Cycle News Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Scotland to Host Mountain Bike World Championships in 2007

Fort William in the Scottish highlands, has won its bid to host the Mountain Bike World Championships in September 2007, despite strong competition from Canada and Australia. The decision was announced today (Monday 27 September

2004) by the UCI (International Cycle Union), cycling's international governing body, in Bardolino, near Verona, Italy.

For the mountain bike disciplines of Downhill, 4-Cross and Trials, The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships is the most important and prestigious international competition in the calendar. For Cross Country it is second only to the Olympics. The World Championships at Fort William will be the last major mountain bike cross country competition before the Bejing Olympics in 2008 and a key event for all riders and their national cycling federations.

At the World Championships, an annual competition with the emphasis firmly on riding for country rather than for trade teams and sponsors, 700 plus competitors from more than 45 nations worldwide compete across the four mountain bike disciplines of Cross Country, Downhill, 4-Cross and Trials for a total of 14 World Championship titles.

Frank McAveety, MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, said:

'This is terrific news for the Highlands and for Scotland. Fort William has been so successful at hosting Mountain Bike World Cups in the past that the UCI would like to take advantage of the Nevis Range facilities again and host a full championship. I was in Fort William myself this year to see some of the best riders in the world race on Scotland's spectacular and challenging terrain.

'The Mountain Bike World Championships, which has been supported by the Executive through EventScotland, will draw thousands of enthusiasts from all over the globe to Scotland. The economic and tourism benefits to the area cannot be overestimated, and this event fits well with our aim of making Scotland a major events destination by 2015.

'Well done to everyone involved in the bidding process. The 2007 Mountain Bike World Championships will form part of a terrific series of events for the Highlands during Scotland's Year of Highland Culture.'

The Nevis Range ski area and Leanachan Forest, Fort William, home of the World Championships in 2007, has successfully hosted rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2004, firmly establishing itself as one of the best competition venues in the world with a reputation for high standards, good organisation and excellent courses; and winning a number of top sporting and industry awards in the process. The profile, scale, complexity and importance of hosting the Mountain Bike World Championships is about four times that of a round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series.

With the recent announcement by the UCI that Fort William is to host the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Finals in September 2005, an extensive programme of mountain bike events leading up to the World Championships in 2007 is now guaranteed. At this key event of the mountain bike calendar, the last in the eight race series played out over six months, the 2005 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Champions of Downhill, Cross Country and 4-Cross, for elite men and women, will be crowned.

Mike Jardine from Rare Management, Organisers of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup events at Fort William and the driving force behind the 2007 World Championships bid said:

'This is fantastic recognition of Fort William's success on the global stage and a real boost for everyone who has worked so hard to make mountain biking in Fort William such a special experience. Those who have been to the Fort William World Cup know what a great weekend the Scottish Highlands can deliver. Now we've got the ultimate target, the most important single event in mountain biking. This gives us a unique opportunity to work with the venues, the funding partners, sponsors and the local community to deliver progressively bigger and better festivals of mountain biking in the next three years. Without doubt, 2007 will see the biggest ever celebration of mountain biking in the UK and the work starts now.'

Fort William is recognised by the UCI as a venue for mountain bike events that consistently draws large, very supportive and enthusiastic crowds from all over the UK and the rest of the world. It is anticipated that the World Championships will attract more than 40,000 spectators on the key days of competition with a direct economic benefit to Fort William and the immediate Lochaber area in excess of £2 million.

Significant levels of international media coverage, including live terrestrial broadcast, are also expected at the event. At the World Championships in Lugano, Switzerland, in 2003, 379 print and broadcast media were accredited and more than 64 hours of television coverage of the competition was broadcast across 11 countries worldwide.

(Source: http://www.dirtworld.com/industrynews/IndustryStory.asp?id=542)