European XCC/XCO Championship 2024: schedules, how to watch and favorites

The European XCC and XCO Championship is getting ready to welcome the best riders from the continent in the Romanian town of Cheile Gradistei. Dascalu will be racing at home, although he will face threats from riders like De Froidmont, Colombo, or Valero. In the women's category, a stellar participation is expected with Pieterse, Ferrand-Prevot and many other top names in the discipline.

Schedule and where to watch the 2024 European XCC and XCO Championship

The season is progressing and now it's time for the European XCC and XCO Championship. On Thursday, the XCC races will take place, on Friday it will be the Team Relay, and over the weekend the XCO races will be held. The Sunday race broadcasts can be followed on Eurosport channels or app -according to the schedule-.

Thursday, May 9

• 11:00 Junior Women XCC
• 11:45 Junior Men XCC
• 16:00 Elite and U23 Women XCC RESULTS
• 16:45 Elite and U23 Men XCC

Friday, May 10

• 15:00 Team Relay RESULTS

Saturday, May 11

• 11:00 Junior Men XCO
• 13:00 Junior Women XCO
• 16:00 U23 Men XCO

Sunday, May 12

• 10:30 U23 Women XCO -WATCH FOR FREE available through UEC-
• 13:00 Elite Women XCO
• 16:00 Elite Men XCO

Vlad Dascalu seeks to defend the title at home against Colombo, Forster, Valero, De Froidmont, and company

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The European Championship will be held over four days of intense competition. The real action takes center stage a few weeks after the Brazilian journey ended with the first two World Cup races of the season. The European medals are one of the main highlights of the year, as one of the most coveted jerseys in the peloton is at stake.

The race will also serve to assess the form of the riders and is a great source of points for those in the battle for the Olympic ticket to Paris.

The Romanian town of Cheile Gradistei -in the northwest of Bucharest- has prepared a 3.4 km circuit to host the XCO and Team Relay races. The toughest climbs are concentrated in the first half of the track -in fact, the first 500 meters are mostly uphill- and a second part with more moderate ascents.

Vlad Dascalu will step into Cheile Gradistei as the local hero and one of the riders to beat. The Romanian is the current European Champion and one of the riders leading the participant list. The victory at the Internacionales de Chelva and the good results from the early races of the year have been somewhat forgotten after the ups and downs of Mairipora and Araxa, although his favorite status is undeniable.

The XCO race will have some notable absences of big names in the peloton -Schurter, Schwarzbauer, Sarrou, Koretzky, or Fluckiger-, so the door to the medals opens for other riders. Thus, Pierre De Froidmont, David, Valero, Jens Schuermans, or Ondrej Cink are expected to be in the battle for victory. In the same mix, we should include the Danes Simon Andreassen -winner in Araxa- and Sebastian Fini, who could play a leading role.

The Swiss and French teams will have -no surprise- some of the top favorites: Thomas Litscher, Filipo Colombo, and Lars Forster; Titoun Carod, Thomas Griot, and Maxime Marotte.

In a second tier will be Simone Avondetto, Charlie Aldridge, Martins Blums, or the Braidot brothers.

As for the Team Relay, the Spanish team -Marta Cano, Neus Capella, Estibaliz Sagardoy, Francesc Barber, Alberto Barroso, and Hugo Franco- is in a good position to fight for the medals. The most dangerous rivals will wear the jerseys of Switzerland, Denmark, and Italy.

The spectacular women's lineup: Puck Pieterse, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, Mona Mitterwallner, or Evie Richards

The women's race will have a special interest with the confirmation of the participation of many of the best female riders in the world. Thus, Puck Pieterse -the current winner- will make her return to a big mountain stage after the distant World Cup in Sainte Anne in October -and she will do so after winning the MTB Weekend Eupen last weekend-. Lack of competition would affect almost anyone, but it is expected that the Dutch rider will be in great form and fight for the gold.

Ferrand-Prevot will be the other big news of the weekend -coming off a win at the ÖKK Bike Revolution- after missing Mairipora and Araxa. The French rider will seek to add to her resume at Cheile Gradistei with another medal for her collection.

Beyond the two most media-covered riders in the peloton, the race will also feature the presence of other notable names such as Evie Richards, Mona Mitterwallner, Chiara Teochhi, Greta Seiwald, Carolina Bohé, Nicole Koller, or Yana Belomoina.

On the other hand, neither Pieterse nor Ferrand-Prevot will be present in the XCC race, while Richards, Mitterwallner, Seiwald, Koller, Belomoina, Nuria Bosch and Lara Lois will compete.