coming to North America for the first time ever this weekend, and it’s landing in a familiar location: Snowshoe, West Virginia. The 64.8mi course starts and ends in Snowshoe Resort Village, and features a grueling 6,522ft of climbing. Athletes from around the world are set to compete, including dozens of US men and women who have qualified and are planning to race. The complete entry list is available here.

Cross-country Marathon (XCM) was established as a UCI discipline in 2003 and is a “point-to-point race [that] tests a racer’s abilities to climb, descend and race in a bunch over a huge distance.” The format has evolved a bit over time, and last year in 2023, the race distance became fixed at 100km. Read more about how XCM works here.

A crowd of people gathered outdoors in Snowshoe, West Virginia, with a backdrop of rolling hills and trees. Some individuals are talking in groups, while others are engaged in activities like biking. Notable features include yellow structures and a signpost, with a mix of autumn colors in the foliage. — Janika Loiv leads Hannah Otto on a grassy slope at the 2021 Snowshoe XCC World Cup race

Professional mountain biker Janika Loiv leads Hannah Otto on a grassy slope at the 2021 Snowshoe XCC World Cup race. Several spectators watch in the background, and some event infrastructure is visible. Dust is kicked up as they race along a marked track. — Janika Loiv leads Hannah Otto on a grassy slope at the 2021 Snowshoe XCC World Cup race

Two US women to watch in this weekend’s race are Hannah Otto and Haley Batten. Otto took second in the most recent XCM race at Mégève, France in July, while Batten earned Silver in XC at the Paris Olympics, also in July. Still, Lejla Njemcevic of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a formidable lead in the XCM points standings with first and second place finishes in 2024.

Christopher Blevins at the 2021 Snowshoe World Cup XCC race with bib number 23 performs a jump on a dirt trail surrounded by tall trees. Spectators watch from the side as the rider navigates a challenging downhill section, marked by blue tape. Sunlight filters through the trees, creating a vibrant outdoor atmosphere. — Blevins at Snowshoe in 2021. File photo: Jeff Barber

On the men’s side, Fabian Rabensteiner of Italy is the current points leader with a first and fifth place finish on the XCM circuit in 2024. Cole Paton of Durango, Colorado, is the top US points holder at the moment, and he’ll be joined by other top US men, including Christopher Blevins, also from Durango. Carson Beckett is the US National Champion and will be a contender as well.

With UCI Mountain Bike World Cup XCO and XCC races taking place in Lake Placid the following weekend, and an XCM race there as well, this will be a very competitive race.

Have you ridden any of the trails shown in the course map above? Tell us about them in the comments below!