NOW YOU SEE IT...
Enduro gets World Cup status in 2023 and downhill gains a semi-final – but will new broadcaster Discovery keep it free to view?
UK riders have a long-running love affair with Les Gets, Morzine and Châtel. The famous Portes du Soleil resorts feature on many a bucket list, while thousands of us make an annual pilgrimage to the region for a heady mix of sun, singletrack and ski-lifts.
Well, there’s one more reason to head there now: this September the Haute-savoie region will host a 10-day bike festival, for the first time bringing together downhill, enduro, e-enduro, XCO, marathon, and XC short track across two bumper weekends. From September 7-17 you’ll be able to watch coverage of all disciplines as racing takes place in Les Gets, Morzine and Châtel, with promised live coverage of all the DH final runs in full.
Just how that will be accomplished remains to be seen, however, given there can be two or even three riders on course at any one time. It follows the news last month that enduro has finally become a fully-fledged World Cup event, now known officially as the UCI Mountain Bike Enduro World Cup, or EDR for short.
And if that wasn’t enough of a shake-up for mountain biking, back in 2022 the UCI ditched Red Bull as its broadcaster for the World Cups in favour of the Warner Brothers Discovery group, the goal being to “broaden the appeal of mountain biking,” according to Chris Ball from ESO Sports, which will run the EDR.
What’s clear is that this is the biggest change in the history of mountain bike racing, with many changes promised by the UCI, and just as many questions left unanswered. Perhaps the most pressing is whether EDR will be included in the upcoming 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, due to take place in Glasgow and surrounding areas of Scotland in August. The Tweed Valley is missing from the EWS calendar this year, while the Worlds calendar has already been published, so it’s not looking hopeful.
POINTS MEAN PODIUMS (MAYBE)
Here’s what we do know though. Enduro racing will now be a one-day only affair, so you can say goodbye to