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There isn't a moment to waste on the Cross-country World Cup circuit. Offseason preparation will be pivotal to Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli XC's success in one of the most pressure-filled seasons in the program's history. Go behind the scenes at team camp as the riders get fitted on their bikes, rack up miles on the road, and work their mountain bike skills in rain and shine so that they can accomplish their most ambitious goals this coming summer and fall. Catch the Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli Cross-country team in Mairiporã, Brazil 12-14 April for the start of the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series!  Photos @rossbellphoto Video @wearepeny / @c.u.productions

As we approach the 2024 season, the Orbea FOX Enduro Team once again gears up to face the pinnacle of enduro racing. Following Flo Espiñeira’s nearly flawless season, having won the E-Enduro circuit on their Wild, they return this year wanting more. Martin Maes and Edgar Carballo have prepared this season with the same focus, more excited than ever to give their best in Enduro and E-Enduro. Throughout the winter, the team has been training and testing equipment in various conditions, fine-tuning their bikes to suit their individual needs and objectives. Enduro has evolved in a way where every fraction counts, which is why all the details are important and we must pay attention to them if we really want to fight for victory. This preseason, we have worked a lot on adapting the Orbea Rallon for Martin and Wild for Edgar and Flo, and we believe that we have reached the perfect settings for each rider. Primož Štrancar, Team Manager for the Orbea FOX Enduro Team. THE BEST EQUIPMENT, ANOTHER YEAR In the EDR category, Martin will use the newly updated Rallon, featuring new geometry, with a head angle of 63.5º, down from 64º, and increased travel, with the fork extending from 160mm to 170mm and the rear travel from 160mm to 167mm. These modifications make Rallon an even faster, more capable bike in high-level racing. As usual, Martin will configure his bike with different options within the range depending on the course and conditions, including 29” front and rear wheels or Mullet option, an air or coil shock, and other possible configurations. For E-Enduro, Flo and Edgar will once again rely on Wild, the most winning ebike in the industry to date. Both riders will continue to benefit from features such as the Bosch CX-R motor or Steep N Deep technology, which will complement the bike’s lightweight maneuverability. The team will sport Metallic Spark Silver as Wild’s primary color in 2024, accented with Anthracite Glitter and Pure Red. Rallon will also feature the Speed Heritage Faded Orange graphics. These colors and graphics are available through the MyO personalization platform and in any store. FOX remains a pillar of this project and has equipped the team with a FOX 38 fork on both Wild and Rallon. Oquo wheels also returns as a fundamental team sponsor for 2024, showcasing their performance and reliability even in the most challenging usage conditions. Moreover, the bikes will serve as a global platform to showcase all the available details and personalization options from MyO. Alongside these brands, Race Face, Bosch, Maxxis, FI’zi:k, Bluegrass, Met, Galfer and Crankbrothers are essential for the continued success of the Orbea FOX Enduro Team. Another crucial component to the team’s success is its staff. Primož Štrancar will continue to lead as Team Manager, supported by mechanics Eneko Prado and Gilles Frank, physical therapist Gregg Combes, and filmmaker Sandro Szukat. You can catch the Orbea FOX Enduro Team in the Finale Outdoor Region, for the first UCI Enduro World Cup of the season on the 10 - 12 May. 

Come test out the latest Shimano components on a dedicated course at the Nevis Range on site at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Fort William event across 03-05 May.  The Shimano Test Track will offer insights into the latest technological developments, with a chance to experience more than you're usually able to at your local dealer or in store. It's a great opportunity to give the latest components a try for yourself at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series event and is completely free once you have accessed the event.  Check and reserve a bike before you arrive, so you're ready to ride! New for 2024, visitors will be able to ride E-MTB's with the latest FREE SHIFT and AUTO SHIFT technology at the Shimano test track on site, with a team of experts on hand to answer any questions about the technology.  Come ready to ride, and join us in Fort William 03-05 May. Tickets are on sale now. 

