May 9, 2008 (Maribor, Slovenia) – The 2008 Nissan UCI DH/4X World Cup picks up where it left off in 2007 – at Pohorje Sport Centre in Maribor, Slovenia this weekend with the 4X on Saturday and the DH on Sunday. There is no XC event in Maribor this year.

The 4X course starts at an altitude of 385m and drops 60m to the finish after a series of roots and obstacles that will make for a long, technical, and exciting race. Riders will face a double off the start, followed immediately by a bermed left-hand corner, then a natural right turn before they shoot into the dark woods. In the trees, racers battle a tricky series of step-up, jumps, berms, rock garden, and step down and turns, before emerging back on the ski run. They then head immediately into the infamous wall ride, followed by another series of turns, then back into the woods to face more jumps and turns to head out into the open to hit the finish jump.

There are 114 men (no Canadians) on the start list, led by World Champion Brian Lopes (USA). On the women’s side, 16 (also no Canucks) are poised to race, with 2007 World Cup Series Champ Anneke Beertern (Ned) MS-Intense at the top. 4X qualification takes place tonight, starting at 6:00 pm local time / 12:00 pm EST. The finals are scheduled to start at 4:30 pm local time / 11:30 am EST tomorrow.

The men’s and women’s DH finals are Sunday’s showcase event, with semi-finals kicking off the day’s competition at 10:30 am local time / 4:30 am EST. Things really get down to business at 2:30 pm local time / 8:30 am EST for the finals. The DH course starts at an altitude of 785m and ends at 325m after a variety of challenges, starting at the top with lots of roots, and ending on a flat out speed section. The course is strewn with difficulties touting names like “Full Speed”, and “Rock ‘N Roll.”

A whopping 320 men are registered for the race, but Steve Smith (Can) Team Cove Bikes is the only Canadian. Only 38 women will contest, with Claire Buchar (Can) Intense on hand as the sole Canuck. World Champion Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Maxxis will wear the #1 plate for the women, while gravity phenom Sam Hill (Aus) Monster Energy-Iron Horse gets the #1 for the men.