The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Downhill and Pump Track, originally planned for September 4th to 6th, 2020 at Epic Bikepark Leogang, will be moved to October and extended with two extra disciplines. From 7th to 11th October 2020 Saalfelden Leogang will host the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and in addition to the already confirmed disciplines of Downhill and Pump Track, Cross-Country and E-Mountain Biking will also take place in the Pinzgau region.
The UCI, the Austrian Cycling Federation and the region Saalfelden Leogang announce good news for the bike scene: this year will be the second time the UCI Mountain Bike World Championship will take place in Saalfelden Leogang after 2012. As previously confirmed, UCI title battles in Downhill and Pump Track (postponed by more than a month) as well as the two additional disciplines of Cross-Country and E-MTB make this the quadruple World Championships. The world's best riders will transform Epic Bikepark Leogang into the ultimate bike hotspot from October 7th to 11th, 2020 and compete for the coveted rainbow jerseys. The Cross-Country and E-MTB competitions were originally scheduled for the end of June 2020 in Albstadt (GER), but fell victim to the corona crisis. Eight years ago, the picturesque mountain range Leoganger Steinberge and the Steinerne Meer were the backdrop for four World Championship disciplines: Downhill, Cross-Country, Four Cross and Trials.
The confirmation of the World Championships, including the new disciplines, brings great anticipation for the World Championship organizer and CEO of Leoganger Bergbahnen Kornel Grundner: "Over the past ten years we have developed into an extremely reliable partner of the UCI. We are currently working through various "Corona-suitable" concepts, because this year in particular it will be a great challenge to be able to hold the World Championships with four disciplines. But thanks to our enormous investments over almost 20 years, we have the infrastructure for such an event and are looking forward to it," said Grundner.
Marco Pointner, World Championship organizer and CEO of Saalfelden Leogang Touristik is also enthusiastic: "The past two months have been very nerve-wracking in many aspects. Unfortunately, the World Champs in Albstadt along with some World Cup races have been cancelled, with other World Cup races postponed, to commence not before September. As a result, we have seen ourselves increasingly responsible for making a mountain bike World Championship possible for the riders, teams and sponsors, but also for the fans. The fact that we now have certainty is a great relief and brings huge anticipation for all of us. If the competitions can still take place with fans and spectators trackside, that would of course be the icing on the cake."
Whether the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships can take place in front of an audience, as well as information about the schedule, course layout, supporting program and much more, will be announced in the next few weeks. All details are also available at: www.bikewm2020.com
Pure riding fun in Austria's largest bike region
With the relocation and expansion of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, the good news continues for the Saalfelden Leogang region. Recently, the opening of the Epic Bikepark Leogang on 29 May 2020 was announced. There will be pure riding fun from 11 June when Saalfelden Leogang joins forces with Saalbach Hinterglemm and Fieberbrunn to form Austria's largest bike region. Over 70 kilometers of single trails, downhill tracks and flow lines with the corresponding nine mountain railways are included in the new joint bike ticket.
