The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced the 2024 mountain bike race schedule yesterday, and next year’s stops are set to include new venues in the Americas and in Europe.
Kicking off the season, cross-country (XCO and XCC) athletes will square off in two sets of races in Brazil in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. The last time Brazil hosted a cross-country UCI event was in 2022, in Petrópolis. Prior to that a UCI-level mountain bike race had not been held in Brazil for almost 20 years.
| Date | Location | UCI Races |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 12-14 | Mairiporã, São Paulo, Brazil* | XCO, XCC |
| Apr 19-21 | Araxá, Minas Gerais, Brazil* | XCO, XCC |
| May 3-5 | Fort William, Scotland, UK | DHI |
| May 10-12 | Finale Ligure, Italy | EDR |
| May 17-19 | Bielsko-Biala, Poland* | DHI, EDR |
| May 24-26 | Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic | XCO, XCC |
| Jun 7-9 | Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, Austria | DH, EDR |
| Jun 14-16 | Val di Sole, Italy | XCO, XCC, DHI |
| Jun 21-23 | Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland | XCO, XCC |
| Jun 28 – Jul 7 | Haute-Savoie, France | XCO, XCC, DHI, EDR |
| Jul 12-14 | Aletsch Arena / Bellwald, Valais, Switzerland* | EDR |
| Aug 28 – 1 Sep | Vallnord, Andorra (World Championships) | XCO, XCC, DHI |
| Sep 6-8 | Loudenvielle / Peyragudes, France | DHI, EDR |
| Sep 27-29 | Mt Van Hoevenberg, Lake Placid, New York, USA* | XCO, XCC |
| Oct 4-6 | Mont Ste Anne | XCO, XCC, DHI |
Lake Placid, New York is another new venue of the XCO and XCC competitions next year. The races will be held at Mt Van Hoevenberg, which hosted several events during the 1980 Winter Olympics.
On the gravity side, Bielsko-Biala, Poland will host downhill (DHI) and enduro (EDR) races in 2024. According to the UCI, the gravity trails at Bielsko-Biala were built starting in 2015, and have become one of the most popular riding spots in the country.
Aletsch Arena / Bellwald in Valais, Switzerland is another new venue for 2024, and like Bielsko-Biala is also hosting DHI and EDR races.
Haute-Savoie, France is the only location that is hosting the full complement of UCI mountain bike events including XCO, XCC, DHI, and EDR. And only two other venues will mix cross-country and gravity events in 2024: Val di Sole, Italy and Vallnord, Andorra where the World Championships are scheduled.
Not on this year’s list: Australia, which hosted two EDR races in 2023. No 2024 events are scheduled for Africa or Asia either. World Cup Downhill will not see any events in the U.S. either, and the EDR (enduro) is entirely in European countries.
Not everyone is stoked with the upcoming schedule. The 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup schedule includes seven DHI races, down from nine in 2023. Many commenters, including Santa Cruz Bicycles, are voicing their displeasure on the UCI Instagram post announcing the 2024 calendar.
A roughly two-month gap in the XCC schedule will give cross-country mountain bike athletes time to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The schedule for cross-country marathon (XCM) events has not been published yet, though the location for the World Champs is set for August 1, 2024 at Snowshoe in West Virginia, USA.
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Oct 24, 2023