ESO Reveals Further Details On Next Year’s MTB Season

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Still missing from the information is the actual calendar, but apparently that’s coming next week. Enduro races will now be a World Cup series, and will be one day events… Downhill will now feature a broadcast semi final, increasing coverage to a larger number of riders. But no word on what the broadcast deal will be, if it will be pay to view or free…

Anyway, digest the information for yourself and let us know what you think:

Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool

Cross-country marathon, enduro and E-enduro join reinvigorated UCI Mountain Bike World Cup from 2023

  • UCI Mountain Bike World Cup to go through some of the biggest changes to the sport since its inception
  • Cross-country Short Track (XCC) will now include a U23 category 
  • Downhill (DHI) to enjoy significant increase in broadcast and fan exposure thanks to the addition of a Semi Final 
  • The Enduro World Series (EWS) is elevated to UCI World Cup status and will be known as the UCI Mountain Bike Enduro World Cup (EDR) from 2023 
  • Cross-country Marathon (XCM) also promoted to a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup from 2023 onwards with four new venues on next year’s calendar 

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) are pleased to announce that the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be further extended from 2023 with the introduction of enduro and E-enduro to the calendar. This follows the recent announcement of the addition of cross-country marathon (XCM) to the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

The existing Enduro World Series (EWS) is elevated to UCI World Cup status and will feature alongside cross-country Olympic (XCO), cross-country short track (XCC) downhill (DHI) and XCM. All enduro events on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be one-day events.

New at each round of enduro racing at the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be a points system for each timed Special Stage. An overall classification according to points won will decide the order of riders for the last Special Stage, with the rider who has accumulated most points setting off last.

E-Enduro (E-EDR) follows the same principle but the courses will be slightly different, including challenging technical climbs suited to the attributes of an enduro E-mountain bike.

The integration of enduro and E-enduro into the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is another development for the discipline since the UCI’s partnership with ESO Sports and Discovery Sports Events, two of WBD Sports Europe’s specialist sport organisations. The integration of XCM into the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup programme and the introduction of Under 23 categories for the XCC were announced in September.

Another enhancement to the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup from 2023 will be increased screen time for the Elite downhill competitions thanks to the introduction, at each downhill round, of a semi-final between the qualification and final. Featuring the top 60 Elite Men and top 15 Elite Women from qualifying, the downhill semi-final will see men outside the top 30 and women outside the top 10 enjoy broadcast coverage for the first time. Forty Elite riders (30 men and 10 women) will qualify for the final, where the goal is to broadcast each of the 40 runs in their entirety live on WBD platforms.

In addition, thanks to the increased participation of Junior Women, a qualifying run will be introduced for this category, with the fastest 10 proceeding to the final. The Men Junior and Women Junior competitions will also be broadcast for the first time.

Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool

The full calendar of the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be published next week.

UCI President David Lappartient said: “The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup has been delighting athletes and fans for more than 30 years with multiple rounds being held worldwide throughout the season. I am thrilled that this international series will also include enduro, E-enduro and cross-country marathon from 2023. These formats will add a new dimension to the reinvigorated series that is taking the mountain bike discipline to even greater heights.

“Also thanks to our partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, the spectacular downhill racing will benefit from greater exposure that will enchant existing fans and attract new audiences. I cannot wait to witness this new extended UCI Mountain Bike World Cup from 2023.”

Chris Ball, CEO of ESO Sports, added: “Mountain bike racing has reached an incredible level over the past few years and this latest evolution will allow the sport to change gear again and accelerate towards an exciting new future, celebrating the discipline in all its forms. 

“With more racing in short track and a new Semi Final in downhill, fans will be treated to more action than ever. The awarding of UCI World Cup status for enduro, enduro-e and cross-country marathon will also put a greater spotlight on these incredible mountain bike formats and allow us to both push the front end of racing whilst maintaining amateur participation at many of our events.

“Along with the UCI, we believe these changes will help broaden the appeal of mountain biking and enhance the race experience for athletes, teams and fans alike.”

