No early start in 2013 for the UCI World Cup downhill races rather a pack end of season. Get your plans together. There's a note on the schedule that says "potential World Cup event in China (after positive 2012 Test Event, 2013 World Cup date TBC)." We don't know if that includes DH or not. Update: The final 2013 calendar does not include an event in China, nor the round that was initially announced for Willingen, Germany. Revised schedule below.
June 8-9, 2013 Fort William, ScotlandJune 15-16, 2013 Willingen, Germany
June 15-16, 2013 Val di Sole, Italy
July 27-28, 2013 Vallnord, Andora
August 10-11, 2013 Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec, Canada
September 14-15, 2013 Hafjell, Norway
September 21-22, Leogang, Austria
WORLD CHAMPS
August 26-September 1, 2013 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
buttbongo
4/13/2013 8:47 AM
SpokeApparel
4/13/2013 9:05 AM
One Ghost
1/14/2013 4:17 PM
kaibrabo
11/4/2012 10:31 AM
kaibrabo
11/4/2012 10:33 AM
DHmental
11/3/2012 11:14 PM
jeremy.lavigne
11/2/2012 1:57 PM
ride14fun
4/2/2013 8:16 PM
JoseMPM
11/2/2012 10:11 AM
I find the title image very appropriate. The UCI fucked this up badly. We give you 7 rounds and the potential for an 8th in China, plus Worlds.
BUT WAIT, that'll make people happy. Let's scrap that and have a short season instead. June 16th Italy, July 28th Andorra. Tell me in which world is it so hard to get a world cup in Les Gets (France) in the middle. No need for extra travel, it's in the way, and you have a full month!
ThisGuy
11/2/2012 8:54 AM
mp
11/2/2012 5:53 AM
Dylan Dean
11/1/2012 6:52 PM
Soooo.... am i the only one that notices that MSA overlaps the first weekend of Crankworx Whistler?
that means my truck & i will have to stay on the east coast & i'll have to fly my riders to Whistler.. yippie
idiots are making it harder & harder for me to schedule in the US Grand Prix every year!
One Ghost
1/14/2013 4:18 PM
danny.spalding.9
11/1/2012 5:21 PM
neimbc
11/1/2012 5:12 PM
JonnyC
11/1/2012 4:49 PM
bambam
11/1/2012 4:12 PM
The South African world champs was announced LAST SEASON if people had been paying attention so this idea that Gwin didnt win there so Whitely convinced the UCI to put it there is just ridiculous. Just because Gwin is killing it doesnt mean that the USA deserve preferential treatment for World Cup rounds.
How many World Cup rounds did Australia get when Hill, Kovarik, Rennie, Hannah etc etc were smashing everyone? 1.Was it ongoing? Nope.
How do Aussie juniors get a chance to improve and showcase their talent? Same way they always have, they go to Europe and race, which is what the Americans and EVERYONE ELSE will have to do too. Is it expensive? Try flying to Europe from Australia some time.....
Is the race season too short and too close together? Absolutely! Would I like to see a WC in Canada or the USA? Certainly. Is the UCI trying to sabotage DH in the US and is involved in a conspiracy to stop Gwin? Of course not, grow up.
tstep
11/1/2012 6:42 PM
bambam
11/1/2012 7:02 PM
I think you missed the point I was trying to make. I think there should be a round in the states and Canada too, I think it grows the sport having WC rounds there. Theres a huge existing and growing fan base in countries with massive populations whats to lose by having rounds there?
I was having a crack at some of the comments on here moaning about a conspiracy against Gwin with the choice of champs venue and the big moan about juniors in the US by pointing out that everyone is in the same boat. Im not putting Gwin on a pedestal but the people who think the UCI are conspiring against him certainly are!
