Can help develop Indian talent: UCI’s Abeele

When mountain bike made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the men's race was 47.7 km long. Cut to the 2024 Paris Games, the course was just 4.4 km, with eight laps to race.

- Avishek Roy

Technological advancements have transformed the sport. Bike designs and carbon fibre frames make machines lighter and stronger while sophisticated suspensions help riders tackle the off-road terrain. These changes have made the sport faster and more competitive. What hasn't changed is the passion of the riders and fans which was on display at the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships here.

Peter Van den Abeele has witnessed this evolution firsthandas an Olympian at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Games, and now as UCI Sports Director, driving the growth of the discipline.

“The sport has gone through massive changes,” Peter says.

“When I was competing in the cross-country Olympics, one lap was 12 km. In my time, races lasted nearly three hours; now they're around an hour and 25 minutes. We reduced the course length, and that’s what made mountain biking what it is today. Big destinations, massive crowds, faster races. It's a great action to watch.”