Leogang Lays Out the Schedule of the Quadruple World Championships
UCI DHI Worldcup Leogang 2019 Finals, DannyHart ©Moritz Ablinger
Press Release: Saalfelden Leogang
15 opportunities for gold, silver and bronze over the span of five days are included in the spectacular UCI 2020 Mountain Bike World Championships in Saalfelden Leogang. The organizers, Marco Pointner and Kornel Grundner, are now able to give us give exciting insights into how the event is organized, especially in difficult times: "We have seen ourselves increasingly responsible for making the World Championships possible for the riders, teams and sponsors, but also for the fans.”
Five days of pure action with 15 golden chances – Saalfelden Leogang, the host of the World Championships, gives the heavily adjusted mountain bike calendar a bit of security. Approximately eleven weeks before the start of the UCI 2020 Mountain Bike and Pump Track World Championships, which will take place 7-11 October, the title battles in Downhill, Cross-Country, E-Mountain Bike and Pump Track are taking shape. After consultation with the UCI, organiser Saalfelden Leogang can now officially announce the schedule for the quadruple World Championships.
UCI DHI Worldcup Leogang 2019 Finals, Valentina Hoell ©Moritz Ablinger
The festivities will start in the usual manner with the Cross-Country Team Relay race on Wednesday, October 7. On the same day, two more medals will be awarded when the E-MTB stars, both women and men, take to the track.
On Thursday, the juniors will compete for gold, silver and bronze in Cross-Country. On Friday, the men's U23s will compete in Cross-Country. Afterwards men and women will duel each other on the Pump Track for the coveted rainbow jerseys. The Pump Track competition will signal the end of the third day of competition.
The World Championship weekend starts with the U23 Cross-Country women. In the Olympic discipline, the two Elite competitors will then give it their all on the demanding circuit. The final day of competition on Sunday offers four more decisions - all of them Downhill. First, the Junior women and then the Junior men will rocket down the Speedster, before the Women's and Men's Elite finish the quadruple World Championships.
Pumptrack © Klemens König
Spectator situation still uncertain
Despite the uncertainty caused by the Corona pandemic and the resulting difficulty in planning, the organisers are trying to make the title races accessible to spectators. A decision on this has not yet been made. All current information is also available at: www.bikewm2020.com
"Prepared for all eventualities"
Organizers Marco Pointner and Kornel Grundner give exciting insights into the origins of the quadruple World Championships and the organizational challenges.
Kornel Grundner (l.), Thierry Marechal, Marco Pointner (r.) ©Saalfelden Leogang Touristik
 | The UCI contacted us and asked if we saw an opportunity to integrate the Cross-Country and E-MTB competitions of the World Championships from Albstadt into our Downhill and Pumptrack World Championships. After we checked everything internally, it was clear to us that we could tackle a quadruple World Championships and that we wanted to take on the challenge. |
| The short-term is not optimal and rather unusual. The tracks for the Cross- Country competitions have yet to be completed. But the biggest challenge is that we are prepared for all eventualities. We don’t know how the pandemic will develop. Thus, we are currently working on four different "corona-ready" concepts. First of all for all athletes and teams, then for the entire media sector from journalists to TV teams, for all our own employees and helpers, as well as for spectators along the track and in designated corridors. Of course, we want spectators on the track, that's just part of it and what makes Leogang and mountain bike sport so special. But the top priority is that we can host the World Champs and not endanger anyone. |
Kornel Grundner(l.), Vali Hoell, Marco Pointner(r.) ©Saalfelden Leogang Touristik
| Of course it's a great thing for us, for the Saalfelden Leogang region and for Epic Bikepark Leogang. We have invested a lot over many years, have developed as a reliable UCI partner and can once again underline our status as a top bike destination. But for us, it was also about the sport, the riders and everything around it. We have increasingly seen ourselves as responsible for making a World Championship possible for the riders, teams and sponsors, but also for the fans. |
Timetable UCI 2020 Mountain Bike & Pump Track World Championships
Day
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
CEST
12:30 pm
02:30 pm
04:15 pm
01:30 pm
03:30 pm
03:00 pm
04:00 pm
10:00 am
12:15 pm
02:45 pm
09:30 am
01:00 pm
02:00 pm
12:30 pm
02:30 pm
04:15 pm
01:30 pm
03:30 pm
03:00 pm
04:00 pm
10:00 am
12:15 pm
02:45 pm
09:30 am
01:00 pm
02:00 pm
Discipline
XC Team-Relay
E-MTB Men
E-MTB Women
XCO Junior Class (female)
XCO Junior Class (male)
XCO U23 Men
Pumptrack WC
XCO U23 Women
XCO Women
XCO Men
DHI Junior Class (both)
DHI Women
DHI Men
XC Team-Relay
E-MTB Men
E-MTB Women
XCO Junior Class (female)
XCO Junior Class (male)
XCO U23 Men
Pumptrack WC
XCO U23 Women
XCO Women
XCO Men
DHI Junior Class (both)
DHI Women
DHI Men
UCI DHI Worldcup Leogang 2019 Finals, Valentina Hoell ©Moritz Ablinger
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Too bad its going to be renamed the UCI European Championships since there won't be anyone from outside the continent attending. They might even keep the Brits out (jk on that last part)
Airline bag check: "WOW this box is heavy"
Intense rep:"...yeah it's an...e-bike"
Sure, you may still have measures in place so things won’t be completely ‘normal’ but at what point do you say that you are more likely to be hit by a stray dh bike when spectating than catch coronavirus there?
We can’t wait for absolutes like a 100% successful vaccine or complete eradication of the virus, we have to move forward accepting small risks exist, we all ride bikes in the woods after all.
Where this leaves countries who have f*cked it up like us in the UK and the even more poorly handled USA, who knows though.
Where was that mountain in Canada that Sam Hill won on, on his Sunday beating Tyler I think it was, race it down there...
Mount 7 Psychosis
www.pinkbike.com/news/calgary-cycle-psychosis-2008.html
www.youtube.com/watch?v=maldqwBS4js
Wait... we are cancelling races everywhere but some turned up to a non race, timing session a couple of weeks ago!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdKLGTQg_b0
Too gnarly for 2020 and has a wee push in it.
would be si cool if all the pro racers could take it a little seriously !
Having a world champs this year is just going to screw things up for next year and make last years point standings obsolete.
The winners from last year have missed out on a season of racing in the rainbow stripes and riders who can’t get to theses races will slip in their points standings.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcSMKWTEkcI
Well that’s pretty lame.
I really have nothing against ebikes, and most people I see on them are going at normal mtb speeds.
Racing then in a cycling event seems like it could make superior electromechanical technology that which determines the winner. Simply a superior battery technology (not that that’s simple) could mean winning or losing.
Novak Djokovic different story. It is called safety protocols which I am sure the responsible authorities are taking very seriously. Especially with such a high profile event. Maybe if people followed direction and took their personal role seriously we wouldn't have all the sensationalism and dying. What a novel idea in 2020, oersonal responsibility towards others!
Good on Leogang and the UCI (bastards that they can be) for working on this!
But this stuff really isnt that hard. It involves common sense, following direction and caring for our fellowman.
If more people did that we wouldn't be putting the world on hold thru this crisis.
Too gnarly for 2020