August 12/22 11:54 am - 2023 MTB World Cup Schedule Released

Posted by Editor on 08/12/22
 

With the earlier announcement that the UCI would be turning over the running of the Mountain Bike World Cup - and the broadcast rights - to Discovery+, there have been expectations of significant changes to next year's World Cup. In terms of the schedule, there has been an integration of the Enduro World Series (EWS) and the World Cup for XCO/XCC and Downhill (DHI), as well as an extension of the season, which will run from March to October. The classic Mont-Ste-Anne venue will close out the season in early October, with a tentative plan to have an Enduro in Whistler, in September.

The integration makes sense, especially for the Downhill community, which has many riders crossing over from both EWS and DHI. Also, given that EWS founder Chris Ball and his organization have been hired as the organizational lead for the World Cup, it was pretty much to be expected.

With 15 rounds covering 34 races organized across the world, the 2023 combined calendar for the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and Enduro World Series will see action taking place in ten countries across three continents. Cross-country Olympic (XCO) and cross-country short track (XCC) each have nine rounds in total, while downhill (DHI) and Enduro each have eight. There will be two venues with all four events. The World Cup season has a gap in July for the inaugural multi-discipline world championships taking place in Scotland.

Chris Ball, CEO of ESO Sports, said: "For the first time all major mountain bike formats align on one calendar, giving teams, athletes and fans new opportunities to experience their favourite racing with no date clashes.

"We've done our best to group venues in close geographical proximity to reduce the season's travel footprint and increase efficiencies for everyone on the tour. We'll be hosting new event schedules combining formats that have never been combined before, giving riders a unique new experience and using the very best of the terrain available at each location to provide the best racing on the planet, while of course valued race tracks remain in the calendar."

"Calendar classics sprinkled with some new venues - 2023 is going to be an incredibly exciting first step towards our long term plans for mountain bike racing worldwide."

March 25-26 - Enduro, Maydena, Tasmania
April 1-2 - Enduro, Derby, Tasmania
May 5-7 - XCO/XCC, Valkenberg, Netherlands
May 12-14 - XCO/XCC, Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic
June 3-4 - Enduro, Finale Ligure, Italy
June 9-11 - XCO/XCC/DHI, Lenzerheide, Switzerland
June 15-18 - XCO/XCC/DHI/Enduro, Leogang, Austria
June 24-25 - Enduro, Val di Fassa Trentino, Italy
June 30 - July 2 - XCO/XCC/DHI, Val di Sole, Italy
August 23-27 - XCO/XCC/DHI, Vallnord, Andorra
September 1-3 - DHI/Enduro, TBC, France
September 7-17 - XCO/XCC/DHI/Enduro, TBC, France
September (TBC) - Enduro, Whistler, Canada
September 28 - October 1 - XCO/XCC/DHI, Snowshoe, USA
October 6-8 - XCO/XCC/DHI, Mont-Ste-Anne, Canada