One of the biggest pre-season WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series news stories has been the injury sustained by the Santa Cruz Syndicate’s Jackson Goldstone to his knee at Red Bull Hardline. For the first time, he has gone public about the extent of the injury admitting at the end of the first episode of his team’s new video series that he has torn both ACL and MCL ligaments on his left knee. The Canadian wrote his way into the history books becoming a two-time Elite winner in his first senior season last time out. Now, with round one of 2024 in Fort William only weeks away, the atmosphere is very different.  With a second place to his name as a Junior in 2022 in the Scottish Highlands, Goldstone will have been hoping to get his season off to winning ways given the strength of his performances towards the end of the last campaign. Tickets for the opening round of the UCI Downhill World Cup in Fort William 03-05 May are on sale now.  

Three days of wall-to-wall action to kick-start Haute-Savoie round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series on 28-30 June French resorts of Megève and Combloux to host WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series races for the first time further strengthening the Haute-Savoie region’s reputation as one of the world’s leading cycling destinations Cross-country Marathon (XCM) takes place in Megève and Enduro (EDR) and E-Enduro (E-EDR) in Combloux, setting the stage for the second Haute-Savoie weekend of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Les Gets   Located in the Haute-Savoie department in the world-famous French Alps, Megève and Combloux are poised to make their debuts on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series calendar by hosting an exhilarating weekend of racing from 28-30 June.  Mont Blanc, French Alps Nestled just four kilometres apart, with sweeping views of the towering apex of the Alps, Mont Blanc, Megève and Combloux form a picturesque duo in the Portes du Mont-Blanc and Evasion Mont-Blanc ski areas. Offering an array of activities for outdoor enthusiasts year-round, from skiing and hiking to biking and horseback riding, both towns promise unforgettable experiences amidst stunning landscapes. Situated approximately 70 kilometres southeast of Geneva (Switzerland), they provide an accessible escape into the heart of alpine beauty and adventure.  In Megève, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series has partnered with renowned mountain biking event, MB Race, to host the UCI Cross-country Marathon (XCM) World Cup and the amateur Marathon of Megève. Since 2010, MB Race, famous for its demanding and breathtaking courses on the trails of Megève, has been a unique event open to riders of all ages and abilities. Its flagship race MB Ultra Somfy, split into 70km, 100km and 140km courses, is recognised as one of the toughest in the sport. For the UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup, riders will take on the challenging 100km course which features a 5,000m elevation gain. On the same weekend (Friday and Sunday), Combloux will host UCI Enduro and E-Enduro World Cup events. The venue is renowned amongst the road cycling community for regularly being the theatre of epic battles between Tour de France contenders on the Côte de Domancy. This year, with Mont Blanc as a stunning backdrop, Enduro amateur and elite athletes will have the chance to write their own story in this iconic location, whether for fun, or for all important UCI Enduro World Cup qualifying points. BUILDING ON A MEMORABLE 2023 SEASON Last season, fans witnessed remarkable record-breaking action from Châtel and Morzine in the Haute-Savoie region. Vera Looser claimed gold in the women’s Cross-country Marathon, becoming the first Namibian to ever win a UCI World Cup race, whilst 42-year-old Leonardo Páez won the men’s event. Richie Rude (YETI / FOX FACTORY RACE TEAM) and Isabeau Courdurier (LAPIERRE ZIPP COLLECTIVE) each clinched podium finishes, which helped them to secure their overall Enduro titles. In the inaugural season of the UCI E-Enduro World Cup, Flo Espiñiera (ORBEA FOX ENDURO TEAM) claimed victory in the Alps and went on to secure the first E-Enduro overall title alongside men’s champion Fabien Barel (CANYON CLLCTV).  Isabeau Courdurier (LAPIERRE ZIPP COLLECTIVE) In 2023, 168 teams competing across 26 individual races attracted more than 100,000 fans to the Haute-Savoie region. In total, 417 amateur riders from 37 nations also took part across six races in one of the most celebrated international mountain bike events.  WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Haute-Savoie, Les Gets 2023WHOOP UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES HONES IN ON HAUTE-SAVOIE   The Haute-Savoie department will once again play host to all formats of the international series on consecutive weekends. During the first of two back-to-back weekends of topflight competition, Megève will host the UCI Cross-country Marathon (XCM) World Cup whilst Combloux will stage Enduro (EDR) and E-Enduro (E-EDR) UCI World Cup events. The second weekend of action featuring Cross-country Olympic (XCO), Cross-country Short Track (XCC) and Downhill (DHI) UCI World Cup rounds will take place in Les Gets.  Both weekends will see a huge programme of fan events, spectator activations, expos and entertainment.   The new season of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series begins with the first round of the UCI Cross-Country World Cup in Mairiporã, Brazil on 12 April. 

