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Lourdes (FRA) New to the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano in 2015, Lourdes will be one of three rounds – with Fort William and Leogang – 100% dedicated to Downhill. A regular French Cup stopover, the city in the south-west of France will kick off the season. The riders will no doubt enjoy its demanding track that offers a stunning view of the city.
Cairns (AUS) After a break of a year, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup returns to the tropical rainforest in the iconic region of the Great Barrier Reef. One of Australia’s leading tourist destinations, Cairns is again ready to welcome the world’s mountain bike community. Twenty years ago the Queensland City hosted the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and looks forward to doing so again in 2017.
Albstadt (GER) The German venue will organise an XCO round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup for the fourth time since it first joined the calendar in 2013. The Albstadt bike park was created in 2004 and features a combination of physically-demanding passages and technical sections. The venue is used by a number of athletes preparing for the World Cup. With its excellent facilities, it is no surprise that Albstadt in south-west Germany is popular with XCO riders.
La Bresse (FRA) The ski resort in France’s eastern region of the Vosges will host a round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup four years after Frenchman and local hero Julien Absalon raced to victory on these very slopes. Scheduled for late May, the round in La Bresse comes a month before the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships for XCO riders and three months before many of them will meet again at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Fort William (GBR) After first joining the UCI World Cup in 2002, this British stopover features on the calendar for the 15th time. Also host of the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, this spot in the Scottish Highlands is a not-to-be-missed destination on the DHI calendar. Clear evidence of this was that Fort William was voted best DHI event in 2012 and 2013.
Leogang (AUT) The Saalfelden-Leogang bike park was launched in 2001 and has become one of the most popular European meetings for downhillers. The Austrian winter sports resort, not far from Salzburg, joined the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in 2010 and hosted the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (Downhill/4X) followed by the 4X Worlds in 2013 and 2014. With its spectacular views, Leogang once again promises to be sensational.
Lenzerheide (SUI) Cross-country Olympic and Downhill specialists are all looking forward to returning to this Swiss alpine resort. For its first year on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup calendar last year, Lenzerheide produced exciting XCO contests as well as thrilling DHI racing featuring high-speed passages and spectacular jumps. This will be the second of three UCI Mountain Bike World Cup rounds in Lenzerheide (2015-2017) before the resort organises the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in 2018.
Mont-Sainte-Anne (CAN) The Canadian round has been an integral part of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup since 1991. This highlight of the World Cup takes place at one of the “Sommets du Saint Laurent” in Quebec and deserves its reputation as a Mecca of mountain biking.
Vallnord (AND) The round in the Vallnord Bike Park in La Massana, Andorra, in the heart of the Pyrenees, will bring the curtain down on the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup season. Riders will square off in this final showdown on the terrain that saw the world’s best battle it out for the rainbow jersey last September at the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships.
The complete competition programmes are available on the UCI website.
XCO Women
Jolanda Neff (SUI), Stöckli Pro team
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 3 x winner (Nové Město na Moravě, Mont-Saint-Anne, Albstadt) Overall World Cup winner
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja (NOR), Multivan Merida Biking Team
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 1 x winner (Lenzerheide) 2 x second (Nové Město na Moravě, Albstadt)
Lea Davison (USA), Specialized Racing
2015 UCI MTB World Cup highlights: 1 x second (Lenzerheide)
Catharine Pendrel (CAN), Luna Pro Team
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 1 x second (Mont-Sainte-Anne) 2 x third (Albstadt, Lenzerheide)
Irina Kalentieva (RUS), Möbel Märki MTB Pro Team
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 1 x third (Val di Sole)
XCO Men
Nino Schurter (SUI), Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team, 2015 World Champion
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 3 x winner (Mont-Saint-Anne, Windham, Val di Sole) 3 x second (Nové Město na Moravě, Albstadt, Lenzerheide) Overall World Cup winner
