Video: A Full Lap of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic XC Course

Oct 16, 2019
by James Smurthwaite  

Take a full lap of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic mountain bike course with Sergio Mantecón Gutiérrez. With short, punchy climbs and steep, rocky descents, it has been a big hit with the riders and is sure to provide a great show next summer.

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Member since Nov 14, 2018
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47 Comments
  • 48 0
 Berms, tables, gaps, drops, rock gardens.....this course has all the things. And it looks AWESOME!!!!
  • 4 1
 they even have CX (walk a bike )sections..
  • 15 0
 Wow this is already 10x better than the stupid Rio pumptrack we had last Olympics. There is some savage singletrack in there that will make for some amazing racing. I do think some of those climbs look too steep! WE dont want bottlenecks and cyclocross run ups happening. So far though, it looks right!

My main question is how will they have enough cameras to get good race footage for this? That was the one good thing about Rio. I reallllly want to watch this whole race!
  • 10 0
 Seems pretty technical for an XC course, love it!

I noticed one of the guys had a dropper – interesting to see. Some of those drops seems pretty gnarly without one.

Edit: noticed the guy filming has a dropper too, and uses it before the harder rock section.
  • 2 0
 The one guy with a dropper doesn't seem to use it much? He could definitely go a bit faster on the downhill and pump-y sections... but I know XC is often about resting on the downhill.
  • 2 1
 @bikekrieg: Not anymore. The race turned out to be a full sprint start to finish in recent years. Technic is so important that you could see lots of those XC racers training at downhill stages.
www.pinkbike.com/news/video-lucas-borba-extreme-xc-raw.html
  • 14 0
 Aesthetically, this course is very pleasing. Just beautiful.
  • 14 7
 They will make changes to this course before the Olympics. When you have a Professional men's rider stall 3X on the 1st lap with no traffic, that will be a major problem when 50+ riders are riding top speed all trying to get up those hills. I foresee a lot of walking if they do not change it up. Also the women and some of the men will have trouble thru many of the boulder/rock areas. Some of those DH boulder sections have only 1 good line. So when someone wads it up, it will be like the 405 at rush hour ( SOCAL Freeway reference )
Again there will be major back up's ( ie. stopped traffic) before and in those sections. .

With that being said, I think it is a very cool track with challenging sections that will rattle even the best bike handlers.
I hope we get complete coverage of the races during the Olympics.
  • 1 2
 Yup......can't have 65% of the field walking the course. Lot of racers going to be there from small countries. Not all of them going to be like Jolanda.
  • 21 0
 With all due respect, I would like to clarify that the field is composed of 38 athletes per race, coming from the best 21 ranked nations. This is not a World Cup event with 50+ athletes.

Tokyo 2020 Qualification System here.
  • 2 17
flag Three6ty FL (Oct 16, 2019 at 14:47) (Below Threshold)
 @Curana: 38 , 50 whats the difference
  • 51 1
 @Three6ty: 12, by my count.
  • 1 21
flag Three6ty FL (Oct 16, 2019 at 15:05) (Below Threshold)
 @f*ckingsteve: Genius! oh f*ckingsteve.... always the funny man
  • 11 0
 Two of the times he "stalled" were because he wasn't sure which way to go and hesitated... They were working on the course and the tapes weren't laid out properly on one occasion... It was also their first time riding the course so they weren't exactly in race mode.
  • 6 0
 @f*ckingsteve: fck yeagh fckingsteve
  • 7 0
 Wow, sketchy in the dry. If it rains it's going to be a bloodbath. Camera guy is on a Kross Earth TE, an open mold frame.
  • 3 0
 Are you sure it's open mold?
  • 4 0
 Wow, great job Japan.The course itself looks really technical and fun to ride. As some say, you want to ride it just by watching this PoV.
But the surroundings?! They are incredible, so beautiful and representative of the country! They did a really nice (and huge) work. You feel, at least imo, that they have not just put tapes on a random hillside.
  • 6 0
 Whatever happened to taping it wide? looks like there's only one rideable like through some of that.
  • 8 1
 wow actually looks like mountain biking
  • 1 0
 Amazing course in a beautiful setting. No extended uphill or downhills. Lot of tight/technical areas with no room for mistakes. Seems like technique will be the best advantage. Is this a dream course for Nino to win? On ladies' side, who is the best match for this? Jolanda?
  • 4 0
 Do not make it easier, it is about time XC looks like mountain biking, not gravel racing minus the drop bars.
  • 1 1
 that´s looks like a super fun and technical trail! no problem with rocky sections downhill, but those huge rocks going up are something i´m not sure i could clear! so i´m sure they are very skilled riders, even though i would preffer the looks of an enduro mtb´er LOL
  • 1 0
 Cool looking course. Some of the rocky tech looks legit. Also seems like there are a bunch of spots that kind of pinch riders together - they're gonna have to keep their elbows out on that course.
  • 3 0
 Now were talking...real XC course....charge for your lines..its called racing for a reason!Smile
  • 4 0
 Looks fun as hell
  • 5 1
 Make XC Great Again!
  • 8 0
 Make Enduro up and down again? Could this be qualified as UpDuro?
  • 1 0
 @Notmeatall: I like it! I quite racing XC because our Local courses all became drag race sprits. This would get me racing again!
  • 3 0
 that looked really fun like a massive slalom course up and down
  • 4 1
 Needs more sod...said nobody.
  • 1 0
 Hah. It's a beautifully built and challenging course, but a little too... groomed for my taste. Might give the false impression that mountain biking only takes place on perfectly crafted garden-like trails. But given that it's probably right in Tokyo, they did an amazing job.
  • 2 0
 That course looks LEGIT! Great to see some of everything! Looks like a total blast to ride!
  • 3 1
 What is happing on his handlebars?
  • 11 1
 Was wondering the same. I think he has a 1x, dropper post, and remote front and rear shock lockout?
  • 1 2
 I think he has front derailleur shifter, and then a remote for a dropper seatpost, one for front sus lockout, one for rear shock lockout, and God know what else...
  • 5 0
 @forbiddenbeat: Yep. left side lower is the dropper. upper with two cables in suspension lockout.
  • 3 0
 Rampage 2020 course?
  • 2 0
 Some of those climbs look bloody steep...which mean IRL it's a wall!
  • 1 0
 Call the GOAT!! No, wait, he prefer dropping from the walls..
  • 2 0
 I kinda wanna ride it....
  • 1 0
 Tickets to watch the race $188, airfare $1500........FML
  • 1 0
 steep grass climb right out the gate....savage!
  • 1 0
 Are his handlebars on backwards?
  • 1 0
 How awesome, and #XC_Duro race!
  • 1 0
 Beautiful course. Pillowy rocks. But quite a bit of off-camber!







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