News Some of the world’s leading mountain bike riders, including the last three men’s Olympic champions, will compete in their sport’s test event in Rio on Sunday (11 October) As well as being a chance to race on the track that will be used for next year’s Olympic Games, the top performers at the Aquece Rio International Mountain Bike Challenge will earn world ranking points, the principal method of qualification for Rio 2016 A total of 88 cyclists (54 men and 34 women) from 32 countries have signed up to compete at the Mountain Bike Centre in Deodoro Olympic Park, the second largest Rio 2016 venue cluster Among them are Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic, who won the men’s title at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and France’s Julien Absalon, the Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 champion who has also won five world titles and is the current world no 1 Switzerland’s Nino Schurter, the reigning world champion and current world no 2, is also in town Highlights among the women’s field include this year’s world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, of France, and legendary Norwegian Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa, the multiple world champion and 2004 Olympic gold medallist who is currently ranked no 2 in the world Poland’s Maja Wloszczowska, the current world no 5 and Beijing 2008 silver medallist, and Russia’s Irina Kalentieva, the world no 7 and Beijing bronze medallist, are also scheduled to race Veteran racer Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa of Norway will test the new track in Rio (Photo: Getty Images/Clive Brunskill) “A lot of the top riders are coming, so we expect a very high level of competition,” said Paul Davis, Rio 2016’s mountain bike manager Davis added that one of the main aims of the event would be to test the different man-made features along the course, along with the start and finish procedures, volunteer operations (136 will be action) and medical services Video: follow course designer around Rio 2016 Olympic Games mountain bike courseTwenty-eight departments of the Rio 2016 organising committee will work at the test event, five of which will fully test their operations while 23 will provide support services The course is 4 9km long with the women’s event (11am) comprising five laps while the men’s race (2pm) features six laps The mountain bike test event, which is not open to the public, is the second to be staged at the X-Park complex within the Deodoro Olympic Park, following last week’s BMX event The third of the three sport that will be staged in the X-Park, canoe slalom, will have its test event on 26-29 November Video: ride the Rio 2016 Olympic Games BMX track with Renato RezendeThis article was corrected on 12 October to confirm that the course was 4 9km (not 5 4km as previously stated) and the men raced over six laps while the women completed five (not seven and six, as previously stated)