A demanding course awaits the contenders for the e-MTB World Championships in Val di Sole on Friday, August 27th. Among the starters, the French two-time Olympic Champion and the London 2012 bronze medallist from Italy
After staging an e-MTB competition for the first time in 2019, the Electric Snake, Val di Sole is ready to host the E-MTB World Championships, on Friday, August 27th: the new format makes its third appearance in the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships’ program.
E-MTB competitions provide spectacular racing and plenty of emotions to MTB fans, involving several top names from Cross Country’s past and present, such as Julian Absalon, Simon Andreassen, Alan Hatherly and Tom Pidcock.
Hatherly and Pidcock won the first two editions of the E-MTB World Championships among men, whilst Nathalie Schneitter (2019) and Melanie Pugin (2020) celebrated in the women’s category.
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Pidcock, the recent MTB Olympic Champion at Tokyo 2020, will not defend his World title as he is currently racing the Vuelta a Espana, on the road, but several other stars will take a shot at the rainbow jersey, starting with Absalon and 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist Marco Aurelio Fontana, whilst Kathrin Stirnemann will launch her challenge to Schneitter and Pugin in the women’s race, as will British former DH World Champion Tracy Moseley.
The riders will face several challenges on the E-MTB circuit (2250 meters and 140 of elevation gain for each lap, to be repeated 8 times), as some sections will lead on the Cross Country course, facing uphill some technical downhill sections, hardly manageable without an e-MTB. The final part of the circuit takes the riders to the Four-Cross course, characterized by high banked curves. Only one battery will be allowed for each rider.
“It’s a challenging track, but that’s what this format is about” – said Val di Sole OC’s Technical Director Sergio Battistini. – “E-MTB races are getting traction, and we created a course on purpose, with some very hard sections to enhance the potential of those e-bikes. It will be a fun race, and the public will be able to enjoy it at its best, thanks to the perfect visibility on the racing field”.
The E-MTB World Championships women’s race is scheduled for Friday, August 27th at 15.00 CET, followed by the men’s race to be held at 16.45 CET.
