September 25, 2007 (Stuttgart, Germany) – The UCI has awarded Mont Ste-Anne the 2010 MTB World World Championships. It will be an exciting time in Canada with Vancouver hosting the 2010 Olympic Games. The 2010 Road Worlds will held in Victoria (Melbourne), Australia – more news on 2010 sites to follow shortly.

The sites for 2010 World Championship awarded today are as follows:

– MTB Worlds – Mont Ste-Anne, Canada
– MTB Marathon Worlds – St-Wendel, Germany
– Road Worlds – Melbourne (Victoria), Australia
– Cyclocross Worlds – Tabor, Czech Republic
– BMX Worlds – Pietersmeritzburg, South Africa

Mont-Sainte-Anne Press Release

Mont-Sainte-Anne is right on track for 2010 Mountain Bike and Trial World Championships

Financial support from Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport played a key role in securing the event

Québec City, Tuesday, September 25, 2007″”Corporation de la Coupe du Monde de vélo de montagne Mont Sainte-Anne today got the green light from the International Cycling Union (UCI) to hold the 2010 Mountain Bike and Trial World Championships. The UCI management committee announced its decision at the Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Gestev vice president Chantal Lachance was in Stuttgart and confirmed the news personally to her colleagues Yves Blouin, Corporation President, and Gestev president Patrice Drouin. Mont-Sainte-Anne and Québec City will therefore host the prestigious competition from August 30 to September 6, 2010.

Valuable support from the Québec Government

One of the selection criteria was the organizers’ financial means to hold a major event like the World Championships by showing, aside from their organizational experience, considerable financial backing from the government or host city. Financial support of $1,075,000 from Québec’s Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport therefore played a key role in securing the international competition, and was gratefully acknowledged by the Corporation’s president: “Our team’s expertise played in our favor, but without the support of Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, we could never have hosted the World Championships. The guarantee proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that our bid was serious, and now we will be able to organize an event that will not only leave its mark on our guests but also local people.” In 2006, the organization had to surrender its bid to host the 2008 World Championships to Val del Sole in Italy precisely because this criteria had not been met.

Brazil and Norway were also in the running to host the 2010 World Championships, but the quality of Mont-Sainte-Anne’s bid shone through in the end.

Spectacular events
All three exciting mountain bike disciplines””Cross Country, Downhill, and 4-Cross””will be held at the World Championships, along with a Trial competition. Unlike in the World Cup circuit where only the “senior” category competes, junior (15–18) and U23 (18–23) athletes will also be involved in the World Championships, representing their respective countries rather than professional teams as is the case in the World Cup. Marie-Hélène Prémont, for example, races for Rocky Mountain/Haywoods in the World Cup, but wears the red and white of Canada at the World Championships. It all makes for a highly anticipated event, like the Olympic Games but with just the one discipline! For athletes, it offers the chance to be crowned World Champion, and a total of 39 titles will be handed out during the event.

Discussions will begin with the UCI in the days to come about obtaining permission to add other amateur events to the program before the Championships themselves get under way, allowing the organization to fulfill its mission of helping to develop the sport at all levels. It will also be an additional incentive for fans from all over the world to stay in Québec in summer 2010.

Close to 50 countries involved
Over 700 athletes from close to 50 countries are expected for the World Championships alone, along with 275 journalists from around the globe and some 75,000 spectators. The economic spinoffs from such an event are thought to be in the region of $18 million, with priceless media coverage.

By way of comparison, a World Cup attracts 400 athletes, 150 journalists, 50,000 visitors, and generates spinoffs of $4 million.

20 years of international mountain biking at Mont-Sainte-Anne leaves others in our tracks!

Mont-Sainte-Anne last held the World Championships in 1998. The event left a lasting impression on the site, including a purpose-built Downhill track which, thanks to annual improvements, remains one of the most challenging on the international circuit even today. The only site in the world to have held a UCI event every year since the rise of mountain biking in 1991, Mont-Sainte-Anne and the organizing committee are renowned throughout the world for their warm welcome and the quality of the events they put on, notably the 2006 World Cup which was ranked the second best international event by IMTTO (International Mountain Bike Teams, Technical Support Companies Organisation) out of fifty international events.