2003 MTB World championships - CM

Lugano, Switzerland, August 30 - September 7, 2003

Preview    Past winners    Start list

Team Relay

Can Canada do it again?

By Kristy Scrymgeour in Lugano

Following the junior women's cross country on Wednesday is the team relay, an event which has been in existence since 1999 and dominated for the past two years by the Canadian team.

In the relay, four riders from each country ride a lap each of the cross country course, for a total of 24.8km. Teams must have one elite man, one elite woman, a U/23 and a junior rider competing.

This year's cross country course is 6.2km long and said to be challenging suiting those with good technical skills. Thomas Frischknecht, who is a household name in the world of mountain biking, helped design the course which has since been described as a "winding, quick and committing track which requires constant attention."

The course starts and finishes at the base of Monte Tamaro, near Lugano, Switzerland at 471m above sea level. It gradually climbs to a peak of 561m where it plateaus out for 1km before dropping back down to the finish line.

Last year's winning team (Canada), made up of Roland Green (Trek Volkswagen), Maximilian Plaxton, Ryder Hesjedal (Gary Fisher) and Alison Sydor (Trek Volkswagen). Despite Green's 2003 season which has been marred with injury and sickness, he has still managed to win three of the five NORBA events in the US and place well in the World Cup events. Hesjedal won the first and last NORBA race this year, taking the series overall and Sydor won the final short track event at the NORBA and is enjoying fine form for this years World Championship event. The relay teams have not yet been selected but will be announced the day prior to the event.

Start list

1 Canada: Christina Redden, Roland Green, Ricky Federau, Max Plaxton
2 Switzerland: Barbara Blatter, Ralph Naf, Balz Weber, Nino Schurter
3 Sweden: Anna Ennocsson, Philip Tavell, Calle Friberg, Emil Lindgren
4 Australia: Anna Baylis, Perren Delacour, Brent Miller, James Maebus
5 Germany: Sabine Spitz, Lado Fumic, Manuel Fumic, Florian Ackermann
6 Great Britain: Jenny Copnall, Phil Dixon, Simon Richardson, Ian Legg
7 Denmark: Mette Andersen, Riis Andersen Peter, Jacob Kieldsen, Jakob Fuglsang
8 USA: Shonny Vanlandingham, Jeremy Horgan, Barry Wicks, John Devine
9 Mexico: Morfin Lorenza, Madrigal Zironda, Valencia Emanuel, Ivan Ordones
10 Netherlands: Daphny Van Den Brand, Tijs Al, Jelmer Pietersma, Hans Becking
11 Spain: Janet Puiggros, Hermida José A., Carlos Coloma, Jordi Vila Membrado
12 Czech Republic: Katerina Hanusova, Milan Spesny, Michael Talavasek, Jaroslav Kulhavy
13 Poland: Anna Szafraniec, Marcin Karcznski, Piotr Formicki, Kryspin Pyrgies
14 Ukraine: Kateryna Yarova, Vitality Tsurkan, Igor Bogdan, Aleksandr Yakimenko

Past winners

1999 Spain, France, Canada
2000 Spain, Switzerland, Italy
2001 Canada, Australia, Spain
2002 Canada, France, Switzerland

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