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Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • ESO Reveals Further Details On Next Year’s MTB Season
  • nickc
    Full Member

    There’s some good stuff here. I like that Enduro is getting UCI status, and the idea of the semi-final to get more coverage of racers on the face of it seems good as well.

    Some positive news for a change.

    Posted 1 year ago
    Paul-B
    Full Member

    I’m looking forward to the comments on Pinkbike.

    On the whole doesn’t sound too bad especially for us that watch it. Biggest question is where does one watch all this racing, how much is it going to cost me and who’s going to be commentating 😛

    Posted 1 year ago
    cookeaa
    Full Member

    So with Eurosport as a WB/Discovery owned channel does that mean we might get live broadcast XC/DH/Enduro in 2023?

    And if so, will they work with GCN on reporting and streaming as they do for Road and CX?

    There’s a been an obvious grab for MTB generally as a media-marketable sport, I still don’t know how I feel about the UCI getting their claws into Enduro, but it’s happened and the rights now live with WB, it could either be fantastic or terrible… Discuss.

    Posted 1 year ago
    chakaping
    Free Member

    I like that Enduro is getting UCI status, and the idea of the semi-final to get more coverage of racers on the face of it seems good as well.

    Some positive news for a change.

    This is true. Keen to hear more about how the DH will work.

    The UCI is shameless in giving E-enduro World Cup status though. How can they back something with such an obviously un-level playing field? And which doesn’t have any fans in the real world?

    Posted 1 year ago
    mark88
    Full Member

    Changes for the Enduro seem positive. Some of my musings…

    There’s a hole in the calendar around world champs and no Tweed Valley round in 23, so I think that will be the next announcement.

    Points for each stage seems logical, I like that a rider could potentially have a mechanical on one stage and not have to write off their weekend. I was never a fan of one or two stages carrying significantly more importance than the others.

    Riders setting off in reverse points order for the last stage would suggest they are aiming to make it more viewer friendly. It’ll be interesting to see how they manage this. For example if a top seeded rider has had a bad day and suddnlny they go from being last on the road to first on the road… how will organisers ensure they have enough time to get to the stage. I assume they will televise this stage only, and have a large gap for riders to return to pits after penultimate stage.

    Posted 1 year ago
    BruceWee
    Full Member

    It all sounds fine.

    However, let’s not forget which organisations we’re talking about here talking about. On the one hand we have the UCI whose attitude to MTB can best be described as, ‘We tolerate it’ and on the other we have Warner Bros who have shown they have no qualms about cancelling things at the last minute.

    I’ll believe it when I’m sitting on my couch watching riders coming down the hill.

    However, based on the last MUTN podcast, I think there’s more chance I’ll be watching Red Bull’s coverage of the iXS.

    Posted 1 year ago
    mark88
    Full Member

    I’m less enthused about the downhill changes. It just looks like they are trying to engineer the cut in rider numbers which seemed unpopular with riders.

    The way I understand the semi final is that riders will have to qualify twice? This means that someone could set the fastest qualifying time in their first run, but miss finals if they have a mistake in the semi final?

    No mention of protected riders. Perhaps they skip qualifying and go straight to semi finals?

    I’m not against finals numbers decreasing if it allows for coverage to improve, but i don’t think this is how to do it.

    If they are looking to increase coverage, I would like to see qualifying stay as normal but with a smaller final field. Then all non qualifiers get a second chance, with 5 additional finals places up for grabs – motocross calls this the Last Chance Qualifier. But I don’t think giving coverage to the privateers is what they are aiming for.

    Posted 1 year ago
    nickc
    Full Member

    No mention of protected riders

    5/3 top riders in mens/womens like last year. I think the idea is to show more riders on Saturday for the super fans, and more casual viewers get to see a traditional finals race on Sunday that will look pretty similar to what we have now. More fun for the viewers but more risk for the riders maybe? It’ll certainly reward consistency.

