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Here are the Swedish riders you need to know ahead of the 2022 race season
We list the riders you need to keep an eye on at the 2022 UCI MTB World Cups, Crankworx World Tour, Extreme Red Bull Downhill races and the Enduro World Series.
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01
Crankworx Slopestyle riders
Emil Johansson
Emil Johansson took three out for three wins in 2021
© Graeme Murray / Red Bull Content Pool
- Main events: Crankworx Slopestyle World Championship
- Best results: Unbeaten since Red Bull Joyride 2019 (6 consecutive wins). Winner of the Tripple Crown of Crankworx 2021.
Emil Johansson is currently the rider to beat pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with each winning run. He has six consecutive wins and is unbeaten since August 2019. Johansson’s smooth style and nerves of steel mixed with an extremely technical trick portfolio has seen him rise to the top of Slopestyle since he emerged on the scene in 2017 and is one of the best riders in the world.
Everything you need to know about Emil Johansson:
Max Fredriksson
Max Fredriksson came 2nd at Red Bull Roof Ride in 2021.
© Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
- Main events: Crankworx Slopestyle World Championship
- Best results: 4th at Crankworx Slopestyle Rotorua 2021, 2nd overall in the FMB Diamond Series 2016.
Max Fredriksson is no stranger to the slopestyle scene having been around for over a decade. He had his best season back in 2016 with a 3rd place at Red Bull Joyride and finished the season 2nd overall. For the past few years he’s been struggling with injuries but finally put the pieces back together at the last stop of the 2021 season with a 4th place run, showing that he is still very much in the game.
SLOPESTYLE WILDCARD: Alma Wiggberg
Alma Wiggberg at her local compound in Falun a few seasons back
© Hanna Jonsson
- Main events: Select Crankworx events, Fryshuset FMB Event, freeride events (tbc)
- Best results: Audi Nines 2021, Swedish Pump track Champion 2021, Swedish U21 Enduro Champion 2021
Alma Wiggberg is Sweden's own freeride queen who seems to be able to ride every discipline she tries her hand at. In 2021 she was invited to the big international freeride event Audi Nines, hitting huge jumps together with some of the best free riders in the world. This season she will compete at selected events such as the FMB Slopestyle event at Fryshuset in Stockholm, attend Crankworx and she also hopes to do more big freeride events.
SLOPESTYLE WILDCARD: Lukas Skiöld
Lukas Skiöld.
© Hanna Jonsson
- Main events: FMB silver and gold events
- Best results: Audi Nines 2020 & 2021
Another Slopestyling Swede on the rise is Lukas Skiöld. Based in Falun, his main riding buddy is no one other than Emil Johansson. Lukas has been invited to Audi Nines two years in a row and definitely has the skillset to keep up with the international Slopestyle elite. This year he will compete at some FMB silver events in Europe and then head over to Canada for a gold event. Is this the season he qualifies for Crankworx?
02
XCO World Cup riders
Jenny Rissveds
Jenny Rissveds taking the win in the XCC World Cup in Snowshoe 2019.
© Photographer Credit: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
- Main events: UCI MTB XCC & XCO World Cups
- Best results: 2nd overall in the XCC World Cup 2021, 3rd overall in the XCO World Cup 2021.
Jenny Rissveds had an exceptional 2021 season coming 2nd overall in the XCC World Cup and 3rd overall in the XCO World Cup. She won two of the XCC races and finished second twice in the XCO, showing just how strong and versatile she is as a rider. With several big race seasons behind her, including two XCO wins from 2016 and 2019, she knows what it takes to beat the best in the world and come out on top.
Oscar Lind
Oscar Lind is racing his first year in U23.
© Jessica Blomqvist
- Main events: UCI MTB XCO World Cups U23
- Best results: 20th at the UCI U23 World Cup in Nové Město na Moravě 2021
A young, up-and-coming XCO racer that raced his first U23, and first world cup season last year. Oscar Lind showed some great promise with a couple of really good results like 20th in Nové Město and 31st in Albstadt - both times starting from the back of the pack. One year older and with some good experience in the bag, Oscar will take on all the European stops of the 2022 World Cup season.
XCO WILDCARD: Linn Gustafzzon
Linn Gustavzzon riding in her hometown Falun back in 2019.
© Niklas Wallner
- Main events: UCI MTB XCO World Cups
- Best result: 21st XCC World Championships in Val di Sole 2021, 47th at XCO World Cup in Lenzerheide 2021.
Linn Gustafzzon is the third and latest addition to Jenny Rissved’s UCI race team, Team 31. Linn has plenty of race seasons behind her with both national and international race wins to her name. She has also competed in several XCO World Cups - her best result being 47th at Lenzerheide last year. With full team support and fellow team riders, it will be interesting to see what she can do this season.