The first race of the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is now only weeks away. The opening round of the year will take place at the debut venue of Mairiporã, Brazil 12-14 April. Race fans all over the world are on tender hooks at the prospect of that most hotly anticipated of things; an Olympic race season.  Cross-country is the only mountain bike format to be an Olympic sport and as such it’s a huge year for the Endurance athletes with the chance to represent their countries at Paris 2024 up for grabs.  Paris 2024 aside, there is a packed season of UCI Cross-country World Cup racing and of course the UCI World Championships to play for. More information about the full calendar can be found here. In the meantime, tune in as our roving reporter Josh Carlson and lead commentator Ric McLaughlin discuss the highlights of the season ahead. They caught up a few weeks ago at the UCI’s headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland. Don’t forget that the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will be getting underway in Mairiporã, Brazil 12-14 April. 

Mini Downhill is back! Get ready to welcome young riders to the big stage with the return of the Mini Downhill Final to the slopes of Aonach Mor, as part of an action-packed event weekend in Fort William from 3–5 May. Imagine the thrill for any young rider, rubbing shoulders with the very best in the world and sampling the electric atmosphere of a roaring home crowd, before taking in the best of the action at the opening round of the UCI Downhill World Cup. Scottish Cycling’s Mini Downhill event take place on site at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Fort William, on Saturday 4th May 2024.  It’s a platform for any budding young mountain bike talent to shine, stepping onto the main stage and competing on the same day as the world’s best riders at the iconic Nevis Range venue.  Riders can gain priority entry to the final with two regional qualification events taking place. Get all the details on qualifying regional events and how to sign up over on the Scottish Cycling website.  Mark your calendars for the opening round of the UCI Downhill World Cup in Fort William, Scotland 03-05 May. Tickets are on sale now, and stay tuned for more updates on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Fort William event! 

Iconic Haute-Savoie site, in the heart of the French Alps, gears up for an exciting rendezvous of Endurance and Gravity racing as part of consecutive weekends of two-wheeled action. The popular ski resort of Les Gets, located in the Haute-Savoie department in the northern French Alps, is set to host a thrilling weekend of WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series racing from 4-7 July. Close to the Swiss border, Les Gets is part of the Portes du Soleil ski domain, one of the largest ski areas in the world with an extensive network of trails offering breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. Known for its charming alpine atmosphere and located just one hour away from popular destinations such as Geneva and Annecy, Les Gets offers a welcoming, family-friendly environment with picturesque surroundings. It is a year-round resort for outdoor activities: a traditional winter destination but also a mountain biking paradise during the warmer months. TOPFLIGHT RACING PROGRAM In 2024, both Endurance and Gravity formats will be represented in Les Gets with Cross- country Short Track (XCC), Cross-country Olympic (XCO) and Downhill (DHI) UCI World Cup rounds all taking place in the town. It will be the second of two back-to-back weekends of topflight off-road competition: just like last year, the Haute-Savoie department will again play host to all formats of the international series on consecutive weekends. The first weekend (28-30 June) will feature Enduro (EDR), E-Enduro (E-EDR) and Cross- country Marathon (XCM) UCI World Cup events. Details on the location of these events will be announced soon. MEMORIES FROM A SUCCESSFUL 2023 SEASON In 2023, fans were treated to one of the highlights of the season when French riders dominated the Haute-Savoie podiums. Wins for Marine Cabirou (Scott Downhill Factory) and Benoît Coulanges (Dorval AM Commencal) on the famous Downhill track alongside an historic Cross- country Short Track and Cross-country Olympic double for Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) were headline news. Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) also made history when she claimed her third Enduro crown whilst Fabien Barel scooped the first ever E-Enduro overall title. The two weekends of racing in Haute-Savoie featured 168 teams competing across 26 individual races. On site, more than 100,000 fans enjoyed one of the highlights of the calendar. Open racing was also one of the core components of the Haute-Savoie event with 417 amateur riders from 37 nations taking part across six events. The new season of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series begins with the first round of the UCI Cross-Country World Cup in Mairiporã, Brazil on 12 April. 

