UCI Launches 5-Round eMTB World Cup XC Series
The UCI has today announced a 5 round XC World Cup for e-MTB racing to be run in conjunction with the WES (World E-Bike Series Management).
Unlike the e-MTB World Championships at Mont Sainte Anne last year, this World Cup series looks like it will be run at separate venues to the regular World Cups with 4 of the 5 locations already announced.
2020 UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup Calendar:
6-7 March: Monaco
17-18 April: Ascona-Locarno (Switzerland)
5-6 June: Bologna (Italy)
11-12 September: tbc
2-3 October: Barcelona (Spain)
 | It gives me great pleasure to launch the inaugural UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup, and I am thrilled that the UCI can bank on the recognised expertise of World E-Bike Series for its organisation. The discipline now has a World Cup to go with the UCI World Championships, and I have every confidence in the development of E-MTB at the elite level and among amateur and recreational riders. |
| We are delighted to unveil the first ever UCI E-MTB XC World Cup after much hard work in collaboration with the UCI over the last couple of years. We hope this prestigious competition will encourage both well-known and young athletes to put themselves to the test in this fascinating discipline. |
The competition will be run according to the UCI ebike regulations, which were first introduced in 2018. The proposed dates do not clash with the recently announced EWS-E series, so e-MTB specialists could double up if they wanted.
Press Release: UCI
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is delighted to announce the launch, in partnership with the World E-Bike Series Management (WES), of the first UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup.
Comprising five rounds, the new competition will kick off on 6-7 March in Monaco and finish seven months later in Barcelona, Spain, on 2-3 October.
The UCI included E-MTB in its regulations in 2018. The following year it added the events in the World E-Bike Series to its International Mountain Bike Calendar and, on 28 August 2019, it successfully staged the first UCI E-Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada.
The launch of the UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup is an important step in the development of the discipline, not least in terms of technical advances – achieved in collaboration with manufacturers – and the promotion of an activity with a bright future.
A growing number of E-MTB events are now being included on the UCI International Calendar, with some high-profile mountain bike cross-country athletes taking part, such as two-time Olympic Champion and five-time UCI World Champion Julien Absalon, three-time UCI World Championships medallist and former Junior UCI World Champion Nathalie Schneitter, and Olympic bronze medallist and seven-time UCI World Championships medallist Marco Aurelio Fontana. Thanks to electrically assisted mountain bikes, MTB is also opening up to new audiences, providing yet another activity with much to offer for tourist resorts.
E-mountain bikes make use of two energy sources: leg power and an electric motor that offers assistance while the rider turns the pedals. The motor has a maximum continuous rated power output of 250 watts and stops providing assistance at a speed of 25 km/h.
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234 Comments
UCI: We know the perfect format.
Completely agree. I believe it should be a E-bike style Romaniacs Hard Enduro event.
The riders have to use the same bike/components/battery (no charging!) for all events, like enduro. There are multiple stages per race day, like enduro. The day starts with an XC race, just to get the battery discharged a bit and show off the manufacturers capacity. Then there is a hillclimb event, like reverse four cross, with technical climbing up a 30 second track. Maybe some CX stuff thrown in there to show that an ebike is different/lighter than a gas moto. Finish off the day with a light DH/enduro track for the excitement factor.
I'd watch that all day.
I have an ebike and I don’t care about watching an ebike race. I don’t own a downhill bike and love watching DH races. So just because some people are into ebikes doesn’t mean we want to watch people race them.
Grew up road racing but don't know the answer to this. Is it illegal to wear long sleeves and tights when it is above a certain temp?
Do you have any links for this? I'm legit interested. I've seen the wing suit jerseys before, it it was my understanding that except for TT, riding in the peloton and drafting makes these types of clothing ineffective.
a ton of patents exist for aero stuff from all companies, it has been reported that castelli has patents on some of it's shapes for clothing, as do others... i havent gone to the length to research the patents on my own though... i am just trusting the reporting...
