MEDIA GUIDE 2017 #UCIMTBWC 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 1 SUMMARY GENERAL INTRODUCTION 3 DISCIPLINES INTRODUCTION 5 WORLD CUP PARTNERS 6 FACTS AND FIGURES - 2016 7 THE WORLD CUP ON INTERNET 8 THE WORLD CUP ON SOCIAL MEDIA 9 PRESENTATION OF THE 2017 ROUNDS 10 2017 CALENDAR 11 TOP 5 RIDERS 21 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE ELITE TEAMS 26 2016 RESULTS 29 2017 COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS 39 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | 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 through- out the world. Over the years, the UCI has modified the format and introduced new initiatives in or- der 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 four- Ballantyne, became the first winners of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. cross (4X) in which four riders race against each other on a single course. The 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. 2012-2014 Interestingly, John Tomac, XCO winner in 1991, took second place in the Cross-country Eliminator was the latest mountain bike format to join the UCI inaugural downhill World Cup as well as second in the XCO. Mountain Bike World Cup from 2012 to 2014. This spectacular format for XCO specialists sees four competitors race head-to-head over a lap of around 1998 - 2001 a kilometre. Introduced to the World Cup with three events in 2012, six 1998 was the year that the dual slalom – the forerunner of four-cross – made Eliminator rounds appeared in 2013 and 2014 with the overall classifications its debut in the World Cup. Dual slalom involved knock-out heats with two going to Belgium’s Fabrice Mels and Switzerland’s Kathrin Stirnemann. riders racing on parallel courses, and it featured in the World Cup for four years. American Brian Lopes and Australian Katrina Miller won the overall classification the first year. 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 3 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP PRESENTED BY SHIMANO BEST EVENTS The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup rewards not only the best athletes but also the best organisers. Each year, UCI Mountain Bike Teams, sponsors, and UCI officials vote for the top events for each of the two formats: cross-country and downhill. This creates healthy competition between the organisers and encourages them to stage events of the highest quality. Cross-Country Olympic: Mont-Sainte-Anne (CAN) Since its first involvement with the UCI World Cup in 1991, the Canadian resort has become a not-to-be-missed feature on the calendar. Hosting its 26th UCI event this year, this classic rendezvous was voted best XCO event thanks to its excellent organisation and ever-popular course that every year boasts innovations. Downhill: Fort William (GBR) This legendary spot in the Scottish Highlands wins the “best event” vote for 2016. Also host of the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, Fort William organised a World Cup stopover for the 15th time in 2016. Several times winner of the “best event” award, the Scottish destination again won over the voters thanks to its course, large crowds, unique atmosphere, watertight organisation and team facilities: in summary, a fantastic promotion for the discipline. 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | 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 1h20 minutes to 1h40 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! 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 5 WORLD CUP PARTNERS PRESENTING SPONSOR MEDIA PARTNER Shimano has been in partnership with the UCI since This multi-platform media company brings the UCI 1999 and oversees technical services at the UCI World Mountain Bike World Cup to a global audience via Red Championships (road, track, mountain bike & trials, Bull TV. Red Bull Media House is the exclusive broad- MTB marathon, cyclo-cross and para-cycling) and at the caster and distribution partner of the UCI Mountain UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. It has also been in charge Bike World Cup presented by Shimano, producing live of technical assistance at the last four Olympic Games broadcasts, highlights shows and various clips and has (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016). been in partnership with the UCI since 2012. Shimano also fulfilled this role at the Youth Olympic www.redbull.tv Games (Singapore 2010 and Nanjing 2014). The contract between Shimano and the UCI was extended in 2016 for a period of four years (2017-2020). www.shimano.com OFFICIAL SPONSOR GoPro has been the exclusive camera sponsor of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup since 2013. Adding an exciting dimension to the series coverage with unique viewpoint of the world’s best mountain bike athletes, GoPro is excited to meet two wheel fans around the globe at the UCI events. www.gopro.com 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 6 FACTS AND FIGURES - 2016 CALENDAR DATE VENUE COUNTRY DISCIPLINES 09-10.04.2016 Lourdes France DHI 23-24.05.2016 Cairns Australia XCO/DHI 21-22.05.2016 Albstadt Germany XCO 28-29.05.2016 La Bresse France XCO 04-05.06.2016 Fort William Great Britain DHI 11-12.06.2016 Leogang Austria DHI 09-10.07.2016 Lenzerheide Switzerland XCO/DHI 06-07.08.2016 Mont-Sainte-Anne Canada XCO/DHI 03-04.09.2016 Vallnord Andorra XCO/DHI EVENTS: TELEVISION RED BULL MEDIA HOUSE • 9 events COVERAGE: BROADCAST: • 8 countries • 1112 riders representing • 48 Broadcaster in 94 countries in • 38 hours of live coverage 56 Nations total • more than 1.1 million live views on Red Bull TV • + 44 million cumulative overall • over 1.8 million views as Video on Demand on Red Bull TV audience • 13 highlight magazines with 470,000 views • 2.7 million TV viewers watched live and delayed 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 7 THE WORLD CUP ON INTERNET Over 44 million television viewers and a large online audience reflects the enhanced broadcast offer As in the previous year, the UCI ensured excellent coverage of the UCI 2.7 million TV viewers followed the 9 rounds of the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano thanks to its official media World Cup Series by watching either the live broadcasts or delayed highlight partnership with Red Bull Media House (RBMH). In 2016 the UCI MTB World summaries. In total, 48 broadcasters from 94 countries covered the 2016 Cup Series reached 1.1 million digital views on Red Bull TV for live broadcasts, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano by different means: plus 1.8 million Video on Demand views for these live programmes. live broadcasts, highlights, news or short reports. The coverage reached a cumulative TV audience of over 44 million. Red Bull TV broadcast 38 hours live, worldwide without geo-blocking, as well as highlight shows and a large number of additional clips. Available in a variety of formats, Red Bull TV broadcasts through the Red Bull TV App or Red Bull TV Online. People can watch Red Bull TV anytime, anywhere and on any device free of charge. Watch all the events live anywhere in the world on 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 8 THE WORLD CUP ON SOCIAL MEDIA Join our growing community of 340,000 mountain bike fans Get involved using #UCIMTBWC 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 9 PRESENTATION OF THE 2017 ROUNDS 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 10 2017 CALENDAR DATE VENUE COUNTRY DISCIPLINES 29-30.04.2017 Lourdes France DHI 20-21.05.2017 Nove Mesto na Morave Czech Republic XCO 27-28.05.2017 Albstadt Germany XCO 03-04.06.2017 Fort William Great Britain DHI 10-11.06.2017 Leogang Austria DHI 01-02.07.2017 Vallnord Andorra XCO/DHI 08-09.07.2017 Lenzerheide Switzerland XCO/DHI 05-06.08.2017 Mont-Sainte-Anne Canada XCO/DHI 26-27.08.2017 Val di Sole Italy XCO/DHI 2017 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP | MEDIA GUIDE 11 PRESENTATION OF THE ROUNDS LOURDES / FRA DHI For the third consecutive year, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano kicks off in Lourdes with a round 100% dedicated to downhill.