The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) are delighted to announce that the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be further extended from 2023 with the introduction of Enduro, E-enduro and Marathon in the calendar.
The current Enduro World Series (EWS) will be elevated to UCI World Cup status and will feature alongside Olympic Cross Country (XCO), Cross-Country Short Track (XCC), Downhill (DHI) and Marathon (XCM). The Enduro will have the abbreviations of EDR.
NEW ENDURO (EDR)
Lots of new features in Enduro: it will now take place on a race day and there will be a scoring system based on each special stage. Then the time classification will be eliminated: the general classification will reward the athletes who have won the most points and will determine the starting order of the athletes for the last Special Stage, with the rider who has accumulated the most points starting last. It is not yet known if the last special stage will have double points or will have different scoring logics. We think you are useful for a TV speech, since it will be possible to have the best athletes of the day grouped in the last positions.
INTRODUCTION OF E-BIKES
E-bikes had already been added to the UCI programme as a Cross Country event in 2019, with the victory of Alan Hatherly and Nathalie Schneitter at Mont Sainte Anne. E-Enduro (E-EDR) follows the same principle as Enduro but the routes will be slightly different, including challenging technical climbs suitable for enduro E-mountain bikes.
MARATHON (XCM)
The integration of the Marathon into the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup program and the introduction of Under 23 categories for the XCC were announced in September. The marathon is not new to the World Cup: let's remember that from 2005 to 2008 there had been a World Cup, later an idea abandoned by the UCI.
DOWNHILL (DHI)
Another improvement to the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be the increase in screen time for the Elite Downhill races by introducing a semi-final between the Qualifier and the Final in each Downhill round. The top 60 Elite Men and top 15 Elite Women will take part in the semi-final, with the final featuring 40 athletes at the start (30 men and 10 women), where the goal is to broadcast each of the 40 runs in their entirety live on the platforms wb extension.
JUNIOR CATEGORY DOWNHILL
Furthermore, thanks to the increased participation of the Junior Women, a qualifying heat will be introduced for this category, with the 10 fastest entering the final. The Men Junior and Women Junior races will also be broadcast live on TV for the first time.
The full 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup calendar will be released next week.
The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup has been delighting athletes and fans for over 30 years with multiple rounds taking place around the world during 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 higher levels. Partly through our partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, the spectacular downhill racing will benefit from increased exposure that will captivate existing fans and attract new audiences. I am looking forward to this new extended UCI Mountain Bike World Cup from 2023 – David Lappartient, UCI president
Mountain bike racing has reached an incredible level in recent years and this latest evolution will allow the sport to shift gears and accelerate towards an exciting new future, celebrating the discipline in all its forms. With more short track racing and a new downhill semi-final, fans will be treated to more action than ever before. Awarding UCI World Cup status for the enduro, enduro-e and cross-country marathon will also highlight these incredible mountain bike formats and allow us to both push the front end of racing while maintaining amateur participation in many of our events. – Chris Ball, CEO of ESO Sports
