Competitors and organisers declared themselves delighted with the outcome of the Rio 2016 mountain bike test event at Deodoro Olympic Park on Sunday (11 October). An exciting course and good organisation were highlighted, with only the hot spring weather causing some discomfort among a field featuring many of the world’s leading mountain bikers.

“We are extremely satisfied,” said Peter van den Abeele, head of off-road at the International Cycling Union (UCI). “The course was really well delivered and we only received positive comments. I was very involved in the London Games, which were excellent, and I thought it would be very difficult for upcoming organisers to do better. But after seeing this (the Rio course), it will be way better than London, so congratulations.”

Van den Abeele added that any changes would “only be minor tweaks” and suggested that the start section would be re-examined. 

France's Jordan Sarrou in action during the men's race (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)

Paul Davis, the Rio 2016 mountain bike manager who was technical operations manager at the London 2012 Games, was also in good spirits after the event at the Mountain Bike Centre. “It was amazing, the riders were super happy with everything we did, they loved the course,” said the Briton. “It’s got big climbs, technical features and it’s fast. The Rio 2016 team was excellent and I couldn’t ask for more. No we’ll sit down with the UCI and address some small issues, but I think we’re 99 per cent there. We just need a few tweaks, but it’s truly special.”

Video: test event highlights (click on cog symbol to select English subtitles):

The men’s race (six laps of the 4.9km course) had an exciting sprint finish, with Switzerland’s Nino Schurter, the reigning world champion, taking gold in one hour, 20 minutes and 36 seconds, just ahead of France’s Maxime Marotte and Italy’s Andrea Tiberi. France’s Julien Absalon, the Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 Olympic champion who has also won five world titles and is the current world no.1, finished just off the podium in fourth place. London 2012 Olympic champion Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic did not complete the course.

“The organisation was great, everything went well, and I’m sure we are going to have an awesome Olympic race here next year,” said Schurter, the current world no.2. “It’s a really cool course and really fun to ride. The challenge was the heat – for us from Europe it’s difficult to handle the hot conditions.”

Switzerland's Nino Schurter celebrates winning the men's event (Photo: Rio 2016)

Marotte said the French team would benefit from their time in Brazil. “The track is technical and fast and it will be good for TV during the Olympics,” he said. “We have a lot of data to work with over the winter, so we’ll be prepared next year.”

Tiberi said the Italian team had spent the previous two weeks preparing in the mountain town of Itaipava, just outside of Rio. “We liked the course and now we know how to work over next year to be 100 per cent for the Olympics,” he said. “Everything worked well so congratulations to Rio 2016.”

The women’s race, which comprised five laps, was won by Italy’s Eva Lechner in one hour, 20 minutes and 13 seconds, with Poland’s Maja Wloszczowska taking silver and Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds grabbing bronze. Legendary Norwegian Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa did not finish, while world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, of France, did not start.

Italy's Eva Lechner on her way to victory in the women's race (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro)

“I enjoyed the race a lot, the course is really nice, for the riders and for public,” said Lechner, the world no.10. Wloszczowska, the current world no.5 and Beijing 2008 silver medallist, was also impressed by the track, saying: “It has everything – shorts climbs, long climbs, technical climbs, technical descents that are a very nice to ride. It’s a lot of fun for the riders.” The Pole said the organisation of the event was “perfect” and agreed that the Brazilian weather would be one of the main challenges for European riders, who would need to pace themselves and stay well hydrated.

“It’s my first time in Brazil and I didn’t know what to expect,” said Rissveds. “But I have enjoyed the country a lot and the venue is really cool and I like the course. It has a lot of ups and downs and tricky turns, so you have to keep up the speed through the technical sections.”

Mountain bike was the 13th Rio 216 test event and the second to be staged at the X-Park complex within the Deodoro Olympic Park, following last week’s BMX event. The third of the three sports that will be staged in the X-Park, canoe slalom, will have its test event on 26-29 November.

Click here to see the full results

This article was corrected on 12 October to confirm that the course was 4.9km (not 5.4km as previously stated) and the men raced over six laps while the women completed five (not seven and six, as previously stated).

Check out the best images from the test event: