MEDIA GUIDE 2021 MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP MOUNTAIN BIKE CONTENTS WORLD CUP General Introduction .......................................... 3 Introduction of Formats .................................... 4 Partners ................................................................ 5 Facts And Figures - 2021 ..................................... 8 Media Coverage ................................................... 9 Social Media ........................................................ 10 2021 Calendar & Rounds .................................... 11 Top 5 Riders .......................................................... 21 2021 UCI Mountain Bike Teams ........................ 28 2020 Results .......................................................... 32 2021 Communications Contacts ...................... 39 2021 MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 2 MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP WORLD CUP 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 After four years on the programme, the dual-slalom was replaced by fourcross Ballantyne, became the first winners of the UCI Mountain Bike World (4X) in which four riders race against each other on a single course. Winner of Cup. The year was 1991, and the World Cup series comprised nine rounds three of the four dual-slalom World Cups, Brian Lopes went on to dominate in seven countries, catering for cross-country Olympic (XCO) specialists the first year of four-cross. In the women’s competition victory went to France’s only. Anne-Caroline Chausson, already winner of the dual-slalom in 2000. 1993 2012-2014 Two years later the downhill (DHI) format joined the programme, Cross-country Eliminator was the next mountain bike format to join the crowning two German athletes this time: Jürgen Beneke and Regina Stiefl. UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, from 2012 to 2014. This spectacular format Interestingly, John Tomac, XCO winner in 1991, took second place in the for XCO specialists sees four competitors race head-to-head over a lap of inaugural downhill World Cup as well as second in the XCO. around a kilometre. Introduced to the World Cup with three events in 2012, six Eliminator rounds appeared in 2013 and 2014 with the overall classifications 1998 - 2001 going to Belgium’s Fabrice Mels and Switzerland’s Kathrin Stirnemann. 1998 was the year that the dual slalom – the forerunner of four-cross – made its debut in the World Cup. Dual-slalom involved knock-out heats 2018 with two riders racing on parallel courses, and it featured in the World Cup 2018 sees the addition of cross-country short track (XCC) racing into the for four years. American Brian Lopes and Australian Katrina Miller won the overall XCO UCI Mountain Bike World Cup competition. The goal with this overall classification the first year. new discipline is to continue developing cross-country. 2021 MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 3 MOUNTAIN BIKE INTRODUCTION OF FORMATS WORLD CUP CROSS-COUNTRY CROSS-COUNTRY OLYMPIC (XCO) SHORT TRACK (XCC) DOWNHILL (DHI) Cross-country Olympic format races are held Cross-country short track is a variation of Downhill is a race against the clock in which overundulating circuits (with technical descents, Cross-country Olympic. The start and finish the rider negotiates a succession of fast and forestroads, rocky paths and obstacles) of 4 to 6 must be in the same area. The distance of the technical passages. The participant must km, which riders must complete several times. course must not be more than 2 km with a race demonstrate courage as well as sharp technical The Elite racing times, for men and women, duration of 20 to 60 minutes. Natural and/or and piloting skills in order to battle tree roots, vary from 1h20 minutes to 1h40. An attractive artificial obstacles are only permitted if their rocks, banked sections, bumps, jumps and course design that shows the discipline well use has been approved beforehand by the other natural obstacles along the way. on television and is also spectator friendly is a UCI Technical Delegate or, in his absence, the necessity! president of the commissaires' panel. 2021 MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 4 MOUNTAIN BIKE PARTNERS WORLD CUP MERCEDES-BENZ SHIMANO TITLE PARTNER MAIN PARTNER Since 2018, Mercedes-Benz has been partnering with the Mercedes- Shimano has been in partnership with the UCI since 1999 and is committed Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and the UCI Mountain Bike World to helping teams and athletes with technical support at the UCI road, track, Championships. mountain bike, mountain bike marathon, cyclo-cross and paracycling World Championships, at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup and at the Olympic With their selection of premium van models, Mercedes-Benz is the perfect Games. With 100 years’ experience in creating internationally renowned mobility partner for all mountain bikers. bicycle components, Shimano is proud to have developed products that continue to take countless athletes to victory and provide the means for mercedes-benz.com limitless global bicycle journeys. shimano.com 2021 MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 5 MOUNTAIN BIKE PARTNERS WORLD CUP GOPRO VITTORIA OFFICIAL PARTNER OFFICIAL PARTNER GoPro has been the exclusive camera partner of the UCI Mountain Bike Vittoria is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of bicycle tires with World Cup since 2013. an annual production of more than 7 million tires and 900,000 high performance tubulars and cotton tires. Vittoria research & development Adding an exciting dimension to the series coverage with unique viewpoint center develops tires at all levels through constant innovation. Vittoria makes of the world’s best mountain bike athletes, GoPro is excited to meet two the only tires in the world with Graphene. The introduction of Graphene wheel fans around the globe at the UCI events. in tires allows for natural material barriers of rubber to be removed. This means that there is no longer the need for such compromises between gopro.com speed, grip, durability and puncture resistance. Vittoria Graphene tires were used by Jordan Sarrou to win the UCI MTB World Championships XCO in 2020, and are currently the choice of Team Absolute Absalon-BMC and Santa Cruz FSA. vittoria.com 2021 MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 6 MOUNTAIN BIKE PARTNERS WORLD CUP OAKLEY RED BULL MEDIA HOUSE OFFICIAL EYEWEAR PARTNER EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION AND PRODUCTION PARTNER Established in 1975 and headquartered in Southern California, Oakley 2021 will be the 10th season that Red Bull Media House is the official is one of the leading product design and sport performance brands in broadcast and production partner of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike the world. Oakley is one of the most iconic and inimitable brands on the World Cup. Since 2016 the Austrian based company is also the distribution market, with products that world-class athletes around the globe depend partner for the series. on to compete at the highest level possible. In the past ten seasons Red Bull Media House has broadened the reach of Oakley is known for its PRIZM™ Lens Technology which is a revolution the sport by producing and broadcasting live races, recap programmes and in lens optics built on decades of color science research. Prizm™ lenses flanking content for fans to go beyond race day and dive deeper into the provide unprecedented control of light transmission resulting in colors sport. Fans can access the content world-wide and free of charge. The steady precisely tuned to maximize contrast and enhance visibility. development, cutting edge technologies and the high production quality have contributed greatly to the popularity of the series around the world. oakley.com redbullmediahouse.com 2021 MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 7 MOUNTAIN BIKE FACTS AND FIGURES - 2019-2020 WORLD CUP 2020 MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP CALENDAR DATE DISCIPLINE COUNTRY VENUE 29 Sept. - 01 Oct. 2020 XCO/XCC CZECH REPUBLIC Nove Mesto Na Morave 02-04 Oct. 2020 XCO/XCC CZECH REPUBLIC Nove Mesto Na Morave 15-16 Oct. 2020 DHI SLOVENIA Maribor 17-18 Oct. 2020 DHI SLOVENIA Maribor 29-30 Oct. 2020 DHI PORTUGAL Lousa 31 Oct - 01 Nov. 2020 DHI PORTUGAL Lousa 2019 EVENTS* 2019 TELEVISION COVERAGE* 2019 RED BULL TV BROADCAST* • 10 events • 44 broadcasters in 110 countries • 62 hours of live coverage • 10 countries • Overall cumulative audience of over 81 million • 15x26min highlight programme • 2 continents • 10.8 million TV viewers watched live and delayed • A large number of clips and features for Red Bull TV/all Red Bull social media platforms. *Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and particular 2020 season, the 2020 numbers are not relevant 2021 MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 8 MOUNTAIN BIKE MEDIA COVERAGE WORLD CUP YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWING AUDIENCE ON RED BULL TV AND A LARGE TV AUDIENCE REFLECTS THE ENHANCED BROADCAST OFFER. UCI’s official partner, Red Bull Media House produced the 2019 Mercedes- Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and did broadcast the series for the seventh consecutive year after delivering a 12% increase in viewership compared to 2018. The broadcast was experienced through Red Bull TV, the company’s free, on demand platform available on the web and as an app on Smart TVs, mobile phones, gaming consoles and more. With 62 hours of live programming, UCI fans worldwide had access to every stop of the World Cup without geo-blocks that traditionally come with live sports. Beside the live broadcasts, Red Bull Media House also produced recap programs and a large number of additional clips for fans to go beyond race day and dive deep into the competitors, race locations and latest news on the sport.