Daolasa di Commezzadura (Trentino) is the home of the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (August 25-29). Seventeen world titles from six different MTB formats up for grabs. Team Relay the first title to be assigned on Wednesday, August 25th
Top-notch Mountain Bike is back to its home. After a year affected by the COVID-19 emergency, Val di Sole returns to host one of the major events of the MTB season, from August 25 to 29. The Italian land of MTB with 400 Km of trails, this valley of Trentino is ready to host the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships for the third time in the last 13 years.
On Monday, August 23rd, the big names of international Mountain Biking have started to train on the Cross Country and E-MTB. Instead, the official program starts on Wednesday, August 25th, with the Team Relay competition.
Val di Sole 2021 will be a historical edition of the World Champs: no less than seventeen World titles will be assigned in six different formats, including the first time of Cross Country Short Track. In total, Val di Sole awaits 934 athletes representing 53 different Countries from all five continents.
SIX FORMATS AND SEVENTEEN TITLES FOR A RECORD-BREAKING EDITION
The 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole will assign 17 world titles totally, among Downhill (4), Cross Country (6), e-MTB (2), Short Track (2), Four Cross (2) and Team Relay (1). Traditionally, on Wednesday, August 25th the Worlds’ program will be opened by the Team Relay, with six riders competing for each national team (3 men and 3 women).
Italy will be trying to start on a high, given its solid tradition in this discipline and its recent European title; France and Switzerland are expected to be the other main forces in the pursuit for gold.
.jpg "Lucia Bramati")
On Thursday, August 26th, Cross Country’s Junior titles will be assigned for men and women, while the afternoon will see the first-ever Short Track World Championship. Despite Mathieu Van der Poel’s scratch, a number of top contenders are determined to compete for the first-ever rainbow jersey in the discipline, including Mathias Flückiger (Switzerland), Henrique Avancini (Brazil), Ondrej Cink (Czech Republic) and home riders Luca Braidot and Gerhard Kerschbaumer. Pauline Ferrand-Prèvot (France) must be regarded as one of the top favorites among women, along with Jenny Rissveds (Sweden),Evie Richards (Great Britain) and the top-3 athletes of the Olympic race in Tokyo, Switzerland’s Jolanda Neff, Linda Indergand and Sina Frei.
In the afternoon of Friday, August 27th, the E-MTB World Championships will be taking place, with two-time Olympic Champion Julian Absalon and Swiss Kathrin Stirnemannamong the contenders. As a tradition, the Val di Sole Friday night is characterized by the Four-Cross World Championships, taking place in Daolasa di Commezzadura for the sixth straight edition.
The great day of the Cross Country is scheduled for Saturday, August 28th, when the U23 and Elite titles will be assigned. The Italian National Team looks at the Under 23 Men’s race with expectations, with Juri Zanotti and Simone Avondetto among the best performers in the season. Defending champion Loana Lecomte (France) is the favorite of the U23 women race, surrounded by very strong rivals such as Caroline Bohe (Denmark) and Austria’s Laura Stigger and Mona Mitterwallner.
The Short Track’s protagonists will also be at the start of the Elite Cross Country races, while others decided to focus all their efforts only on the Olympic discipline of the MTB: from David Valero (Spain), bronze in Tokyo 2020, to Victor Koretzky and defending champion Jordan Sarrou (France), and an MTB legend Nino Schurter. The 8-time World Champion from Switzerland has won six of the last eight XC races run in Val di Sole. In addition to Ferrand-Prevot, Neff, Frei and Richards, Haley Batten and Kate Courtney (USA), Anne Tauber and Anne Terpstra (Netherlands) are other names to watch out for in the Elite women race.
The legendary Black Snake and the Downhill competitions will close the World Championships program, on Sunday, August 29th. In the morning, the Junior athletes take the center stage with Jordan Williams (Great Britain) and Leona Pierrini (France) in the role of main favorites. Around lunchtime, home favorites Eleonora Farina and Veronika Widmann will give all they have in the pursuit for a medal among fierce opponents: Vali Holl (Austria), Myriam Nicole (France), Marine Cabirou (France), Tahnee Seagrave(Great Britain) and Camille Balanche (Switzerland).
The Men’s race sees plenty of great riders in the run for a gold medal: among them, Laurie Greenland (Great Britain), Greg Minnaar (South Africa), Troy Brosnan (Australia), Danny Hart (Great Britain) and the ambitious French selection led by Loic Bruni, Loris Vergierand Thibaut Daprela.
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A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE NAME OF WATER AND SUSTAINABILITY
Val di Sole has made sustainability the heart of its venue strategy. For this reason, it is no surprise that the 2021 MTB World Championships obtained the Eco-Eventi Trentinocertification from the Province of Trento.
Limitation to the use of plastic, waste differentiation and reduction of waste are specific goals set and pursued by the organizing committee.
The organizers have chosen to dedicate the World Championships to one of the most important and characterizing elements of Val di Sole, the water. Indeed, the land is characterized by the flowing Noce river, its streams and over a hundred lakes.
THE WORLD CHAMPS’ PARTNERS
Over the years, Mountain Bike in Val di Sole has become a byword for top events and great audience, both on TV and on the racing field in Daolasa. Once again, top brands have showed to recognize this value, as showed by the support of partners like Shimano and Mercedes-Benz, main partners along with Trentino and Val di Sole Bikeland.
Among the Official Partners, the World Championships in Val di Sole can count on the support of established cycling-related like Tissot, Santini, Vittoria, Selle Italia, Oakley, GoPro, in addition to Conad and VD-40. Trentino’s brands and companies have also showed plenty of confidence in Grandi Eventi Val di Sole’s work, as showed by the commitment ofFunivie Folgarida-Marilleva, Itas, Hydro Dolomiti Energia, Melinda, Dolomeet, whilst South Tyrolean Würth Modyf is the workwear partner.
The sparkling partner Ferrari Trento will be in the spotlights during the award ceremonies, whilst Forst and Acqua Pejo are the official beer and water of the event, respectively. Energia Pura, Enterprise and Casse Rurale Trentine and Val di Sole round out the panel of the official partners.
THE PROGRAM
Wednesday, August 25th
• 12.30 CET – Team Relay
Thursday, August 26th
• 11.30 CET – Cross Country JR Women
• 13.30 CET – Cross Country JR Men
• 17.00 CET – Short Track Women
• 17.45 CET – Short Track Men
Friday, August 27th
• 15.00 CET – E-MTB Women
• 16.45 CET – E-MTB Men
• 20.45 CET – Four Cross (Women & Men)
Saturday, August 28th
• 09.00 CET – Cross Country U23 Women
• 10.45 CET – Cross Country U23 Men
• 13.00 CET – Cross Country Elite Women
• 15.45 CET – Cross Country Elite Men
Sunday, August 29th
• 09.25 CET – Downhill Junior Men & Women
• 12.50 CET – Downhill Elite Women
• 14.10 CET – Downhill Elite Men
For Saturday 28th August (Cross Country competitions) and Sunday 29th August(Downhill competitions) entry tickets will be required, while on the other days the entry will be free, subject to availability, with a maximum number of spectators.
To access the event, spectators from Italy and European Union countries must present a valid Green Pass, whilst the spectators from non-EU Countries must show a certificate of vaccination recognized in Europe or a negative result of a Covid Test.
