The world’s top cross-country mountain-bike racers begin their final toward the Beijing Olympics, as the UCI World Cup kicks off this Sunday, April 20, in Houffalize, Belgium. The women take to the 6.7km course at 10:30 a.m., and the men at 2 p.m. sharp.

For many athletes, including those from the United States and Canada, success at Houffalize, and at the successive World Cups in Offenburg, Germany, and Madrid, Spain, equals a ticket to Beijing. Both USA Cycling and the Canadian Cycling Association base selection criteria for the respective nations’ two men’s and two women’s spots off of the European World Cups and the June 17-22 world championships in Val di Sole, Italy.

Any American man to score a top five earns an automatic selection, and any American woman to land in the top three punches her ticket to Beijing as well. The Canadians will base their Olympic pics on each athlete's cumulative success at the races.

Houffalize's course spins a ring around the city

Photo: Fred Dreier

Big fields, fast starts

And with the extra importance placed on the World Cup, Houffalize will likely turn into an epic battle of mass proportions. As off press time, the UCI reported 130 starters for the women’s race, and a whopping 273 in the men’s race.

“It’s the first World Cup of the year so it’s going to be fast. This is before everyone gets sorted out,” said reigning American champion Adam Craig (Giant). “There will probably be 80 fewer dudes in Offenburg. I just want to have a good start and stay out of trouble.”

Indeed the Houffalize course rewards fast starters and punishes those who find trouble early. The race begins in the center of town, which is flanked on all sides by a network of steep hillsides. A shortened starting loop opens with a steep pavement climb to shuffle the deck, then heads directly into a section of tight, winding singletrack. The race completes the second half of the full 6.7km lap before beginning again with another brutal climb.

The Houffalize World Cup course climbs begin right out of town

Photo: Fred Dreier

Slow starters or those caught at the back of the pack will likely have to dismount and push their way through the surging pack to reach the trail. Those able to hit the afterburners early and survive the brutal pace of the race’s opening lap usually find success. The course is peppered with steep, two- to three-minute climbs, and equally steep jarring descents. While many riders tackle it with a hardtail, Houffalize requires a complete rider to tame its trail.

“I’m expecting a hectic first lap as always. A lot of guys go a little bit too hard on lap one,” said Brit Liam Killeen (Specialized). “You see these guys drifting back as the race goes along. You don’t want to be one of those guys.”

The swooping course also rewards spectators, as it climbs and descends a series of loops along the bowl-shaped valley before rolling back through town. Houffalize’s town center, rebuilt after the town was obliterated in January 1945 during the Battle of the Ardennes, is the best seat in the house.

Understandably, the race attracts hordes of spectators, and is a major tourist draw for the town. The Houffalize World Cup begins a solid week of bike racing in the Ardennes, as the Fleche-Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege road races are held on April 23 and April 27, respectively.

“It is a famous race. It is the most famous World Cup,” said Frenchman Julien Absalon, the reigning Olympic, world and World Cup champion. “Houffalize is mythic. It is like a classic race on the road.”

And downtown Houffalize is the best seat in the house to watch the action...

Photo: Fred Dreier

Men's favorites

Following his complete domination of the sport in 2007, Absalon (Orbea) comes in as one of the favorite to win the men’s race at Houffalize. Another favorite, Spaniard Jose Antonio Hermida (Multivan-Merida) outlasted the Frenchman to take the win last year. Belgians Roel Paulissen (Cannondale-Vredestein) and Filip Meirhaeghe (Lingier-Versluys) will likely try to rise to the top in front of the home crowd. And Swiss rider Florian Vogel (Swisspower) comes in as another to watch, having won the first three rounds of his home country’s Swisspower cup.

The race holds extra importance for Vogel and his compatriots Ralph Naf (Multivan-Merida), Christoph Sauser (Specialized), Nino Schurter (Swisspower) and Balz Weber (Bikepark.ch), who are all battling for the country’s three Olympic spots.

Women's favorites

In the women’s race all eyes will be on reigning Olympic champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå, who is making her return to the World Cup after nearly a year away from racing. The Norwegian, who dominated the sport from 2002-2006, suffered a virus in June of 2007, and was off the bike until late November. Should Dahle Flesjå show glimpses of her old form, she should receive the stiffest challenge from the woman who filled her shoes, reigning world and World Cup champion Irina Kalentieva (Ergon-Topeak) of Russia.

Chinese riders Ren Chengyuan, Jingjing Wang and Ying Liu will likely also feature prominently in the race, along with German Sabine Spitz (Ghost International).

A small cast of North Americans hold a slim shot at taking the women’s race. Americans Georgia Gould (Luna) and Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher) scored impressive World Cup finishes in 2007, as did Canadians Marie-Héléne Prémont (Rocky Mountain) and Catherine Pendrel (Luna).

The 2008 World Cup celebrates its 17th season with a plethora of races — nine for cross-country athletes, seven for gravity racers and two for marathoners. Stay tuned to VeloNews.com for news and updates from the UCI World Cup opener in Houffalize, Belgium.