     

    Posted 1 year ago
    chrismac
    Full Member

    The UCI is shameless in giving E-enduro World Cup status though. How can they back something with such an obviously un-level playing field? And which doesn’t have any fans in the real world?

     

    I suspect the manufacturers want it as part of thier involvement as it supports selling the biggest growth area and I suspect good margin e-bikes. I dont think the rest of it really matters as you say its all about who has the biggest motor and way more batteries to use in a day than any customer would own

    Posted 1 year ago
    ocrider
    Full Member

    No mention of protected riders.

    They’ve published the rulebook on the UCI website.

    Protected riders to the semi-final are:
    1. riders with season long race numbers (i.e. ranked in the top 5 women elite and the top 10 men elite of the final UCI World Cup standings of the previous season)
    2. the best ranked riders from the current UCI World Cup standings, that are not included in point 1 above, until a total of 10 women elite and 20 men elite are reached
    3. if any riders as described under 1. and 2. above do not confirm participation at an event they will not be replaced. Protected riders to the final are:
    1. riders ranked in the top 3 women elite and top 5 men elite of the final UCI World Cup standings of the previous season
    2. men and women junior riders ranked in the top 3 of the current UCI World Cup standings. At the first UCI World Cup round of the season there will be no protected junior riders.

    Posted 1 year ago
    wipperman95
    Free Member

    Interesting; time will tell whether these changes work. However, one feels it’s the new people putting their stamp on the sport, when it wasn’t totally needed. A few tweaks were to be expected.

    I don’t think renaming was needed, we all know it as the EWS, EDR, will take some getting used to. I think the Pro Stage was a good idea in principle, followed by a full day of racing; it’s called Enduro for a reason.
    The move to only one day may be a mistake – and the new points scoring seems strange. It looks possible that the quickest rider might not win – but the rider with the most points……if that’s the case, then that’s a poor move. I wouldn’t want to see it in rallying, and Enduro is the 2 wheeled version of it.

    I’m still not convinced that one body having total control of World Cup MTB racing is a good thing; time will tell if it is.

    Posted 1 year ago
    dirkpitt74
    Full Member

    So EWS has gone from not wanting anything to do with the UCI to having some involvement in the last year or so to full on integration……..
    Wonder haw many EWS – sorry ERD – riders this will upset?
    Not sure about the changes to DH – riders were doing limited runs on some tracks last year due to how technical/demanding they were – how will they react to effectively 2 race runs?
    Will be interesting to see how the rider union works this year and if they’re listened too.

    Posted 1 year ago
    ayjaydoubleyou
    Full Member

    Not sure about the changes to DH – riders were doing limited runs on some tracks last year due to how technical/demanding they were – how will they react to effectively 2 race runs?

    could be a benefit?
    the last few years of (most dry races) being within a few seconds with very little line choice, because its practised to death and analysed via instagram, cathro videos, team “line spotters”, and the riders own helmet cams; has made the race itself less interesting than it could be to watch.

    Posted 1 year ago
    overend
    Full Member

    An uplift of twice as many men and only 50% women; doesn’t seem equitable.

    Good experience and exposure for the ever faster Juniors will help close the (smaller) step up though…..although it’s still a tough step.

    Many of the marathon races take place across some stunning scenery, in remote locations and with some highly technical trails; so will make for some exciting edits!! A hidden gem IMO.

    Posted 1 year ago
    DickBarton
    Full Member

    Surely with WB involved it can only get better? Each rider could end up having a spin-off series with their back story and origin story…think of the merchandising opportunities?

    Posted 1 year ago
    ocrider
    Full Member

    So EWS has gone from not wanting anything to do with the UCI to having some involvement in the last year or so to full on integration……..

    AIUI it was always Chris Ball’s intention to prove to the UCI that enduro racing was viable with the goal of having it integrated into the official calendar.

    Looking further into the new rules, it looks like the protected DH riders not making a top 60 place will race the semi, but won’t bump anyone off the quali list.
    That’s a big plus for me.

    Posted 1 year ago
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