MEDIA GUIDE | 2015 SUMMARY: (CLICK TO NAVIGATE) 3 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 5 DISCIPLINES INTRODUCTION 6 WORLD CUP PARTNERS 7 FIGURES AND FACTS 2014 8 SPECTATORS ON THE INTERNET 9 PRESENTATION OF THE ROUNDS 20 TOP 5 RIDERS (PER DISCIPLINE) 25 2015 UCI MTB TEAM 28 2014 RESULTS MEDIA GUIDE 2 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP PRESENTED BY SHIMANO A BRIEF RUNDOWN The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup has a long, colourful history and enjoys a solid following throughout the world. Over the years, the UCI has modified the format and introduced new initiatives in order to keep up with evolving trends and meet the expectations of athletes and fans. EVOLUTION OF THE UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP 1991: 2002 - 2011: It was 24 years ago that two American riders, John Tomac and Sara Ballan- After four years on the programme, the dual slalom was replaced by four- tyne, became the first winners of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. The cross (4X) in which four riders race against each other on a single course. year was 1991, and the World Cup series comprised nine rounds in seven Winner of three of the four dual-slalom World Cups, Brian Lopes went on countries, catering for Cross-country Olympic (XCO) specialists only. to dominate the first year of four-cross. In the women’s competition victory went to France’s Anne-Caroline Chausson, already winner of the dual-slalom 1993: in 2000. Two years later the downhill (DHI) format joined the programme, crowning two German athletes this time: Jürgen Beneke and Regina Stiefl. Interest- 2012-2014: ingly, John Tomac, XCO winner in 1991, took second place in the inaugural The Cross-country Eliminator was the latest mountain bike format to join the downhill World Cup as well as second in the XCO. UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in 2012 for the last 3 seasons. This spectacular format suited to XCO specialists sees four competitors race each other over a 1998 - 2001: lap of around 1km. Introduced into the World Cup with three events in 2012, 1998 was the year that the dual slalom – the forerunner of four-cross – made the Eliminator rounds increased in number of six in 2013 and six last year with its debut in the World Cup. Dual slalom involved knock-out heats with two the overall classifications going to Belgium’s Fabrice Mels and Switzerland’s riders racing on parallel courses, and it featured in the World Cup for four Kathrin Stirnemann. years. American Brian Lopes and Australian Katrina Miller won the overall classification the first year. MEDIA GUIDE 3 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP PRESENTED BY SHIMANO UCI ELITE MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAMS BEST EVENTS In 2011, the UCI introduced a higher tier of mountain bike teams, UCI ELITE The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup rewards not only the best athletes but Mountain Bike Teams. Invitations to receive this label go to the 15 top endur- also the best organisers. Each year, UCI Mountain Bike Teams, media, spon- ance (XCO) teams and the 15 top gravity (downhill) teams of a special ranking sors, and UCI officials vote for the top events for each of the two formats: established at the end of the previous season by adding up the UCI points of cross-country and downhill. This creates healthy competition between the the best riders within each team. organisers and encourages them to stage events of the highest quality. These teams benefit from numerous advantages: notably priority placement Best events 2014: New promoters Méribel (FRA) confirmed the expectations at events, free entry to UCI Mountain Bike World Cup events and free entry topping the Downhill award and placing 2nd in both Cross-country Olympic for all races on the UCI Mountain Bike International Calendar. In return, they & Elimina tor, both of which were won by the now well established event are obliged to enter at least one rider in all rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike in Nove Mesto (CZE) who will host the World Championships XCO & XCE World Cup presented by Shimano. events in 2016. Mont-Sainte-Anne, a favourite destination on the World Cup circuit & who hosted their 24th year of World Cup or World Championship Watch out for their easily distinguishable label. events in 2014, placed 3rd in all three disciplines. MEDIA GUIDE 4 DISCIPLINES INTRODUCTION CROSS-COUNTRY OLYMPIC (XCO): DOWNHILL (DHI): Cross-country Olympic format races are held over undulating circuits (with Downhill is a race against the clock in which the rider negotiates a succession technical descents, forest roads, rocky paths and obstacles) of 4 to 6 km, of fast and technical passages. The participant must demonstrate courage as which riders must