It’s all eyes on Fort William as the season opener of the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup approaches.  Gear up for the ultimate weekend of downhill mountain bike racing with a discount available for Young Scot members to watch the very best riders in the world compete on British soil as part of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series.  There’s still time to grab your tickets and be a part of the action, and Young Scot members can get a 10% ticket discount by applying the discount code when you buy tickets.  This exclusive discount aims to make the thrilling world of mountain biking more accessible to young people throughout Scotland, and young fans will have the opportunity to witness the world’s best riders in action at the iconic Nevis Range race venue to experience the exhilarating sport of downhill mountain biking for themselves.  If you’re a Young Scot member, make sure you don’t miss out on discounted access to the ultimate weekend of mountain bike racing in Fort William from the 03-05 May.  Simply head over to the Young Scot website and click ‘Get Now’ to reveal your discount code to use when buying your tickets.  

Laurie Greenland (Santa Cruz Syndicate) has spoken openly about the health issues which effected his race weekends during the 2023 UCI Downhill World Cup season. In a video released by the team Greenland, 27, talks candidly about his struggles with a stomach parasite and Epstein Barr virus.  The UK’s best results last time out came at the Lenzerheide series opener where he scored a fourth place and in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes where he finished third. The Bristolian often cut a despondent figure in the pits with his one, and so far only, win coming in Val di Sole Trentino back in 2019.  Greenland signed with the Santa Cruz Syndicate in 2022 and is widely regarded as one of the world’s most technically gifted athletes. After an off-season spent recuperating, surfing and hitting the road with the team he could well be back to his spellbinding best come the opening round of the UCI Downhill World Cup in Fort William, Scotland 03-05 May. Tickets are on sale now.  

The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will be available to Canadian viewers via the FloSports cycling streaming platform - FloBikes. The move is great news for race fans in one of mountain biking’s spiritual homes. Canadian Elite athletes had a superb season last year, particularly amongst the Gravity rounds. Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) was the only Elite male to score two wins in the UCI Downhill World Cup, Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) held the overall leaders jersey in the same competition and Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Factory Racing) had a breakthrough Elite season. In the UCI Enduro World Cup, Squamish’s Rhys Verner (Forbidden Synthesis) scored his debut win whilst Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV) was narrowly pipped to the overall title by Yeti Fox Racing Shox’ Richie Rude. FloSports was founded in 2006 and delivers live events, award winning original content, always-on social experiences, and comprehensive sports data solutions to passionate and underserved sports communities interested in more than 25 different sports. Its FloBikes vertical is tailor-made for today's cycling fan, reaching them across the globe. The opening round of this season’s Endurance side of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series takes place in Mairiporã, Brazil from 12-14 April. The Gravity competition will get underway in Fort William, Scotland from 3-5 May with the season finale of the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series returning to Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada in October (4-6), where this year’s ultimate Downhill and Cross-country champions will be crowned. In addition to Mountain Bike, Flosports will also provide fans with streaming access to the greatest number of live cycling races across all disciplines of any platform. Covering nearly 200 cycling events with nearly 450 stages of live cycling, all the world’s biggest road races will be featured for streaming including the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, La Vuelta, Strade Bianche, the UCI World Championships and more. Every race from the UCI Track Champions League will also be available. Trojan Paillot, SVP Sports Rights Acquisitions and Syndications at WBD Sports Europe, said:We are delighted to partner with FloSports to leverage our unrivalled global rights portfolio to provide mountain bike fans in Canada with access to every single race from the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Our world-class production and cycling expertise coupled with the accessibility and reach of the FloSports platform in Canada is an incredibly powerful proposition for consumers. We know Canadian cycling fans will enjoy the benefits of having the entire WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series as well as an unrivalled selection of other cycling events in one place.Ryan Fenton, Director of Global Rights and Acquisitions at FloSports, added: Combining this WBD Sports portfolio with ours provides cycling fans the ultimate destination to view the world’s very best races all in one place - there’s no need to go anywhere else. It also advances our mission to grow the sport as we make FloBikes the ultimate authority in cycling.To catch all the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series action, fans in Canada should subscribe to FloSports and register for either an annual or monthly pass.

