March 09, 2018 (Stellenbosch, South Africa) – The 28th season of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will begin March 10th with the first round of the cross-country Olympic (XCO), in the new location of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Stellenbosch is actually an ‘old-new’ location, having hosted a downhill round of the UCI World Cup back in 1997 and a downhill / dual slalom round in 1998. It is the first World Cup in South Africa since Pietermaritzburg in 2014. The competition will take place on the slopes of the Coetzenburg mountain in the Western Cape town, situated 50 kilometres from Cape Town.

Canada’s Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro) and Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) headline a strong contingent of Canucks that will be on the start line. In the U23 Men’s race Quinton Disera (Norco Factory Team), Marc-André Fortier (Pivot Cycles OTE) and teammates Felix Belhumeur and Raphael Auclair are on board.

Joining Pendrel and Batty in the Elite Women’s race are Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team), Cindy Montambault and Rebecca Beaumont. For the Elite men it’s Leandre Bouchard (KMC-Ekoi SRSuntour), Peter Disera (Norco Factory Team), Raphael Gagne (Silverback OMX Pro Team) and Andrew L’Esperance (Forward Racing Norco).

All eyes will be on 2017 overall UCI World Cup winner Nino Schurter (SUI) who will start 2018 with the Number 1 plate for Elite Men after an unprecedented season that saw him win every single round – something never before accomplished in XCO. He will look to extend his run of victories in Stellenbosch.

The Number 1 plate for Elite Women goes to Yana Belomoina (UKR), who won three rounds in 2017 and finished in the top five at every round. The 4.4 kilometre course features 180 metres of climbing per lap with two long climbs and descents each lap.