CONFIRMED: Czech Republic to host the 2029 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships

The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will return to the Czech Republic in 2029 after thirteen years! Great news was announced by the Congress of the International Cycling Union (UCI), which took place as part of the Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda.

The UCI Executive Committee decided on the organizers of the championships in 2029–2031, and a team from the Czech Republic was among the selected candidates. In 2029, the UCI World Championships in the disciplines of Olympic Cross-country, Short Track, Downhill and Enduro will be held on the Czech soil - in the largest format yet.

The candidacy was submitted at the beginning of this year by the organizing team, who has been successfully organizing world mountain bike races in Nové Město na Moravě since 2011, led by Petr Vaňek. It also has the 2016 UCI XC Mountain Bike World Championships under its belt, where the Czech team won two silver medals (Průdek, Holec, Nash and Kulhavý in the relay and Jaroslav Kulhavý in the men's XCO race).

"We are thrilled with the UCI's decision, it is an honor for us and confirmation that we organize the Mountain Bike World Cup races well for many years consecutively. At the same time, it is a huge commitment," comments the chairman of the organizing committee Petr Vaněk on the report.

This year's candidacy was more demanding than the previous successful projects of the NMNM team. The organizers have set themselves a new challenge for 2029 - to organize races in the downhill and enduro disciplines for the first time, with which they do not have much experience. The entire championship is planned for ten days, similar to the recently concluded championship in Valais, Switzerland. The program will start in Nové Město na Moravě (relay, short track, cross-country) and then move to Dolní Morava, where downhill and enduro riders will compete.

“Downhill and enduro on such a scale will be an absolute premiere in the Czech Republic, which is a huge motivation for us. These disciplines are very popular and I believe they will attract similar attention as cross-country in Nové Město. We will show the cycling world another corner of the Czech Republic. Dolní Morava is an ideal destination – it has excellent infrastructure, a functional bike park and is located not too far from Nové Město,” adds Petr Vaněk.

In order for a championship of this scale to take place, the UCI must check both locations in advance. Nové Město has been a guarantee of quality for years thanks to hosting World Cups since 2011. Dolní Morava is a newcomer, but it has a clear plan: in 2026 a construction of a new gondola and downhill track according to the strictest parameters will begin, which will be completed by the end of 2027. A major international race, ideally a European or even a World Cup, should be held here as early as 2028.

The UCI Congress also decided on other organizers. In 2030, the World Championships will be held in Durango, USA, to commemorate 40 years since the first championship in history. A year later, a major multidisciplinary championship will be held in Trentino, Italy, which will follow the model from Glasgow 2023 or Haute Savoie 2027.

Kateřina Nash, whose mandate on the UCI Executive Committee ends this year, also maintained her Czech footprint at the congress. According to the rules, she co-decided on the organizers for 2030 and 2031, but had to abstain from voting on the Czech candidacy for 2029 to avoid a conflict of interest.