The rebranding and restructure of the mountain bike race scene continues, as ESO has announced further details of the season ahead. Things have gone a little baseball-esque, with the whole shebang of races now called the ‘UCI Mountain Bike World Series’.
There’s also some information on TV coverage – it all looks to be paywalled – but the press release promises more viewing option information is yet to come:
The UCI Mountain Bike World Series launches as the new home of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
UCI Mountain Bike World Series is the new home of UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in the formats of cross-country Olympic, cross-country short track, cross-country marathon, downhill and enduro and E-enduro
The UCI Mountain Bike World Series brings the major formats together, unifying the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup experience for fans
More year-round coverage on more platforms – more ways to follow your favourite teams and athletes than ever before
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) are pleased to announce the new UCI Mountain Bike World Series, which will include the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup for cross-country Olympic (XCO), cross-country short track (XCC), cross-country marathon (XCM), downhill (DHI), enduro (EDR) and E-enduro (E-EDR).
The UCI Mountain Bike World Series will unite all mountain bike’s major formats under a single brand for the first time. The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be the pinnacle of this new structure, which will enable all formats to flourish independently but also sit side by side at select rounds and give athletes and teams additional exposure.
The UCI Mountain Bike World Series will also provide opportunities for amateurs and those seeking to break onto the Elite stage. Amateur XCM, EDR and E-EDR racing at some events will enable amateurs to compete alongside their sporting heroes, while providing a clear pathway to the highest level of the sport for aspiring athletes in the quest of qualifying points to progress into the Elite ranks.
This alignment of formats and racing will be perfectly showcased in September in Les Gets, Morzine and Châtel (France), hosts of the first ten-day UCI Mountain Bike World Series festival. Featuring all the major UCI Mountain Bike World Cup formats, as well as amateur racing, the festival will set the benchmark for this new era for mountain biking.
With one of the world’s biggest sports broadcasters behind the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, there will be more live coverage and more ways to follow racing than ever before. UCI World Cup XCO, XCC and DHI events from the UCI Mountain Bike World Series will be available live and on-demand on discovery+*, the Eurosport App and globally on GCN+. UCI World Cup XCM, EDR and E-EDR will benefit from in-depth Highlights Shows at every round. More ways to watch will be announced in the coming months.
UCI President David Lappartient said: “The global popularity of mountain bike is on the rise, and by combining all its major formats as well as racing for Elite and amateur riders in one major series, we will further increase the appeal of this discipline. With its festival atmosphere, mix of racing and expanded live coverage, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series offers a fresh and appealing experience for athletes, hardened fans and newcomers to the mountain bike community.”
Chris Ball, CEO of ESO Sports, said: “By creating a single global platform that unifies the major racing formats with UCI World Cup status for the first time, the new UCI Mountain Bike World Series will also allow for the integration and growth of amateur, pathway and festival events to UCI World Cup racing.
“Our long-term goal is to elevate the major racing formats of the UCI World Cup, taking the athletes and teams to a new level. We also want to maintain the ability to entertain and engage mountain bikers at all levels. The future is incredibly exciting and we are honoured to usher in a new era of the sport.”
*Streaming is available on discovery+ in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK and Ireland.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.