THE UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES UNVEILS ITS FLAGSHIP EVENT IN FRANCE

The UCI Mountain Bike World Series Festival Haute-Savoie, taking place in Châtel, Les Gets and Morzine-Avoriaz will combine UCI Mountain Bike World Cup racing alongside a festival that celebrates this iconic region steeped in mountain bike history. With more than 600km of dedicated mountain bike trails and 24 lifts available, the Portes du Soleil in Haute-Savoie is the perfect host for this exciting new festival. With an outstanding natural heritage, Les Portes du Soleil is the spot for outdoor sports lovers. Between mountain pastures, alpine forests, summits on the Mont-Blanc and scenery across Lake Geneva, the Swiss Alps and the Dents du Midi, the surroundings will amaze riders and spectators alike.

Encompassing all six major UCI Mountain Bike World Cup formats, there will be no less than ten UCI World Cup races taking place across two weekends. It’s the first time in the history of the sport that the UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO), Short Track (XCC), Marathon (XCM), Downhill (DHI), Enduro (EDR) and E-Enduro (E-EDR) World Cups will come together in a single event. And it’s not just the biggest stars in mountain bike who will get in on the action - amateur races held in both XCM and EDR means anyone can take to the start line and see how they stack up against the fastest riders in the world.

The Department of Haute-Savoie, organiser of this international competition together with the UCI and Warner Bros. Discovery, is a place rich with mountains, lakes and a stunning natural environment. It has hosted major sporting events that have made Haute-Savoie famous: the Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in 1924; the Alpine Skiing World Championships in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in 1937; the UCI Amateur Road World Championships in Sallanches in 1964; the UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches in 1980; the UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships in Les Gets in 2004; the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Les Gets in 2022 and, in the near future, the Junior Alpine Skiing World Championships at the Portes du Soleil in 2024 as well as the UCI Cycling World Championships in 2027.

Les Gets (7-10 Sep) – providing a festival hub alongside the UCI XCO, XCC and DHI World Cups
Les Gets is no stranger to international competitions, with a proud history of hosting UCI Mountain Bike World Cups that dates back to 1992. More recently it hosted the prestigious 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, so it is only natural that it will offer a home to the UCI XCO, XCC and DHI competitions. 

Les Gets will also act as the main festival hub, where the sport’s biggest brands will gather for a meet-up. For fans there will be live music, kids races and many more activities. Satellite festival sites in Châtel and Morzine mean fans can enjoy keeping up with the racing wherever they are, with big screens transmitting live from all the UCI World Cup races, so no-one misses out on any of the action.

Morzine-Avoriaz (16 Sep) - hosting the penultimate round of the UCI XCM World Cup
The all-new UCI XCM World Cup will be held in the mountains in Morzine and Avoriaz. Known for its steep terrain and lively atmosphere, Morzine will be the base camp for many of the riders on the UCI World Cup circuit in between races.

This competition sees amateurs race the same gruelling 100km course as the professionals - with a lung busting 4000m of climbing. Amateurs will line up for the Marathon of Morzine-Avoriaz race, whilst the Elite will compete in the UCI World Cup race – with the unique aspect that both sets of racers will take on the exact same course at the same time.The route will take in natural trails as well as some of the iconic tracks of Morzine-Avoriaz’s famous bike park.

Châtel (15-17 Sep) - welcoming both professional and amateur enduro and e-enduro racing for the first time
The action moves to Châtel for the closing weekend of the festival, when EDR takes its turn in the spotlight. Châtel is famous for its steep and technical terrain and for its Expert Bike Park developed over the years with the help of Freeride legends, first coming for the European Rampage 'Châtel Mountain Style' and now for the iconic and unique trails. Châtel will offer up a challenge to both the world’s top enduro riders and amateurs .

The action begins with the amateur race Enduro of Châtel (15 Sep), open to everyone as no pre-qualification is required. The Elite riders take on the same course on Sunday (Sept. 17) for the UCI EDR World Cup.

Martial Saddier, President of the Haute-Savoie Departmental Council and Nicolas Rubin, First Vice President of the Haute-Savoie Departement, said: “We are proud to host this sporting event in the Haute-Savoie region. The Portes du Soleil region (Les Gets, Morzine-Avoriaz and Châtel) is a benchmark for mountain bike. We thank the UCI and Warner Bros. Discovery, once again, for their trust. Haute-Savoie will be there!”

Chris Ball, CEO of ESO Sports, added: “We are incredibly excited by this new flagship festival in the Haute-Savoie.

“The festival embodies Warner Bros. Discovery’s ambition to elevate mountain bike competition by unifying the formats and reaching new audiences worldwide to help grow this incredible sport.

“When we started this project, we said we didn’t only want to revolutionise the coverage, but also the onsite experience for fans, and these mini festival sites are another step forward to creating the most exciting atmosphere possible.”

Entries for the Marathon of Morzine-Avoriaz and Enduro of Châtel close on August 31 and are available here.

In partnership with ESO Sports, Warner Bros. Discovery was appointed to advance and elevate the sport of mountain bike in June last year as part of an eight-year agreement with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).