The Momentum Project are a new Canadian team setting out to take on their first season of UCI Downhill World Cup racing. Mark Wallace and Jon Mozell will be piloting their still-in-development We Are One Composites bike.Starting a new team would of course be a huge undertaking but doing so around a Prototype race bike is even more daunting again. Wallace, for years Canada’s top Downhill pro, is charged with providing the feedback and attention to detail to make the We Are One Composites machine a winner. He’ll be joined by one of the standout talents from a junior men’s field filled with standout talents, Jon Mozell. The pair know each other well from years of riding on Vancouver Island together. The latter came second in Les Gets last season.During the first episode of their new web series, The Momentum Project open their doors to a busy first team camp where Mark and Jon got to ride the sleek prototype for the very first time. The We Are One Composites bike is handmade in Kamloops based on the company’s dual link suspension platform. The shock is mounted horizontally as opposed to vertically as on their Arrival Enduro frame. The company already manufactures a wide range of carbon fibre rimmed wheelsets and has openly dabbled in cockpit components so will likely use their new Downhill squad to further develop future products.The Momentum Project will be setting their sights on the opening round of the gravity side of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Fort William, Scotland 03-05 May. Tickets are on sale now.  

Forbidden Synthesis’ Rhys Verner lit up the time sheets during last season’s UCI Enduro World Cup. He took his debut win in Leogang-SalzburgerLand and became one of the most complete packages on the Gravity circuit in the process.  Verner, 26, finished the extremely arduous EDR season in a highly commendable fourth place in the overall  last season and will be amongst many people’s favourites for this seasons title.  Filmed in his local stomping grounds of Squamish and North Vancouver, the first part of the series showcases his love of getting into the outdoors on both his bike and skis. The video was produced by Verner’s fellow Canadian pinner, Magnus Manson. Rhys Verner will be back in action at the opening round of the UCI EDR World Cup in Finale Outdoor Region 10-12 May.  

Ireland’s Greg Callaghan has announced that he will race under the new GC Racing banner for the 2024 UCI Enduro World Cup season. The winner of three UCI Enduro World Cup rounds split from Devinci Global Racing earlier this off-season and is now set to compete on a program of his own construction.  The 32 year-old from Dublin will campaign a custom specced Ibis HD6 at all rounds of this seasons calendar.   “My main target has been to build a package that will allow me to perform to my full potential in 2024. Chasing performance over finances you could say. With that in mind, I’ve hand chosen brands and products that I believe are the best around and I’m super stoked with how it’s turned out! While this is a 1 year setup right now, I’m excited to build long lasting relationships with these brands into the future and build my programme year on year.” - Greg Callaghan, GM Racing  Callaghan competed at the Spanish DH Cup in Barcelona at the weekend and took third place, the first and last time the Irish national champ is slated to race Downhill this season. Amongst a well-stacked field, it was a strong result for the Dubliner which bodes well for the season ahead.  Greg Callaghan will compete at the opening round of the UCI Enduro and E-Enduro World Cup in Finale Outdoor Region 10-12 May.  

FMD Racing’s How We Roll returns to our screens for a second series off the back of a hugely well-received first series. The latest edition will chronicle the 2023 UCI Downhill World Cup season for the Canyon-backed squad.  How We Roll was a hit with fans for all the right reasons; it opened the doors to a team built around family bonds and all that they entail, warts and all. Tahnée Seagrave’s battle back to not only the bike but to everyday life after a harrowing battle with concussion was covered indepth. Kaos Seagrave’s move away from racing to freeride and the meteoric rise of Phoebe Gale were also featured.  A third place in Pal Arinsal, Andorra would be Seagrave’s best result of the season whilst first year elite Gale would clock two podiums, the best of which was a fourth place in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes, France. The FMD Racing roster remains unchanged for 2024 with Tahnée Seagrave returning to action alongside Gale, Oliver Zwar and junior rider Rudi Eichhorn. Their campaign will get underway at the team’s home round in Fort William, Scotland 03-05 May. Tickets are on sale now!