XCO WILDCARD: Varberg Mountainbike Team
Det helt nya UCI-stallet med fem av Sveriges bästa U23-cyklister.
© Varberg Mountainbike Team
- Riders: Hugo Eliasson, André Eriksson, Casper Johansson, Viggo Karlsson and Samuel Örnborg
- Main events: European rounds of the UCI MTB XCO World Cups
A brand new all-Swedish UCI XCO Team - Varberg Mountainbike Team - has a young and hungry setup of riders. All aged between 20 and 21, these five riders will be racing the U23 category with a focus on Swedish and Nordic competitions as well as the European rounds of the UCI MTB World Cup.
03
Downhill World Cup riders
Oliver Zwar
Oliver Zwar onboard his new Santa Cruz V10.
© Sven Martin
- Main events: UCI MTB Downhill World Cup
- Best result: 17th at Snowshoe Downhill World Cup 2021, 17th at Val Di Sole Downhill World Championships 2021
Oliver Zwar showed great potential last season with some impressive Top 20 results. He also qualified onto the live feed (aka. within the Top 20) at one of the rounds, the first Swedish rider to do so in a very long time. Oliver has raced World Cups for the past five years getting faster and more confident with each season. Can he keep up the progression curve and make it into the Top 15 this season?
Want to know more about the Zwar brothers?
Ben Zwar
Ben Zwar hunting for those milliseconds out on the track.
© Sven Martin / The Union
- Main events: UCI MTB Downhill World Cup
- Best result: 22nd at the UCI World Cup in Les Gets 2021, 24th at the UCI World Championships in Val Di Sole 2021
Ben Zwar is the younger one of the Zwar duo. He’s been racing world cups on and on-off since 2016, putting down increasingly fast runs each season. With two Top 25 results last year, he is definitely within reach of breaking into the elusive Top 20. Will we see him on the live feed this season?
04
Extreme Downhill riders
Oscar Härnström
Härnström flying over the Hardline road gap.
© Sven Martin
- Main events: Red Bull Hardline, Red Bull Valparaiso
- Best results: 10th at Red Bull Valparaiso 2022, 17th at Red Bull Hardline 2021
Oscar Härnström has gone from racing Downhill World Cups to the even more extreme end of the Downhill spectrum. He now focuses on extreme Downhill events like urban Downhill races and Red Bull Hardline. Big jumps, gnarly Downhill and extreme conditions is the name of the game when Härnström lines up in the start gate.
05
Enduro World Series riders
Zakarias Johansen
Zakarias Johansen will be racing for the Ibis Enduro Team in 2021.
© Niklas Wallner
- Main events: Enduro World Series
- Best result: 3rd at EWS La Thuile 2 2021, 7th overall EWS 2021
Zakarias Johansen is currently ranked 7th in the world. He had a great season last year, including his first-ever EWS podium in La Thuile, and is consistently getting faster and more confident with each season. We're guessing that another podium finish is on his radar for this season?
ENDURO WILDCARD: Oliver Kangas
Oliwer Kangas pinning it into 3rd at the 2021 Swedish Enduro Championships.
© Hanna Jonsson
- Main events: Enduro World Series
- Best results: 32nd at EWS La Thuile 2 2021
Oliver Kangas has a background in downhill racing having done several seasons of world cup racing. After taking a break for a couple of years, he returned to racing last year - this time with Enduro as his main focus. His best result was 32nd in La Thuile, but he also had some good individual stage results like 26th and 29th at the first round and 32nd later in the season. As the speed is definitely there, all he needs now are some consistent stage results to put down a really good result.
06
XCE World Cup riders
Ella Holmegård
- Main events: UCI Cross Country Eliminator World Cups
- Best results: 3rd at the XCE World Cups in Valkenswaard and Oudenaarde 2021
Ella Holmegård has a very successful race career with two XCE World Cup wins to her name - both back in 2019. She is a strong rider that keeps impressing with big results against the world’s best. Last season saw her take two bronze medals in the world cup and a 5th place at the world championship. With Falun as one of the XCE World Cup stops this season, she’ll have her eyes set on podium positions once again.
Anton Olstam
- Main events: UCI Cross Country Eliminator World Cups
- Best results: 2nd at the XCE World Cup in Valkenswaard 2021, 5th overall 2021
Anton Olstam is no stranger to the XCE World Cup scene having been around for several years, clocking some really good results. With a 2nd, 3rd and 4th at the 2021 World Cup he shows just how strong he is as a rider. All he needs now to round it off is that golden win. He will definitely be one to watch at the Swedish round of the XCE World Cup in Falun this year.
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