Three riders took center stage this weekend in Slovenia, when the Tissot-UCI Mountain Bike World Cup returned to the rolling green hills of Maribor for the fourth year. Returning to her top downhill form was Anne-Caroline Chausson (FRA, Volvo-Cannondale), who also repeated as winner of the new 4X event.

Two men dominated their downhill and 4X finals. Mike King (USA, Haro/Lee Dungarees) showed he's still on top of his game Saturday and Chris Kovarik (AUS, Intense Cycles) won his third-straight downhill World Cup Sunday.

After three years of picture-perfect weather for the event and a very popular course, Maribor was a bit of a let-down for the traveling circus this year with rainy weather and a course that has been totally dialed by the riders as it hasn't changed in two years. But this is Maribor after all, with its steep and smooth track diving into fun-filled tree sections and high-speed straightaways. It's also the Maribor famous for its nightlife with parties at the local Mexican restaurant Takos and the Bongo Bar.

Riders had arrived from Scotland, clear on the other side of Europe, and were looking forward to the charms of this Eastern European country. What they got this year was a wind and rainstorm during Friday's practice which shut down the track and even blew a tree right onto the course. Crowds were down a bit for Sunday's downhill as well, as the other World Cup (of soccer) competed for fans' attention. But the stars were there and the racing was as action-packed as ever. Here's how it went down...

— Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Correspondent