Brook Macdonald’s ultra-aggressive riding style has made him one of the most popular Downhill athletes in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. The 32 year-old Kiwi signed with Forbidden Synthesis this off-season to spearhead their UCI Downhill World Cup campaign in 2024.  Macdonald’s split with previous employers, MS Mondraker, came after he re-joined the side in 2018. His second stint for the Austrian outfit started well with a first place in qualifying at the opening race of the year in Lošinj, Croatia before a crash in his race run left the Hawke’s Bay native with a broken collarbone and ribs. Disaster struck again in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec in 2019 when the man they call ‘The Bulldog’ in testament to his ingrained toughness, was left with a broken back after a crash in practice.  The road back to full speed has been a dogged one for Macdonald but, on the evidence of his latest video on board his all new Forbidden Supernaught downhill bike, the 2024 season may well see him roar back to his superb best. Macdonald clocked his first and as yet only win back in Val d’Isére, France in 2012.  Fans will get their first chance to cheer on Brook Macdonald at the opening round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series Downhill World Cup 2024 in Fort William, Scotland 03-05 May. Tickets are on sale, now.  

The 2011 and 2016 UCI Downhill World Champion, Danny Hart, has put pen to paper with the new-look Continental GT Racing team ahead of the opening round of the Gravity side of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Fort William, Scotland.  Hart became the third British male rider to win a gold medal and the rainbow stripes in the wet in Champery, Switzerland via what is still widely celebrated as one of the great downhill race runs of all time. The 32 year-old has won four UCI Downhill World Cups throughout his lengthy career as a pro which saw him enter the elite category in 2008.  Continental GT Racing are widely perceived as one of the good news stories of recent years having grown from a tiny family squad built around Chris Cummings and Rónán Dunne into an outfit which consistently punches above their weight. For the new season they have made the switch from Nukeproof Bikes to GT and added Hart into the seat vacated by Dunne. The latter will compete aboard the all-new Mondraker Factory Racing team this season.  Danny Hart will join Chris Cumming, Vero Widmann and Harry Molloy on the team. It has been a tempestuous off-season for the squad but team owner, Mark Cummings, has been buoyed by their recent big name signing: Coming off the success of 2023 we never expected the turmoil that would engulf us as a team, it’s been a roller coaster! A genuine big thank you goes out to Continental Tires for their continued support and belief in the programme and a massive welcome to GT Bicycles for stepping in at the very last minute as a frame sponsor. 2024 is looking prime with the addition of Kenny Clothing, TRP and Renthal. Everyone held fast as we worked through our plans to secure our 2024 race programme and I am indebted to all our sponsors who have remained with us. Everyone in Continental GT Racing, athletes, mechanics, and road crew are stoked to be associated with such iconic brands.The North Yorkshire-based speed monger has had a well journeyed career having ridden for nine different bike brands (10 if the de-badged Nukeproof he rode at the recent UCI Snowbike World Championships is included).  Hart’s home round will be the opener of this season’s UCI Mountain Bike World Series Downhill World Cup. Fort William, Scotland will kick things off for the Gravity athletes 03-05 May. Tickets for Fort William are now on sale HERE. 

