2014 Cairns World Cup Courses Sneek Peek

“World Trail have the XCO and DH courses for the 2014 Cairns World Cup at approximately 75% completion. Walking the courses with Glen Jacobs and Ryan de la Rue, their levels of craftmanship and passion were infectious. Jacobs is impossibly enthusiastic about building quality trails that aren’t just for World Cup riders, but something that can be ridden by locals. Yet their design allows a trail to be ridden faster, and harder. You can go faster, but you will need to work for it. Greater speeds open up new lines, which need more strength and skill to manage.

The XCO course is quite different to that used in 1996, in keeping with the changes that the sport demands. There are key areas around the course where spectators will have great visibility of the racers as they loop around them, racing in tight quarters within natural amphitheatres. The main climb is likely to have a greater vertical gain than any other World Cup course in 2014 according to Cycling Australia Technical Director Tim Sheedy. Sections like the Rodeo Drop, and Cadel’s will test the technical downhill and climbing abilities of the World Cup crowd.

The DH course shares a very similar start to the 1996 World Championship course. Gone is the sharks head, and the jury is out as to what carnivore may replace the shark for 2014. The course quickly snakes down an impossibly tight ridge, with painstakingly built berms harnessing the racers speed as they drop down Minjin. The corkscrew is being rebuilt, and it launches riders down what could be best described as a motocross track on a sheer downhill, complete with whoops before a potential speed trap. The lower sections are still the old track, with tight rainforest sections awaiting the practiced art of the World Trail shovels and diggers.”