With the opening day jitters gone from their legs, the worlds’ top cross-country mountain bikers head to Offenburg, Germany for the second round of the 2008 UCI World Cup. The event falls one week after riders took their first taste of World Cup racing at the opening round in Houffalize, Belgium, just a three-hour drive away.

The women take to the course at 10:30 a.m. and the men’s race begins at 2:30 p.m. Central European Time. For those looking to watch the action, the Web site www.universalbikeracing.com is broadcasting live coverage of all the World Cups.

Offenburg sits on Germany’s western border, just 25 kilometers from the French city of Strasbourg and 100 kilometers north of Basel, Switzerland. On the city’s eastern flank sits the Black Forest, which crests a series of hills and small mountains running from north to south. The hills lack serious elevation — the Offenburg’s 5.1km course tops out at just 192 meters.

But like Houffalize, which sits in the rolling Ardennes, Offenburg is proof that organizers don’t need soaring peaks to hold a world-class mountain-bike race. The course sits just one kilometer from downtown Offenburg in a surrounding town called Rammersweier.

Tens of thousands of German fans came to Offenburg for its World Cup debut in 2007. The huge crowds came at a time when German cycling had lost considerable clout in the wake of doping admittances by its biggest stars on the road. The Offenburg event became an immediate hit amongst rider and fans alike, due to its stadium-like start/finish, array of challenging ups and downs and spectator-friendly course.

“What we see with Houffalize and Offenburg and Madrid is that you can hold good events in urban settings,” said Peter Vandenabeele, the UCI’s director of mountain-bike racing. “They are incredibly successful events.”

The Offenburg course serves up its major challenge in the form of steep, punchy climbs followed by steeper, harrowing downhills. Sections such as the “Northshore,” “Worldclass Drop,” and “Wolfsdrop” test riders' bravery as much as their handling skills. And in 2007 unseasonably heavy rains transformed the course into a slippery mud slick, adding significant clout to the sketchy descents.

Julien Absalon (Orbea) and Irina Kalentieva (Ergon-Topeak) took victories at Offenburg in 2007, and the victories helped each rider on their respective campaign to claim the World Cup overall. The duo come into the race as favorites, having proven the strength of their legs just one week prior in Houffalize. Kalentieva surged from fifth place into second at the World Cup opener, finishing just behind Chinese phenom Chengyuan Ren.

Absalon won Houffalize outright, overpowering his rivals by the race’s midpoint.

The Offenburg race stands as another chance for North American Olympic hopefuls to take a step closer to Beijing. Both countries have four spots (two men, two women) for the games, and base selection criteria off of results at the World Cups and world championships. USA Cycling recently clarified its Olympic selection criteria, stating that riders with the lowest combined placing for his/her three best finishes prior to June 23 will be selected.

“For example, if one rider places 4th, 5th and 10th, their combined score would be 19. A second rider places 6th, 7th and 8th giving the rider a score of 21,” said Pat McDonough, USA Cycling’s athletics director, in an email to members of the Olympic Long Team. “In this case the first rider would be selected by merit of their lower score.”

If any riders post the same score, the current World Cup rankings will act as a tiebreaker.

American Georgia Gould (Luna) and Canadian Marie-Héléne Prémont (Rocky Mountain) took sizable steps forward in earning Beijing spots, finishing third and fifth, respectively, in Houffalize. American Todd Wells (GT) and Canadian Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) also scored impressive finishes, crossing the line in 11th and 12th places.

A race within a race to watch is between Canadians Catherine Pendrel (Luna) and Kiara Bisaro (Opus), who are both aimed at winning Canada’s second spot. The duo finished in 13th and 14th place, respectively, in Houffalize.

But with five races remaining in the Olympic chase, the battle is still wide open.