Mountain bike competitions always take place in harmony with sustainability and the environment. A constant practice at the CIMTB - Copa Internacional de Mountain Bike events for a few years now, the planting of native trees to reduce CO2 emissions is confirmed once again. The action takes place in a partnership between Projeto Plantar and the local organization of the Araxá stage of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series.The planting cycle of a batch of 1,000 trees began at the end of last January and continued until last February 26th, in the municipalities of Bambuí, São Roque de Minas and Tapira, all of them in the Serra da Canastra region. The municipalities are neighbours of Araxá, with distances ranging between 50 and 160 km from the city that will host the second stage of the 2024 UCI MTB World Series between April 18th and 21st.We repeated the action we had in the last edition of the World Cup in Brazil, in April 2022, in the city of Petrópolis, but with a big difference. While in that edition we planted after the event, this year we will already be at the event with the trees planted and Carbon sequestration in progress. In addition to carbon sequestration, planting takes place in degraded areas, recovering springs and watercourses in the São Francisco River basin, images of the planting and environmental education projects will be shown to the cycling community during the event.André Xavier, one of the main people responsible for the Plantar Project - Empresa Amiga da Natureza.It was through the planting of 700 native reforestation seedlings that the CIMTB became a partner of Projeto Plantar, after the Araxá stage of the competition, held in 2021. The Empresa Amiga da Natureza campaign seeks to reduce emissions of CO2 through the planting of native seedlings in degraded areas.Each tree planted generates a "green certificate", that is, the birth certificate that this tree was planted. With a QR Code (tracking code), you can follow how the tree is being planted here.Projeto Plantar is the first voluntary reforestation startup with QR Code tracking in Latin America. The company seeks financial subsidies from environmentally responsible companies, applying directly to the other extreme, that is, in the areas of rural family farming producers, through the reforestation of springs in watercourses and in degraded areas, at no cost to the producer.It is always a great pleasure for us at CiMTB to participate in this action alongside the Plantar Project. Copa Internacional was born in the mid-1990s with total respect for nature and always thinking about issues of sustainability and the environment. Therefore, we could not fail to repeat in this unprecedented stage of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Araxá, what we have already done in other events we have held in the recent past.praises the local organiser of the Araxá stage of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series and the CIMTB circuit, Rogério Bernardes.The projectThe Projeto Platar works with the planting of native trees in areas of environmental degradation, seeking to reforest these places, either through the Empresa Amiga da Natureza (nature-friendly company) campaign, or through events/actions carried out by companies focused on the Environment.The campaignPlanting is carried out through a partnership between Projeto Plantar and socially and environmentally responsible companies through the Empresa Amiga da Natureza (nature-friendly company) campaign. The partnership is associated with a seal that can be used by partners on their social networks, product labels, packaging, among other forms of green marketing (www.allcare.com.br/boletosustentavel). The main focus is to help companies interested in operating sustainably in the market to reduce their environmental impacts. In this way, at the same time that the company reduces its "ecological footprint" it helps the Environment to recover, planting trees and sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.Araxá local organizationThe CIMTB organization held its first race in 1996. Since then, it has been innovating and actively contributing to the growth and strengthening of mountain biking and the bicycle market in Brazil. Counting points for the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) world ranking since 2003, the CIMTB has been selective for the Olympic Games since the cycles of Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and now for the Paris 2024 competition.In 2022, CIMTB further increased its international relevance, with the opening stage of the 2022 Mercedes-Benz Mountain Bike World Cup, in Petrópolis (RJ). Furthermore, he was responsible for building the mountain bike track for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, considered one of the best in the history of the Games since 1996, the first year of MTB at the Olympics.The first two rounds of the endurance side of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is set to take place in Mairiporã, Brazil 12-14 April and Araxa, Brazil 19-21 April. 

Last year’s WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series rounds in Saalfelden Leogang-Salzburgerland and Loudenvielle-Peyragudes were historic in that, for the first time, UCI Enduro, E-Enduro and Downhill World Cups all appeared on the same race schedule. Gravity athletes from all over the world found themselves in the same pits, in front of the same (noisy) fans, across the same weekend. Last week’s launch of the Loudenvielle-based Rocky Mountain Gravity Racing squad is being seen by many as a ripple of that huge coming together of Enduro, E-Enduro and Downhill stars all being under the same roof.  Remi Gauvin has joined the squad from the Rocky Mountain RaceFace team. He will contest the UCI Enduro World Cup alongside Justine Henry, Lily Boucher, Alizes Lassus, Emmett Hancock, Luca Fourcade and Enzo Perez. Highly-rated ex-motocross star, Levi Batista will contest the E-enduro campaign alongside Lassus and Fourcade. Lassus and Perez will be the teams representatives taking on Downhill rounds. Based in the Louron Valley in the Hautes Pyrenees Department of France the squad is massively stepping up its international presence and hoping to build on the success of the Loudenvielle-Peyragudes as an international mountain bike destination.  The opening round of the Gravity side of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will take place in Fort William, Scotland 03-05 May. Tickets are on sale now.

Many experts were predicting that this off-season would be a relatively quiet one in the wonderful world of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series rider market. But they couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead, we have been treated to a veritable landslide of big names changing squads.  Amongst the stars of the Endurance side of the paddock there may not have been too much movement due to Paris 2024 looming large on the horizon but in Gravity there have been some seismic shifts. Josh Carlson and Ric McLaughlin took some time out on a recent visit to UCI HQ in Aigle, Switzerland to run through some of the biggest changes. NB: Since this video was filmed there have been further changes. Aaron Gwin’s move to Crestline Bikes stands out as perhaps the biggest amongst them. Read more about it, here. There is not long to wait ahead of the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series gets underway in Mairiporã, Brazil 12-14 April.