This weekend Canberra, Australia will host the penultimate round of the World Cup with races in cross country, downhill and 4 cross on the 2009 World Championship course.

Sam Hill’s home World Cup places extra pressure on the former World Champion. 80 fellow country men will join Hill along with 200 international racers across the three disciplines.  However, the course favours the pedally riders like Gee Atherton, Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar and Aussie Nathan Rennie.  The course is 2.3km in length but the lower sections are quite flat and Hill’s record on the course is not good.  A crash here at the Australian National Champs last year cost him the chance at the title. With Gee Atherton breathing down his neck he can’t afford to slip up too much.  He has already lost the World Champions jersey to Gee and presumably he doesn’t want to lose the World Cup either.  With only 128 points between the two and 250 up for grabs for this round, its still all to play for.

Rachel Atherton has to be favourite, given her record this year but Frenchwoman Sabrina Jonnier could still spoil the party.

In contrast to the Downhill course, the XC course is said to be too technical in nature.  Following complaints after a test event last year, like the Olympics course, it was made much harder and again like the Olympics course there are complaints that it is now too hard.  Sections of the course are more demanding than the Downhill course.  Julian Absalon might have lost his World Champs jersey like Hill but comes into the event in blistering form following his commanding win at the Olympics.  With his returned Gold helmet and shoes, Absalon can concentrate on winning the World Cup series.  Chasing hard will be the current rainbow jersey holder, Christoph Sauser.  Silver medalist and Frenchman Jean-Christophe Peraud will be looking to emulate his Olympics shock performance as will Sauser’s Swiss teammates.  Non technical riders such as Spaniard Hermida-Ramos should not feature but this could be the race for someone else to shine?

In the woman’s race Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå, is sitting out this round after a hard crash at the Olympics so the door is open for the new Olympic champion Sabine Spitz and others such as Fullana and Kalentyeva.