Just a week after the all-important World Championships in Austria, the international mountain bike circus held one final event this past weekend, as the Tissot-UCI Mountain Bike World Cup made its final appearance of 2002 in the mountain resort town of Les Gets, France.

After the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale)awarded rainbow jerseys to Kaprun's world champs, the five-race World Cup circuit awarded the crystal UCI trophies to its own champions, the overall points leaders in the series.

Alison Dunlap brought the women's cross-country championship home to the USA after finishing 5th on Sunday, while "Flyin' Brian" Lopes gave the Americans a championship in the new 4X discipline. Other trophies went to "the people's champion" Steve Peat in men's DH, Anne-Caroline Chausson in both women's alpine racing and 4X, while the "Belgian Bomber" Filip Meirhaeghe won the men's cross-country title.

Race events this weekend went to first-time winner Canadian Ryder Hesjedal in men's XC, Spanish spiderwoman Marga Fullana in women's XC and D.O.B. Bas DeBever, who took his first 4X win.

This was a season for the record books, as all six titles were up for grabs coming into this weekend. It made for close and interesting racing, and produced some tight results. The French crowds were large as ever, and the weekend was a good dress rehearsal for 2004, when the World Championships will be held here in this Haute Savoie region.

With plans in store to re-energize World Cup racing next season, including a return to international television production and distribution, things are looking up in the sport of mountain bike racing. Crowds continue to come in droves, especially in Europe, and the quality of racing has never been higher.

Sure there are the departures, such as "X-Man" Nicolas Vouilloz and the partnership of Volvo and Cannondale, but for each departure there is an addition. New teams like Formula One-funded Rainer-Wurz and new riders continue to push the sport, all powered by amazing new bike technology.

And this reinvigoration was never more evident than during the past two weeks here in Europe, where the sounds of racing filled the mountain valleys along with the thunderclaps of late-summer storms. And MountainZone.com continues to bring it to you with more photos and words than any other website. So sit back and have a read.

— Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Correspondent