July 6, 2007 (Schladming, Austria) – Nissan UCI World Cup MTB DH #4 takes place this weekend in Schladming, Austria and it looks like another rainy weekend is in store for the world’s best downhillers. Since riders arrived earlier this week, the rain has been on and off, at times extremely heavy. More is predicted throughout the weekend.

The 2km course drops 481m from start to finish, and last year turned out times around the 3:50 mark. It features huge berms under the gondola, some wide open off camber sections and some large jumps. The course has been changed somewhat for this year, with a few new upper sections being cut into the woods. They are extremely steep, reminiscent of the course in Champery, Switzerland, according to riders, and could get extremely interesting if the rain keeps up and the roots start to show. “It could end up being a difficult task for a lot of riders as the big roots come uncovered from under the pine needle and mulch,” we have been told by Monster/Iron Horse team manager Sean Heimdal.

Heimdal went on to tell us that current overall world cup leader Sam Hill is “loving the looks of all the changes”. Hill won here last year, and is coming off a win at Mont Ste-Anne, and a fabulous second-place ride in Champery.

There are an incredible 219 riders registered here for the men’s event and 35 women. There are no Canadians on the official start lists, although Steve Smith (Cove Bikes) is in country for the event and we have been told that Tyler Morland (SRAM/Cove Bikes) is as well.

The 4x here has always been a rider favorite, but there have been some changes made for the better this year. It still features a too short front straight, but includes a wide variety of surfaces, a small rock garden, some log jumps and many rutted flat corners.

No Canadians are registered in the 4x. Stay tuned to pedalmag.com for continued coverage.