Mountain biking – cycling’s spare wheel

The sport will make its sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympics but struggles to keep up with road cycling.

The Alpen Tour is one of the most iconic circuits in mountain biking.

It has 208km of tough climbs rising up to 6,500ft and dangerous descents against the backdrop of the Dachstein glacier in the Austrian Alps.

The sport has been at the Olympics since 1996 and will feature in Rio next year.

However, it still finds itself the forgotten sport of the Games and indeed of the International Cycling Union.

Competitors juggle full time jobs with competing as it remains far being road cycling in prestige.

Paul Rhys reports from Schladming, Austria.

Source: Al Jazeera