Tokyo Olympics mountain biking: Everything you need to know about the off-road events

For cycling fans the Tokyo Olympics features countless highlights across disciplines, including the start-studded mountain biking events.

The delayed 2020 Olympics in Japan (now taking place in 2021) will feature both women’s and men’s cross-country MTB events, with familiar names lining up in both.

In the men’s event, the start list will feature stars of the road like Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock, along with mountain bike specialists like reigning Olympic champion Nino Schurter. 

The women’s competition will also feature huge-talents in the off road discipline, including Evie Richards, Kate Courtney and Jolanda Neff. 

Here is everything you need to know about the Tokyo Olympics MTB events: 

When is the Olympic mountain biking?

The men’s MTB event takes place on Monday, July 26 and starts at 7pm Japan time (7am British time, 1am EST in the US), followed by the women’s event on Tuesday, July 27, from 7pm Japan time (7am British time and 1am EST in the US). 

The course 

The Izu MTB Course will be a 4km lap, featuring around 180 metres of elevation gain per lap, featuring some technical rocky sections. The number of laps riders will tackle has not yet been determined, but is expected to be between seven to nine loops. 

Who is riding?

The men’s event will feature some serious talent, including the reigning Olympic gold medalist and multiple world champion Nino Schurter (Switzerland), but he will not be the favourite heading into the race. 

Instead the top-three bookies’s favourites are Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands), Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) and Mathias Flückiger (Switzerland). 

Earlier this year, Pidcock claimed his first elite World Cup victory on the mountain bike in Nove Mesto, after riding away from Van der Poel.

Meanwhile Van der Poel, who is always dominant in World Cup short track events, took his first win at Val di Sole back in 2019 and has been focussed on Olympic gold for much of the 2021 season. 

>>> Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games cycling schedule: when to watch the racing

In the women’s event, Jenny Rissveds (Sweden) is the reigning gold medallist but is not amongst the favourites for victory. 

Instead the French duo of Loana Lecompte and Pauline Ferrand Prevot are among the favourites, with Evie Richards (Great Britain) also a serious contender.

Team GB: Tom Pidcock, Evie Richards

US team: Kate Courtney, Haley Batten, Erin Huck Christopher Blevins