Hosts Rob Warner, Emily Batty, and Eliot Jackson return for Season 2 of ‘Beyond the Line‘—the Red Bull TV show highlighting the UCI MTB World Cup.
Episode one kicks off with a look at Chilean superstar Martin Vidaurre’s whirlwind career. Vali Höll shares insights on team changes, while Rob Warner explores the impact of speed suits on performance. Additionally, Nino Schurter and Kate Courtney discuss how the drive for Olympic qualifications is fuelling high performance and gritty competition.
Then the episode takes in the action from the downhill UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Poland with Ireland’s Ronan Dunne winning his first ever World Cup race and France’s Marine Cabirou storming to victory in the women’s race.
Every episode provides deep coverage of the UCI MTB World Cup, including on-site interviews, race analysis and event updates directly to the studio. “We are diving straight back into the action, and I find out the benefits, again, of wearing a speed suit!”, said Rob Warner.
Crucially, the Cup results (through May 26) will count toward the Mountain Bike Qualification ranking for Paris 2024. Olympic mountain bike racing is exclusive to cross-country with riders all starting together and racing laps between three and six kilometres. The sport went pro in 1990 and joined the Olympic programme six years later.
Red Bull athlete Kate Courtney has shared that she will once again have her eyes set on earning one of two US women’s quota spots for the Olympics. At Tokyo 2020, she finished in 15th place but has since started a special training program to help propel her qualification bid.
“I hired a new coach at the end of last year,” she said. “I kind of have been a little bit off my game, I would say, in the last few years and haven’t felt like I’m making progress towards competing at the front of World Cup races. And that’s really what it’s about for me—I want to be competitive at the front of World Cup races week in and week out. So, I’m on this rebuild and seeing when it all clicks. I’m hoping that that will be sooner rather than later. But ultimately, I just want to get back to being really at my best and performing at the limits of my capabilities. And if that means I can do that before Paris, that would be excellent.”
Red Bull has shared a series of tips for those looking to get in on the MTB action:
Use an easy gear and pace yourself
For long, steady and not-too-technical climbs, pick an easy gear that will allow you to spin your legs easily, manage your effort levels and pace yourself. Too hard a gear and you’ll exhaust yourself, ride too fast at it and you’ll burn out before you reach the top.
Stay seated
When things get steeper, looser, muddier or more technical, it’s tempting to get out of the saddle to keep the power turning, but actually it’s better to stay seated if you can. Standing up means your weight becomes unevenly distributed across the wheels, meaning they have less grip and traction, so you risk them slipping or spinning, which could stop you in your tracks.
Smooth out that pedal stroke
Unlike road cyclists, with their smooth road surfaces, mountain bikers have to deal with all sorts of unpredictable features when climbing. Think rocks, roots, mud and often all three at the same time. Pumping the pedals round like a crazy person will cause you to lose traction, due to the uneven spikes in power.
Hone your mental game
Climbs can feel like they go on forever and have you wondering if you’ll ever make it up. It’s a head game that the pros are very good at managing. On longer climbs, pros have been known to count in one minute intervals when they’re on the limit. Once they make it to the end of that minute they start counting again.
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