Also, whoah actual discussion of potential for ebike racing instead of unrelenting trolling. Has pinkbike gone soft?
At the same time development of the tech would improve & benefit a lower carbon transport option too a wider range of people.
Test people for watt power output over an hour, and use motors to bring everyone to equal total power output (muscle + motor). During the race, monitor power output, and use this to normalize for the next race.
Or would this be just be an other class with manufacturers with most money & technology advancements winning?
And maybe even more with e-bikes and the strategy involved with the battery power management and the 25 km/h limitation.I will try to have a look at the first race before judging.
www.pinkbike.com/news/video-the-fim-emtb-world-cup-race-in-imola-was-embarrassing.html
Ebike haters "they are mx bike just buy a ktm!!"
Then they put them on a mx track and race them.
Ya not really.
Policing this is going to be a gong show. Please piss in a cup and turn your bike in for a diagnostic....
A decade or so ago, the DIY ebike crowd wanted to hold races, and the only fool proof method proposed was to enforce a bike weight limit. You could have all the power you want, but if you couldn't carry enough battery (weight) to sustain that power for a race, it's not going to help you.
Now it has 10.
In two years you will get -300 for it.
In ten years you will get a ban.
It's interesting how the industry has brainwashed many of us so fast.
What’s next, Segway marathon?
The high level paintball tournament promoters eventually went to great lengths to try and combat the "cheater guns." Won't be too hard for tech savvy people to supercharge their e-bikes to gain advantage in the races. Maybe a little extra boost on the climbs. I suppose battery life will be the limiting factor.
In paintball, the guns could be programmed to ramp only after a special sequence was entered by the user and the "cheater" mode could be set to time out or shut off by the time the gun could be inspected by the officials. Very hard to catch.
It’s got 2 wheels, a set of handlebars and is fun as shit. It also has a motor, and all sorts of motors have been in all sorts of bikes for over 100 years, this is just a new iteration or evolution. Why so hell bent on them not being called what they are, do you have something agains motorcycles or motorcyclists? Seems very irrational...
You are fully entitled to call them motorcycles so yeah I’m sorry. Whatever you want actually. But I reserve myself a right to call Yamaha R1 an enginecycle and you kind of have to agree with me then... motorsports is also a highly flawed name. We are both very woke as you see, let’s celebrate it.
Now please go to Piston Heads or Jalopnik forums and tell them Ebikes are motorbikes. Please post a link to the thread later... you confronted me on the subject, now confront motorcyclists - just saying
It’s all just ego stroking.
*Its actually why I took up mountain biking, to get fitter for track days.
But do go ahead and call your ebike whatever you want and your friends R1 an enginecycle if you like. None of it really matters. It only really seems to be important to those that are self conscious about what others think.
Its complicated and totally changes the dynamic of racing....but my hunch is the strongest riders will still win.
Timing uphill segments on an e-bike is just dumb.
Again, I know nothing of the sport so this is all baseless opinion, but this feels incredibly manufactured and not at all like Enduro where the racing led the way and the UCI was caught with their pants down scrambling to catch up (aka make money off it).
I haven't seen or heard of a local ebike race pop up anywhere. But that happens in every sport people are passionate about. But there have been WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS last year in EBike racing sport, where 4 people finished in the women's class!!!!?????
I very much doubt the natural demand of it and I'd really like to know the opinion of an industry insider.
No Walmart aren't selling UCI xc ebikes but, the people who are buying, if they have any idea of competition at all, couldn't tell you the difference between pedersen, schurter or bruni's so it's all good.
In terms of development and payback for a manufacturer lighter motors, better batteries, more efficient drive trains, regenerative breaking and smaller (more aero) bikes will pay biggest dividend in xc but they'll all sell better across the board.
XCe might not make the most exciting race format but it will make the biggest difference to ebikes in the shortest time.
eEnduro World Series.
Go up then down, on the same course.
Make this dentist work for it.
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