January 4, 2008 – The International Cycling Union has published the UCI mountain bike ranking by nation (Olympic cross-country), for men and women, as of December 31, 2007. For men’s qualification, according to the UCI criteria, the top five ranked countries are allowed the maximum three riders. The Canadian men are ranked ninth, which means they receive only two Olympic spots (sixth through 13th ranked nations are allowed two spots). The women’s criteria allows a maximum of two riders for the top eight team. The Canadian women are ranked fourth, which allows them the maximum number of spots.

This ranking, combined with the ranking as at 31 December 2006, constitutes the main criterion according to which the National Federation quotas for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing are calculated.

According to the men’s cumulative ranking by nation, the top 24 countries qualify for the Games. According to the women’s cumulative ranking by nation, the top 18 countries qualify for the Games.

The UCI will inform the National Olympic Committees at the beginning of January of the number of qualification places they have obtained according to criterion 1 (UCI ranking by nation) or criterion 2 (2007 Continental Championships), in accordance with Part XI of the UCI Rules, “Olympic Games: qualification system for the 2008 Olympic Games”.

Men
1. France – 7864 points
2. Switzerland – 7349
3. Spain – 5472
4. Belgium – 4364
5. Germany – 4353
6. USA – 4224
7. Netherlands – 3724
8. Sweden – 3695
9. Canada – 3462
10. Austria – 3261

Women
1. China – 7236 points
2. Germany – 6346
3. USA – 6193
4. Canada – 6182
5. Norway – 4957
6. Poland – 4849
7. Russia – 4576
8. Switzerland – 4478
9. France – 3931
10. Czech Republic – 3643

View the full document (PDF) here.