Julien Absalon (FRA), BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 1 x winner (Albstadt) 2 x second (Windham, Val di Sole)
Jaroslav Kulhavy (CZE), Specialized Racing
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 2 x winner (Nové Město na Moravě, Lenzerheide) 1 x third (Albstadt)
Florian Vogel (SUI), Focus XC Team
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 2 x third (Mont-Sainte-Anne, Val di Sole) 2 x fourth (Nové Město na Moravě, Albstadt)
Mathias Flückiger (SUI), Stöckli Pro Team
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 1 x fourth (Lenzerheide) 2 x fifth (Nové Město na Moravě, Albstadt)
DHI Women
Rachel Atherton (GBR), Trek Factory Racing DH, 2015 World Champion
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 6 x winner (Fort William, Leogang, Lenzerheide, Mont-Saint-Anne, Windham, Val di Sole) 1 x second (Lourdes) Overall World Cup Winner
Manon Carpenter (GBR), Madison Saracen Factory Team
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 3 x second (Lenzerheide, Mont-Saint-Anne, Windham) 1 x third (Val di Sole)
Tahnée Seagrave (GBR), Transition Factory Racing / FMD
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 2 x second (Fort William, Leogang) 1 x third (Windham)
Tracey Hannah (AUS), Polygon UR
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 2 x second (Fort William, Leogang) 1 x third (Windham)
Emmeline Ragot (FRA), MS Mondraker Team
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 1 x winner (Lourdes) 2 x third (Fort William, Leogang)
DHI Men
Aaron Gwin (USA), The YT Mob
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 4 x winner (Lourdes, Leogang, Windham, Val di Sole) 1 x second (Fort William) Overall World Cup Winner
Loïc Bruni (FRA), Specialized Gravity Powered by SRAM, 2015 World Champion
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 4 x second (Lourdes, Lenzerheide, Mont-Sainte-Anne, Val di Sole)
Troy Brosnan (AUS), Specialized Racing
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 2 x third (Mont-Sainte-Anne, Val di Sole) 3 x fourth (Leogang, Lenzerheide)
Greg Minnaar (RSA), Santa Cruz Syndicate
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 1 x winner (Fort William) 1 x second (Windham)
Josh Bryceland (GBR), Santa Cruz Syndicate
2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup highlights: 1 x winner (Mont-Sainte-Anne)
In total, 129 teams from 30 countries have been registered for the 2016 season. Two nations – Luxembourg and Malaysia – have registered a team for the first time, while Mexico returns with a team after an absence of four years.
As in previous years, 30 teams (15 Endurance teams and 15 Gravity teams) have been awarded UCI ELITE Mountain Bike status. Invitations to join this highest tier of teams were issued to the top 12 Endurance (XC) teams and top 12 Gravity (DHI) teams from a special ranking which was established on the basis of the individual UCI points won by the riders up to 31 December 2015. The three additional teams of each format (XC and DHI) offered UCI ELITE status were selected at the discretion of the UCI.
UCI ELITE Mountain Bike teams benefit from advantages including free entry to all races on the UCI Mountain Bike International Calendar in the discipline in which the team has ELITE status. For the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano, this means free entry together with the obligation to enter at least one rider in all rounds.
Endurance
Gravity
Presenting sponsor
SHIMANO Shimano has been in partnership with the UCI since 1999 and oversees technical services at the UCI World Championships (road, track, mountain bike & trials, MTB marathon, cyclo-cross and para-cycling) and at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. It has also been in charge of technical assistance at the last three Olympic Games (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012) and will be again in Rio 2016. Shimano also fulfilled this role at the Youth Olympic Games (Singapore 2010 and Nanjing 2014). The contract between Shimano and the UCI was extended in 2012 for a period of four years (2013-2016).
Media partner
Red Bull Media House This multi-platform media company brings the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup to a global audience via Red Bull TV. Red Bull Media House is the exclusive broadcaster and distribution partner of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano, producing live broadcasts, highlights shows and various clips and has been in partnership with the UCI since 2012.
Official providers
Santini This manufacturer is the official supplier of UCI World Champion’s jerseys and the leader’s jerseys for all the UCI World Cups. Fans can buy a famous rainbow jersey from the website.
Tissot The UCI and Tissot celebrated 20 years of partnership in 2015. It was back in 1995 that Tissot became the official timekeeper of the UCI World Championships (road, track, BMX and mountain bike) and the UCI Track Cycling and Mountain Bike World Cups.
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