Britain Wins Two Rounds of UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
Released: 23 June 2009
Just hours after securing the UCI BMX World Championships in 2012, British Cycling received the news that two rounds of the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be held in Britain.
Dalby Forest in North Yorkshire will hold the opening round of the World Cup in the cross country discipline on 24 - 25 April and Fort William in Scotland will, once again, hold the downhill and four cross round on 5 - 6 June.
Dalby Forest is an area of breathtaking natural beauty and thousands of spectators attending the events will benefit from its convenient location, strong transport links and a first class visitor facility. The competition will attract the best mountain bike riders from 24 countries as they compete on a challenging, purpose built technical course.
The bid to host the cross-country round was successful due to the combined commitment of British Cycling, Yorkshire Forward and its partners and UK Sport to deliver the event in a way which would benefit mountain biking long term and create a legacy for the discipline in Yorkshire and nationwide, helping inspire participation in the sport.
Ian Drake, CEO at British Cycling, commented: "Securing two rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in 2010 is another great development for cycle sport in the UK which comes just hours after the UCI announced Birmingham as the venue of the 2012 BMX World Championships. The UK is the only country to hold two separate rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in 2010 covering the three disciplines of cross country, downhill and four cross, sending a strong message to the mountain bike community that we are serious about mountain biking. Both events will present a great opportunity for fans to engage with mountain biking on their doorstep and will prompt further investment into world-class facilities, helping inspire new generations of riders."
Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Forward, who played an integral part in securing the event to the region added: "Bringing high profile events like the World Mountain Bike World Cup is a fantastic way for us to showcase our region to the world and attract new investment. The visitor economy contributes over £6 billion to Yorkshire and Humber's economy every year, so it is vital that we use our natural assets - like the Dalby Forest - to grow this important industry and our regional economy. This is great news for the district and we hope it will be a catalyst to encourage more people to participate in both recreational and competitive mountain biking"
Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "This is fantastic news for Yorkshire and in particular Dalby Forest. Congratulations to the team behind this successful bid. Yorkshire is gaining a solid reputation for its major events, which I'm sure will continue to attract many more visitors to the region."
Fort William's success to secure its ninth consecutive UCI competition is testament to the consistency of Scottish organisers in delivering high quality mountain bike events.