The Sth Africans, Australians and Americans all do a truckload of traveling.
warthog
11/1/2012 3:38 PM
So, Windam is dropped because of it supposedly being too much for the teams to deal with travel wise, even though they will already be so close at Mont St. Anne? I have a difficult time figuring that out when I see the schedule going from Quebec to Pietermaritzburg and then to Hafjell over the span of just a few weeks. Who knows, maybe someone at the UCI figured out a way to have everybodys frequent flyer miles added to his own Visa card? They UCI absolutely DOES suck and has ALWAYS sucked!
As bummed as I am about Windam, i'd be totally okay with it being dropped (since there already is a North American round) if it meant adding a round to somewhere else that always gets hosed. South America for example, how about New Zealand, Australia, somewhere in Asia perhaps? Hell, even the West Coast of North America would add a little variety.
JonnyC
11/1/2012 3:41 PM
warthog
11/1/2012 7:01 PM
SpokeApparel
11/2/2012 10:06 PM
Windham was not "dropped." the venue had a 3 year contract. The contract was fulfilled. Under this contract, the resort was partially responsible for funding the effort, along with two major, silent benefactors. Windham did not pursue a renewal simply because the mountain didn't make enough revenue to justify it again. From what I was told, by organizers close to windham, it was a near 6 figure loss for the mountain. The city belives big in bikes, and almost all the support staff were townies working for free. They all want the series back and had the chance to renew, I believe. But the money just wasnt there. The shame doesn't really fall on the UCI or Windham. It falls on our culture for not respecting this sport like we respect our arena games. we need to get more spectators and sell more tickets.
: /
lev
11/1/2012 3:08 PM
TomFoolery
2/28/2013 6:18 PM
SchredGreen
11/1/2012 2:58 PM
JonnyC
11/1/2012 2:27 PM
Big Bird
7/16/2012 10:55 AM
CRFRDH
7/15/2012 2:18 PM
Well…I have to admit, this is a complete bullshit…why not UCI just leave the British Cup and/or the IXS cup as the WORLD CUP…???
I understand the bid stuff on the venues, but common…just 1 race in the american continent…?? and they dare to call this a world cup…? Heck, we need at least 1 venue in each continent….you don´t know if you are loosing your next Aaron Gwinn or just next Steve Peat if you don´t race them against the best of the world…
Now, put this into $$…why the hell like dudeabides7 said, teams will need to come to America for just one race and the rest of the season is in Euro…is nonesense, its completly stupid (pardon me, but this is unbelievable)….the level is raising up in all countries right now…just as a example, take the crankworx slopestyle (yeah its far diferent from DH but focus on the point) out of nowhere a kid came in the show and took SECOND…. I mean, if this event would have not get to this place, this kid could be there showing his skills to his peers only…and yet, with the event moving there this year, hell, this kid and some others have shown their potencial…so more companies in their countries might get in the boat to help them reach the world series…or even better start investing in their grassroots…but until then…you will never know…
Muttly1981
11/1/2012 5:07 PM
"I understand the bid stuff on the venues, but common…just 1 race in the american continent…?? and they dare to call this a world cup…?" Doesn't America have a baseball game called the world series that only contains American teams?
The lack of American rounds is a worry but the biggest worry is the fact that they are cramming a whole season into 3 months, not every rider at the world cups rides for a factory team so I really hope that some of them have understanding bosses that let them have close to 3 months off work instead of 5-7 days each month
CRFRDH
11/2/2012 7:24 AM
Mutty...do you know the % of american players in the "baseball world series".....? find that out and I can see a true statement on it...there are cubans, venezuelas, players from Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama ect, ect.... Now, they play there because that is were the power of baseball resides (not to mention is the glorified US people sport), the rest of the world does not have that power of a league...
And yes, the 3months...of course is nonsense, but to me is yet more of a nonsense all the discussion being place here about the travelling...many teams complains on the logistics this creates, the cost of travelling....yet, the UCI does not want to listen and put races in places so far apart, but continue to get most of the races in Europe, someone mention here...all the years Hill dominated and what was about a race in Australia...? Brosnan...now look at Marcelo Gutierrez....
maximumradness
7/14/2012 10:58 PM