PARIS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic Games is coming ever-closer to the first medals in cycling mountain bike to be decided with the women's race on July 28 and the men's race on the following day.
The races will take place at Elancourt Hill which is in the town of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The 231-meter Elancourt Hill is the highest point the 'Ile-de-France' region of Paris, with views that promise to be almost as spectacular as the racing, where there are some clear favorites in an event that mixes strength, courage, stamina and bike-handling skills.
British rider Tom Pidcock goes into the Olympics as reigning champion and this year he has mixed cycle-cross, road racing and mountain biking, winning both the World Cup events he has taken part in.
Pidcock will double up in the road race in Paris, although there could be a slight doubt over his form as he was out of this year's Tour de France early.
Nino Schurter of Switzerland is one of the all-time mountain bike greats, and the 38-year-old already has Olympic gold from 2016, along with a host of World Championship and World Cup golds. Another Olympic success would be the icing on the cake for Schurter in a career going back over 15 years.
France's Victor Koretzky will have home fans cheering him on after a season that has seen two successes in short-track and a recent second place in the World Cup held in Val di Sole.
Alan Hatherly from South Africa is another clear medal candidate. Hatherly is currently in great form after claiming his first World Cup win in Les Gets, and if he is able to extend that form, he will be tough to beat.
Mathias Fluckiger currently tops the rankings, with the Swiss rider looking to go one better than the silver medal he won in Tokyo and boosted by second-place finishes in World Cup events in Les Gets.
In the women's race, Pauline Ferrand Prevot of France, is the favorite, despite disappointing in the European Championships. She will have home support, and her wins in the last two World Cup events show that she is going to Paris in peak form.
The young Dutch rider, Puck Pieterse looks to be Prevot's main rival after her European success and two World Cup wins, while she has also shown her speed in short track events.
France's Loana Lecomte was second in the last World Championships and is the reigning French champion, although the fact she missed the last World Cup race has raised a couple of doubts about her current fitness.
Other riders to look out for includes Alessandra Keller of Switzerland, and her position at the top of the World Cup rankings means she has to be considered a medal option. Sweden's Jenny Rissveds, if she has a good day, could surprise everyone.
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