The 2014 Méribel World Cup Predictatron

The UCI World Cup circus has wearily wound its way up the narrow road to Méribel Centre for the final round of the 2014 season. Both men's and women's titles are up for grabs, so before the bikes even roll out of the pits, let's have a guess at what may (or may not) happen...

It’s good to be back

The UCI World Cup is back in the Alps! Flat-out hillsides, massive turns, huge woods sections, expensive crepes... You name it, we're back! Short but fast Windham received mixed reviews in the pits, but there's a palpable sense of anticipation about Thursday morning's first practice session here in Méribel.

Decisions to be made

Only 82 points currently cover the UCI World Cup leader, Josh Bryceland and his Specialized Racing rivals, Troy Brosnan and Aaron Gwin. With 50 up for grabs in qualifying and 200 for the win, it's all to play for. But do they all simply go for the win and risk it all or play the maths game and race their title rivals?

Advantage Ragot

In the women's title race the points gap between Manon Carpenter, Emmeline Ragot and Rachel Atherton is 120. Ragot downplayed her title credentials earlier in the year, preferring to focus on her studies, but a win in Windham has her right back in the hunt. She's the only one of the three to have raced this track. Oh, and she's French. In France.

Flying Kiwis

With the title races so close, it's important to remember that their protagonists aren't the only potential winners of the round itself. Blenkinsop and Macdonald are our inside tips for the top. Sam hasn't won a World Cup since 2008, but one look at the final wide open section here can't help but conjure up images of Schladming 2008.

Likewise, Brook took his debut win just up the road in Val d'Isère and knows how to go fast in this part of the world. More importantly however, this is a track where hanging it out, fast and loose deep into a run looks essential. That's something they can both do in spades.

Pressure is on

The team sheets of the UCI World Cup are fairly cyclical things. You'll get a couple of seasons with things remaining pretty stagnant, then in one off season everything can change. We're on the cusp of just such an off season and, for those riders not selected for the World Championships in Norway, this is a last opportunity to shine and impress current or potential employers.

Don't forget that you can follow all the build up to the weekend's racing on our LIVE BLOG here.

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