Quiz: Can You Match the Rider to These 25 XC World Cup Bikes?

Dec 20, 2020
by Ed Spratt  
Every year we see some of the top riders in the world receive some great looking bikes but how well do you know the bikes being raced? We have put together 26 different XC bikes from the past few years but can you name their rider?

Photography by Ross Bell, Matthew Delorme, Cameron Mackenzie, Andy Vathis and Irmo Keizer


Manuel Fumic 2015 World Champs




Jolanda Neff s St ckli. Neff opted for her hardtail on the course today.




Jaroslav Kulhav - XC World Championships




Julien Absalon - XC World Championships




David Valero Serano s MMR Kenta 29 Bike Check - Cairns XC World Champs 2017




Mathieu van der Poel s Canyon Lux. The Lux weighs under 2000 grams for the frame including the damper. Van der Poel opted for a 36T chainring with Shimano s new XTR 10-51 cassette as well as Scylence hubs.




Emily Batty




Gerhard Kerschbaumer s Torpado Matador is a 29 race fully. A steep 69 degree headangle and conservative geometry make for an agressive racer. A brand new XXTR M9100 groupset with a 10-51 cassette completes the frame with the new Scylence hub hiding underneath a concealing sticker. Kerschbaumer opts to not run a dropper post.




Maja s Kross Earth has received a special World Champs paintjob. She runs a full DT Swiss suspension setup and chooses to run the carbon Lev dropper. DT Swiss provided the special edition XRC 25 wheels running a 36T ratchet on the inside. The new XTR rotor shed 20 grams of her bike.




Nino Schurter world champs scott spark 2018




Chloe Woodruff




Jordan Sarrou s winning BMC Fourstroke bike in Leogang Saalfelden.




Pauline Ferrand Prevot




Henrique Avancini




Victor Koretzky




Sina Frei s new Ghost Lector with a cutsom hand painted design by Cento Canesio a graphic design artist from Italy. Each team member is sporting a graphic that includes their interests and things related to their countries of origin.




Annika Langvad s S-worrks Epic. The entire specialized team has gone red this year and red is fast.




Mathias Flueckiger




Marco Fontana Bike Check from Albstadt World Cup




Malene Degn




Anton Cooper - La Bresse XC World Cup bike checks




Haley Smith




Kate Courtney




Annie Last s Silverback Storm.




Sam Gaze





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41 Comments
  • 27 1
 If the question was to match the rider to the saddle position, you could spot Jaroslav Kulhavý's from a mile away.
  • 2 0
 Also notice the toilet paper holder that came with the widened hollow saddle. He was a test rider for it. As far as I know it unfortunately never made it to production.
  • 21 6
 0 correct answers. I guess it is really hard when you don't know the name of even one XC rider.
  • 7 10
 I forgot, what does XC stand for again?
  • 3 3
 @st-lupo: typo, CX
  • 13 0
 I'm a simple man I see scott I say nino
  • 6 1
 Don't forget Kate Courtney!
  • 1 0
 @aharms: they tricked us with a specialized!!
  • 8 0
 No, I came here for the bikes.
  • 3 0
 First thing I did was scroll through quickly looking for Kate's Scott for an easy answer. Talk about an athlete bringing brand recognition. Specialized should have just kept piling bags of money on the table till she signed on again.
  • 1 1
 I did that too, but Kate's Scott Spark wasn't in the lineup. Only Schurter's bike.
  • 2 0
 @tacklingdummy: Right her previous Specialized was, which nobody is looking for...Thus my comment.
  • 2 0
 @mobiller: Oh, I see. That is odd.
  • 3 0
 20 of 25. Have I mentioned I’d like to see more XC content on here?:

I missed:

Maja’s Kross - Guessed Jolanda, should have figured no doubles
Annika’s Epic - Guessed Andreasson
Malene Degn’s Orbea - Guessed Catharine Pendrel, but should have known from the team colors
Haley Smith’s Norco - Guessed Peter Disera... should have known from the size
Sam Gaze’s Epic - Guessed Kulhavy... this one’s an unforced error

I might watch too much XC...
  • 4 0
 Got all but 3 Fumic - i gave this bike to Maxime Marotte David Valero didn't know Maja - didn't remember the color
  • 2 0
 Well done, I was pretty happy that I got 12
  • 1 0
 And here i was happy to get 1
  • 1 0
 Lol Kross in big gold letters didn’t help?
  • 1 0
 German flag colors got me Fumic.
  • 1 0
 I miss Loana Lecomte & Thomas Griot Bike. Winner and top 10 in Nove Mesto. Top 6 UCI ranking Bike team. Big mistake, this time.
  • 1 0
 Will have to look at the riders upside down like their stems. Will make it easier to match up.
  • 2 0
 Answer is, someone really fast.
  • 1 0
 Mostly That European Guy, plus A South African Guy, Kate Courtny, and Nino Schurter
  • 3 0
 I only missed like 25.
  • 2 0
 16! Highlight of lockdown. I feel productive.
  • 1 0
 I got 0 because I refuse to click through to another damn page just to see the answer.
  • 2 0
 I got 1... Damn it
  • 3 0
 I got 1 wrong haha. If it was dh bikes however I would probably only get 1...
  • 2 0
 Nino and kulhavy
  • 2 0
 No, I can't
  • 1 0
 Marco's Bianchi hardtail looked soooo good
  • 1 0
 All minus that Silverback.. never heard of them
  • 1 0
 I got 5 of them.
  • 1 0
 Hot one - Kulhavy ????
  • 1 0
 Answer: no
  • 1 0
 Some nice looking Rigs!!
  • 1 0
 You said it right - 'some'. All the 'little brand rebrands a Chiner': Ieeeeuw... Also, Pivot should not be sold in small sizes for aesthetics sake ;-).
  • 1 0
 Nope
  • 1 0
 22 / 25.







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