MTB

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MTB
Mountain biking first became an official Olympic discipline in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics held in the United States, and 60-km cross country racing events are held for the men's and women's games.

Racing types range from cross-country and hill climbing to downhill, dual slalom and trial. Cross-country is the most common racing type held on a varied terrain circuit mixed with uphill, downhill, flatland, straight and curved tracks. In general, beginners ride 10 to 15 kilometers, while intermediate-level bikers and advanced-level bikers each ride 20 to 30 kilometers and 35 to 40 kilometers, respectively. Hill climbing ranks competitors by the order of arriving first at the finish line on top of the hill, starting from the bottom of the hill.

Downhill is the fastest-paced discipline in the mountain bike racing where the competitors ride from the hilltop to the bottom. The riders go down the hill in a dash and the ranks depend on the time records of each rider. The sport is so dynamic that it is often referred to as the “Queen of mountain bike racing.”

Dual slalom places several open gates across the circuit from the start line to the finish line for the riders to pass through in a set manner, and the first across the line wins. Usually the race pits two riders against each other on two identical man-made tracks side-by-side with the same jumps and berms.

Trial is an event in which man-made obstacles are installed in a limited space for riders to pass through demonstrating techniques close to stunts. Trials are more of an extreme game, along with dirt jumping and urban riding.

In Europe, the US and Japan, where professional competitions are popular, various open competitions including the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup are held, while in Korea, the Korea Mountainbike Federation and the Korea Cycling Federation host a range of nationwide competitions and international competitions.