The Union Cycliste Internationale has officially launched the inaugural UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup, the organisation announced today.
SA’s Alan Hatherly won the inaugural e-MTB cross-country race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, at the end of August last year. Photo: Michal Cerveny
The World Cup will be held in partnership with World E-Bike Series Management.
The series kicks off in Monaco on March 6 and ends in Barcelona, Spain, on October 2. It comprises five rounds in total.
A growing number of E-MTB events are now being included in the UCI calendar, with high-profile athletes taking part like Julien Absalon, Nathalie Schneitter and Marco Aurelio Fontana.
E-mountain bikes use two energy sources – leg power and an electric motor that offers assistance while the rider turns the pedals.
The motor has a maximum continuous rated power output of 250 watts and stops providing assistance at a speed of 25km/h.
“It gives me great pleasure to launch the inaugural UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup, and I am thrilled that the UCI can bank on the recognised expertise of World E-Bike Series for its organisation,” said UCI president David Lappartient.
“The discipline now has a World Cup to go with the UCI World Championships, and I have every confidence in the development of E-MTB at the elite level and among amateur and recreational riders.”
