Following a discussion with team management, Wolfram Kurschat, the German national cross country champion, decided against travelling to Australia for the World Championships at the beginning of September. Instead, Kurschat will continue to focus his efforts on the World Cup series.
Kurschat has been having his best season ever on the circuit after taking two second place finishes in Offenburg and Houffalize, and he is currently fifth in the general classification. The German hopes to make a strong impression as the series wraps up in late September.
Kurschat cited several reasons for not going to the World Championships including the time required for the World Championships, adjusting to the local time zone, the lengthy flight and the stress of the event. The World Cup penultimate round, in Switzerland on September 12-13, comes just one week after the worlds in Australia. The finale follows one week later on September 19-20, in Austria.
"Undoubtedly this is detrimental to the chances of winning for the rest of the year, and the penultimate World Cup is just a week following Australia. When looked at from this perspective, it is a clear decision," read a statement from the team.
The 2010 calendar may be more appealing to some as the World Championships will be the final major international event, just one week after the final World Cup and located geographically in the same time zone on the same continent. Next year the final World Cup in Windham, New York, will precede the World Championships in Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec, Canada.
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
