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The UCI and the Marathon World Cup returning: love and hate

The idea of ​​unifying all off-road disciplines leads the UCI to create (again) the Marathon World Cup in 2023.

Grand Raid BCVS andreas seewald
Andreas Seewald: World champion 2021 and one of the great interpreters of this discipline

Little by little, all the 2023 innovations come to the surface, which make us perceive a qualitative leap in MTB at an organizational level. We remind you that, from next year, Warner Bros. Discovery is the company in charge of broadcasting the MTB World Cup (including the Enduro World Series). The long-term goal is to unify the calendars of all disciplines (a step forward has already been made with 2023 calendars) where each venue of the World Cup will undertake to host all the tests: all to reduce the costs of the teams and facilitate the diffusion of the sport.

WORLD ROLL OF GOLD MARATHON

MARATHON AND UCI: LOVE AND HATE

Love and hate because years ago, between 2005 and 2008 (see the roll of honor), had made a Marathon World Cup but with poor results. There were the leaders, a ranking and an important race program. But the concept didn't catch on. At that time, few Marathon teams followed the full championship and the various races seemed to be competitions in their own right, demeaning the concept of the world cup.

Fabian Rabensteiner
Fabian Rabensteiner, European Marathon Champion 2022: one of our best long distance performers - © Michele Mondini

UCI MARATHON SERIES

After this failed Marathon World Cup experiment, the wording of UCI Marathon Series arrived at the most important events but it had nothing to do with the concept of the World Cup since these are isolated competitions that receive this status from the 'UCI but where there is no general classification or leader's jersey.

Unlike the XC World Cup, there is still no calendar regarding marathons. But it is only a matter of time.

WILL THE BIG EVENTS ATTEND?

Now the big events, it is bad to say it, are doing well: they have thousands of members, they should not be subject to external sponsors (think of a hypothetical imposition of sponsors brought by the UCI that could be in conflict with the local organization) and we are additional costs related to an entry into the World Cup. On the other hand, talking about new events is not easy given the cost and professionalism that a World Cup stage requires. Let's see how this will evolve and how the UCI will manage to attract the most important events to include them in the World Cup.

Sellaronda HERO 2022
Photo credit HERO Südtirol Dolomites 2022_ @ wisthaler.com

WORLD MARATHON 2022

I 2022 Marathon World Championships they left a bad taste in the mouth of many people: both for the route, with little difference in height, and for the television quality, at an all-time low even if it were a very young race (with all respect for the very young).

Regarding the 1st point, however, I do not find myself totally in agreement: who said that a world marathon must necessarily have 3000 and pass meters of altitude difference? Couldn't there be world editions that benefit more powerful athletes and not always climbers under 60kg? A bit like what happens on the road: the climb always attracts but every now and then the fast track that favors the sprinters happens. If anything, in this case, attention must be paid to the duration of the race and not to expire in short races with little difference in height.

Sam Gaze wins XCM 2022 World Championships
Sam Gaze wins the 2022 Marathon World Championship

On the second point, the television quality, on the other hand, I completely agree with the criticisms. It is not acceptable for a World Cup to be broadcast the way the World Cup was broadcast in Denmark: fixed camera in 2 insignificant points of the course and on the finish. Camera not even of quality since it was not able to make a close-up on the finish straight. A bit like watching the concert from behind the nets. If the quality of the shooting had been excellent, the world championship in Denmark would have been appreciated more even in the face of an unspectacular route from the point of view of the climbs.



Written by

[email protected] I am a fan of everything that has 2 wheels: at a young age I practiced road and track cycling (Italian Allievi champion). At the age of 18 I passed into the cross country competing at national/international level as an Under23. Past Elite, I made the choice to take things more lightly from a training point of view, and my love for gravity disciplines was born, training me as an FCI MTB instructor and guide. Now I have made passion my profession by managing 2 MTB centers on the island of Elba (Bike Center Elba and Elba MTB), creating the FANTAmtb and telling in an ironic but professional way everything that revolves around MTB thanks to 365mountainbike and 365TV (YouTube'PULITI dentro BIKER fuori').

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