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E-mail Xinhua, July 27, 2024
PARIS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- "What a difference a day makes" could be the watchword for the mountain biking due to be held at the Paris Olympic Games following a dramatic change of the weather in the French capital.
On Friday, reigning Olympic champion Tom Pidcock complained that the course at Elancourt hill, around 25 miles south-west of Paris was "bland" and "mainly gravel," but by midday on Saturday that perception has maybe changed a little ahead of the women's race on Sunday, with the men competing 24 hours later.
The pouring rain, which threatened to ruin Friday's opening ceremony, continued overnight and through Saturday morning. It will completely change the character of the course.
Elancourt Hill is the highest point in the Paris region, with a height of 231 meters and with 110 meters of total climbing in each of its 4.4-kilometer circuits.
The exact number of circuits the riders will race will be decided the afternoon before each competition, but the races are expected to last a minimum of an hour and 20 minutes and perhaps close to two hours.
The single-track course has a series of gravel switchbacks on the leg-bursting climb, and although it looked as if they would be dry and dusty, all of a sudden that has changed, with water added as a new factor to test the riders' technical ability on the climbs, as well as the steep descents.
It's not dust, but mud that will now be the issue.
It's all go from the off as well, with the riders almost immediately into the first climb, and on a narrow course, it's vital for the favorites to be close to the front, as overtaking will be hard on the single track.
Technical features, such as a rock garden, logs and jumps will also add to the spectacle. The rock garden will have changed its personality over the past 24 hours, with a dry, grippy surface becoming wet with rain and perhaps forcing riders to reconsider the routes they picked when they tested the course last week -- bad news for riders, but something that will add drama and uncertainty to the race. Enditem
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