There’s no rest for the wicked and, with the second leg of the UCI Cross-Country at Dalby Forest now but a hazy memory, the pro field heads to Offenburg, Germany, this weekend for round three.

How it stands

Jaroslav Kulhavy stormed to a staggering 50-second victory in Yorkshire, consigning Olympic champion Julien Absalon to second, while Marco Aurelio Fontana finished third. 

That leaves 26-year-old Kulhavy sitting pretty at the top of the overall standings on 410 points, with Absalon 10 points adrift in second, while 2009 world champion Nino Schurter, ninth at Dalby, lies a further 50 points back.

Julie Bresset’s Dalby victory was her first World Cup win, leaving the Frenchwoman top of the tree on 450 points overall. 

Ren Chengyuan, fifth at Dalby, lies second overall on 390 points, while Denmark’s Annika Langvad and Germany’s Sabine Spitz both have 280 points.

Annie Last’s impressive 14th place Dalby finish, a career-best for the 21-year-old, leaves her 18th in the overall on 144 points.

Elite Men

1. Jaroslav Kulhavy – 410 points
2. Julien Absalon – 400
3. Nino Schurter – 350

Elite Women

1. Julie Bresset – 450
2. Ren Chengyuan – 390
3. Annika Langvad – 280
4. Sabine Spitz – 280

The course

Offenburg was crowned best circuit on the World Cup tour by the UCI in 2008 and 2009, before Dalby stole the crown in 2010.

Sitting in the Rhine Valley, close to the border with France and on the edge of the Black Forest, Offenburg is one of the most technical tracks of the circuit, with five named sections – Duel Speed, Northshore, Worldclass Drop, Wolfsdrop and Snake Pit.

Duel Speed, a popular spot with spectators, comes in after 1.1km, where riders are able to choose between two downhill routes, before a steep climb and, 900m later, the arrival of Northshore – a switchback downhill section, finishing with a spectacular drop, then heading into a single track climb to the next descent.

There’s just 400m to recover before the arrival of Worldclass Drop – a 3m freefall drop-off requiring maximum concentration and 300m further on, Wolfsdrop – a root-strewn descent and the toughest part of the course.

Snakepit is the last of the technical sections, coming after 3.8km and, although not steep, the huge tree roots are tough for the riders to take on at low speed.

What happened last year?

There’s a familiar look to last year’s men’s podium in Offenburg – it’s has all three riders fighting it out at the top of current overall standings.

Frenchman Absalon, marked by Schurter and Jose Hermida, went clear on the third lap to win by almost a minute ahead of Schurter, with Kulhavy third.

That was Absalon’s fourth consecutive victory in Offenburg – so he’s the man to watch in 2011.

Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Georgia Gould made an early attack but was joined by Pendrel, who bridged the gap to eventually take the win and stand on the top spot of the World Cup podium for the second time.

Gould persisted to take second, 28 seconds adrift, while Esther Suss came third. Holland’s Michiel Van Der Heijden won the junior men’s race and France’s Pauline Ferrand Prevot was first home from the junior women’s field.

What’s on when?

So what about this year? The weekend kicks off on Friday with another dose of eliminator sprint racing before the junior men, junior women and under-23 men set about their business on Saturday.

The under-23 women are first up on Sunday before the main action takes off with the elite women, followed by the elite men. Here’s the full schedule.

More info?

Head to the official Offenburg website for more information.