UCI Mountain Bike World Cup / 10 enthralling moments of 2017

All the spills and thrills from a captivating UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series.
1 – Belomoina hints at new era in cross-country – Albstadt XCO, May 28 

Ukrainian Yana Belomoina had never before won a World Cup race but in searing temperatures in Germany, the 24-year-old gave a hint to potential future dominance with the victory. It proved to be one of three wins in four straight events, Belomoina also finishing on the podium in the other subsequent remaining races of the season. 

2 – Atherton dislocates shoulder - Fort William DHI, June 4 

Rachel Atherton had begun the UCI World Cup season as the overwhelming favourite for the title after what had been a perfect season, and looked to be living up to that billing with an opening-round victory. But riding on home soil, the Briton crashed nastily in practice and dislocated her shoulder in the process leaving Tracey Hannah to end Atherton’s 14-event winning streak. 

3 – Seagrave edges ding-dong Hannah tussle – Leogang DHI, June 11 

At 21, Tahnée Seagrave has been billed as the British successor to Rachel Atherton and in the world No.1’s absence, she produced the perfect performance to win in Austria and was embraced at the bottom by family and friends after beating Tracey Hannah by 0.693 seconds. Seagrave said: “I have been waiting so long to get a win but I had to give it my all." 

4 – Brosnan and Nicole win thrillers – Vallnord DHI, July 2 

It proved a weekend of pulsating racing in both the men’s and women’s downhill events. For Myriam Nicole, it was a first World Cup win in six years while Troy Brosnan sneaked victory in a contest in which the lead continually changed hands between Danny Hart and Greg Minnaar among others. In the aftermath of his victory, Brosnan said: “It’s amazing. Honestly, it feels as good as the first one.” 

5 – Schurter dodges storms to win men’s thriller – Lenzerheide XCO, July 9 

A heavy downpour the night before made for tricky going and unpredictability on the relatively flat and technical Swiss track. Nino Schurter, the dominant force of the men’s cross-country field, looked comfortable only for a storming last lap by Jaroslav Kulhavy nearly leading to a thrilling upset on the line. Schurter, though, was not to be denied a home win.