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Mont-Sainte-Anne right on track for 2010 Mountain Bike and Trial World Championships |
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Wednesday, 26 September 2007 |
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.
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