Series returns to United States and South Africa; new round in Czech
The squeeze up the climb at start of the Houffalize World Cup. (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
The UCI announced the 2011 Mountain Bike World Cup schedule on Friday following the second day of meetings by the UCI Management Committee in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Next year will feature seven rounds of cross country and downhill and six rounds of four cross. This is more than in 2010, when there were just six rounds of each discipline, but is still less than in 2008, when there were eight rounds of each.
The series will open with a stop in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, which returns to the circuit after a one-year hiatus. It also returns to Dalby Forest, United Kingdom; Offenburg, Germany; Fort William, Great Britain; and Leogang, Austria. Then it moves to Mont Sainte Anne, Canada, which is coming back to the World Cup circuit after a one-year hiatus due to hosting the World Championship later this season.
Windham, New York, will host again, making two consecutive years of World Cup racing in the US. And La Bresse will be back hosting a downhill after not being part of the 2010 circuit though it last hosted in 2009, like Pietermaritzburg.
The Nove Mesto Na Morave in Czech will be a new host for cross country World Cup racing, taking the action to Eastern Europe.
Finally, the series will conclude with a triple round in Val di Sole, Italy, which is a stop in the 2010 series and hosted the World Championships in 2008.
The World Cup will not return to Belgium in 2011; the popular Houffalize venue is no longer part of the series. It struggled to meet financial requirements in 2010 and according to the UCI, did not meet the required standards for a World Cup event.
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2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup April 23-24: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (XCO/DHI/4X) May 21-22: Yorkshire, Dalby Forest, Great Britain (XCO) May 28-29: Offenburg, Germany (XCO) June 4-5: Fort William, Great Britain (DHI/4X) June 11-12: Leogang, Austria (DHI/4X) July 2-3: Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec, Canada (XCO/DHI/4X) July 9-10: Windham, New York, United States (XCO/DHI/4X) August 6-8: La Bresse, France (DHI) August 13:14: Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech (XCO) August 20-21: Val di Sole, Italy (XCO/DHI/4X)
Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