complete several times. The Elite racing times, for men well as sharp technical and piloting skills in order to battle tree roots, rocks, and women, vary from 1h 30 minutes to 1h 45 minutes. An attractive course banked sections, bumps, jumps and other natural obstacles along the way. design that shows the discipline well on television and also spectator friendly is a necessity! MEDIA GUIDE 5 WORLD CUP PARTNERS PRESENTING SPONSOR OFFICIAL PROVIDERS It is the world leader in the field of bike equipment (derailleurs, gear ca- Santini Maglificio Sportivo is a family bles, brakes, pedals, etc). Shimano has been in partnership with the UCI company founded in 1965 by its owner since 1999 and takes charge of the technical services at the UCI World Mr Pietro Santini. The company based Championships (road, track, mountain bike & trials, MTB marathon, cy- in Bergamo (Italy) is a leader in the pro- ® clo-cross and para-cycling) and for the UCI World Cups (cyclo-cross). duction of technical clothing for cycling. It was also in charge of technical assistance at the last three Olympic Santini Maglificio Sportivo has been a Games (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012) as well as at the UCI partner since 1994. Youth Olympic Games (Singapore in 2010 and Nanjing 2014). The con- The manufacturer is «official supplier» of tract between Shimano and the UCI was extended in 2012 for a period of jerseys for the UCI World Championships four years (2013-2016). www.shimano.com and the leader’s jerseys for all the UCI World Cups. Fans of the rainbow jersey can buy one by going onto the website: OFFICIAL SPONSOR www.santinisms.it GoPro has been the exclusive camera sponsor of the UCI Mountain Bike Tissot is a Swiss watch manufacturer World Cup and Championship as well as the UCI BMX World Champion- founded in 1853. The brand is distributed ships since 2013. in more than 150 countries and has been Adding an exciting dimension to the series coverage with unique viewpoint part of the Swatch group since 1985. of the world’s best mountain bike athletes GoPro is excited to meet two- In 2015, the UCI and Tissot celebrated wheel fans around the globe at the UCI events. www.gopro.com 20 years of partnership; in 1995, Tissot became the «official timekeeper» for the UCI World Championships (road, track, MEDIA PARTNER BMX and Mountain bike) and the UCI Track and Mountain Bike Cycling World Red Bull Media House is the centre of the global Red Bull media network Cup. www.tissot.ch across all relevant media channels and products. It offers a unique variety of media content in lifestyle, fun and sports. Red Bull Media House is the Official Media Partner of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano, producing the live broadcasts, magazine shows and various clips and has been in partnership with the UCI since 2012. www.redbull.tv MEDIA GUIDE 6 FIGURES AND FACTS - 2014 CALENDAR DATE: VENUE: COUNTRY: DISCIPLINES: 10-13.04.2014 Pietermaritzburg Republic of South Africa XCO / DHI 24 -27.04.2014 Cairns Australia XCO / XCE / DHI 23-25.05.2014 Nové Město Na Moravě Czech Republic XCO / XCE 30.05-01.06.2014 Albstadt Germany XCO / XCE 07-08.06.2014 Fort William Great Britain DHI 14-15.06.2014 Leogang Austria DHI 31.07-03.08.2014 Mont-Sainte-Anne Canada XCO / XCE / DHI 07-10.08.2014 Windham USA XCO / XCE / DHI 21-24.08.2014 Méribel France XCO / XCE / DHI 2014 EVENTS: 2014 TELEVISION RED BULL MEDIA HOUSE BROADCAST: • 9 events COVERAGE: • Broadcast all events live free of charge and all around the world on • 4 continents Red Bull TV and redbull.com/bike • 19 countries • 9 countries • 54 hours’ live coverage • 53 TV channels • 1462 Riders representing • 1.2 million live views • +36 mio cumulated audience 53 Nations • 800,000 Video on Demand views within four days of each event. • 1.52 million TV viewers watched live. MEDIA GUIDE 7 NEARLY 2 MILLION SPECTATORS ON THE INTERNET Nearly 37 million television viewers in 19 countries worldwide tuned in to watch either the live coverage, highlights or news broadcasts of the 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano and 2 Million Spectators on the Internet. The 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano not only saw “Our leading mountain bike series is very popular and continues to gain mo- athletes reach new heights, it was also the most successful season yet in mentum,” observes UCI Head of Off-Road Peter Van den Abeele. terms of Internet and television audiences. Beside the big increase in regards “With more channels in more countries coming on board we are reaching a to the TV audience, all rounds of the 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup wider fan base which further serves to develop this exciting discipline.” presented by Shimano were also streamed live on the Internet free to watch from all over the world.