Val di Sole, the land of off-road cycling: Cyclo-cross World Cup adds to MTB World Champs in an incredible season  

After the challenges of 2020, Val di Sole restarts in the name of cycling. On Monday, July 12th, in Milan, Val di Sole unveiled plans and programs of a great 2021 cycling events campaign, within the official presentation of Trentino’s cycling season organized by Trentino Marketing.

This summer, Val di Sole will host the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Daolasa di Commezzadura, Trentino, for the third time in the last 13 years. The event is organized in collaboration between Grandi Eventi Val di Sole and the Val di Sole Tourist Board. Just two weeks later, Trento will stage the UEC Road European Championships, from September 8th to 12th.

The press conference in Milan also provided the opportunity to announce more big news for Val di Sole Bikeland. On December 11th to 12th, Vermiglio will welcome the UCI Cyclocross World Cup for the first time. It will mark the return of the discipline's World Cup to Italy after five seasons.

Among the guests and authorities attending the presentation in Milan were Trentino's Sports Assessor Roberto Failoni, Trentino Marketing's President Gianni Battaiola and CEO Maurizio Rossini, Val di Sole Tourism Board's Director Fabio Sacco, Trento, Bondone, Valle dei Laghi Tourism Board's President Franco Bertagnolli, UCI's Vice-President Renato Di Rocco, UEC (Union Européenne de Cyclisme) President Enrico Della Casa, Italian Cycling Federation's President Cordiano Dagnoni, Italian Olympic Committee's Trentino Federation President Paola Mora, Italian Cycling Federation's Trentino Committee Giovannina Collanega, the Mayor of Trento Franco Ianeselli, the Vice-Mayor of Commezzadura Marco Podetti, MTB Italian Team Coach Mirko Celestino, CPA (Cyclistes Professionnels Associés) President Gianni Bugno, the Director of the European Championships Maurizio Evangelista, athletes Eleonora Farina and Chiara Teocchi and the Trentino cycling icons Francesco Moser and Gilberto Simoni. In addition, Italian Olympic Committee's President Giovanni Malagò and the Italian National Team Coach Davide Cassani took part in the press conference via video-link.

A RECORD-BREAKING MTB WORLD CHAMPS EDITION

For the first time, World titles in no less than six disciplines will be awarded in Val di Sole. Indeed, the World Champions of Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) will be crowned in Trentino for the very first time. 

First introduced in the UCI World Cup in 2018, the Short Track offers exciting competitions. Daolasa will also welcome the third edition of UCI E-Mountain Bike World Championships. A growing branch in the cycling market, e-bikes are now earning their share of attention also on the competitive side. By no coincidence, Tom Pidcock took the rainbow jersey in Leogang 2020. 

Cross Country, Team Relay, Four-cross and Downhill are the other disciplines whose rainbow jerseys will be assigned at Val di Sole 2021. In Trentino, the Downhill race is always a popular highlight: Val di Sole is the home of the Black Snake, one of the most iconic and challenging tracks in the world.

The long-time king of the cross-country trails in Val di Sole is Nino Schurter, winner of 5 of the latest 7 races in Daolasa di Commezzadura, while Mathieu Van Der Poel claimed both the Short Track and Cross Country races in the last World Cup stage in Val di Sole to date, in 2019.

A GREEN FOOTPRINT AND THE TRIBUTE TO WATER

The 2021 Mountain Bike World Championships in Daolasa di Commezzadura will be in the name of sustainability. The organizing committee's environmental initiatives also earned the ‘Eco Events’ label from the Province of Trento.

The 2021 World Champs are dedicated to water, a standout element of the valley. On this occasion, the water coming from the Val di Sole mountains will be available free of charge in the event’s areas, thanks to two large wooden fountains. The organizing committee is also working on the measures for waste separation, creating a dedicated recycling area together with signs to facilitate the process. 

Water is queen in Val di Sole: a land characterized by the Noce river, its streams, and over a hundred lakes. Not everybody knows “Val di Sole” isn’t indeed related to the sun (sole, in Italian), but rather hails from “Sulis”, the Celtic divinity of water.

The logo’s graphic element recalls a pebble bouncing off the water painted with rainbow shades. The trajectory of the water splash shapes the profile of the mountains, another standout feature of Val di Sole and Trentino.