How to follow the UCI Enduro and e-Enduro World Championships – Val di Fassa, Trentino, 2024
29 August 2024
Athletes and Nations Competing in the UCI EDR and e-EDR World Championships
7 September 2024The rainbow jerseys will be awarded in Val di Fassa
The organizational skills developed over the years, the beauty of the Dolomites, and a unique region known for its passion for cycling and off-road biking, have all played a role in this achievement. The fact that the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros Discovery Sports (WBD) have chosen Val di Fassa and Trentino for the official debut of the UCI Enduro and E-Enduro World Championships in 2024 is source of pride for a territory that has significantly contributed to the development of mountain biking over the past eighteen years.
The UCI Enduro and E-Enduro World Championships – Val di Fassa, Trentino, scheduled from September 12 to 15, was presented today in Trento at the headquarters of the Gruppo Itas Assicurazioni, with the CEO Alessandro Molinari hosting. This prestigious assignment is a well-deserved recognition for a team that has previously organized three Enduro World Series rounds (in 2019, 2021, and 2022) and the first edition of the UCI Enduro World Cup (in 2023). The event will position Val di Fassa and Trentino among the elite international off-road destinations, providing significant media visibility during the two days of competitions, which will award the four world titles in enduro and E-enduro, for both men and women.
The race highlights (20min video) will be broadcast on Eurosport on September 19th at 5 PM CET, ensuring that all the action can still be enjoyed remotely, in addition to video highlights on the UCI’s YouTube channel (@ucichannel with 581,000 subscribers) and extensive social media coverage throughout the event.
“Trentino is well-known throughout Italy and beyond for its strong commitment to sports,” said Francesca Gerosa, the Sports Councillor for the Autonomous Province of Trento. “Our greatest strength lies in our skilled and professional volunteers, who play a crucial role in ensuring the success of major events like the upcoming one in Val di Fassa.“
“For over 20 years in Trentino, we have embraced the synergy between sports and tourism,” explained Maurizio Rossini, CEO of Trentino Marketing. “The added value that athletes and major events bring to our region allows us to transform these initiatives into sustainable and lasting attractions for sports enthusiasts. This strategy enables us to promote Trentino as a year-round destination, keeping our valleys vibrant and attractive all 52 weeks of the year. With this goal, the Trentino system also aims to foster business development, offering our partners significant new growth opportunities. It is an essential, synergistic strategy to position Trentino as a strong and credible player in the global market.“
The name “Trentino” is synonymous with quality assurance. “In Trentino, it is almost expected that events are organized at the highest level, thanks to the dedication of volunteers and the expertise of the professionals leading the organizing committees,” noted Roberto Failoni, the Tourism Councillor for the Autonomous Province of Trento. “There will be great interest in the Enduro World Championships in Val di Fassa, the first of its kind, held in a truly unique setting. Our goal is to provide everyone who participates and attends the event with a unique experience. We have a significant opportunity to expand into the international market, which we must fully capitalize on.”
The satisfaction of Val di Fassa was expressed by Fausto Lorenz, President of the Val di Fassa Tourism Board, who described the event as an “important showcase, an opportunity to present our mountains to the world.”
Nicolò Weiss, the Director of the Val di Fassa Tourism Board, echoed this sentiment. “Talking about two wheels means talking about a product that allows us to attract people to our region in June and September, a time when our mountains are less crowded,” said Weiss. “We need to be appealing from this perspective and appreciate cycling from this new angle.”
A new chapter in the history of enduro will be written in Val di Fassa, with all the top athletes in the discipline competing fiercely to inaugurate the championship’s honor roll. “The main favorites are the American Richard Rude and the Frenchwoman Isabeau Courdurier, who is now a regular in Val di Fassa and will compete in the last race of her career at the World Championship,” explained William Basilico, the President of the organizing committee. “However, Italy will also have its contenders, with Mirco Vendemmia in enduro and Alia Marcellini in E-enduro leading the way.”
The home race could provide an extra boost to the Italian team. In Enduro, in addition to Mirco Vendemmia from Romagna, the team will include Nadine Ellecosta from Sud Tirol and Tommaso Francardo from Liguria. In the e-Enduro race, the experienced Alia Marcellini (a multi-time national downhill champion and European silver medalist in 2017) and Andrea Garibbo will compete.
The race course will loop around the town of Canazei, in the heart of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage site. “A unique aspect of enduro events is that the race course is only officially announced by the UCI one week before the event, on Friday, September 6,” explained William Basilico. “For now, we can say that the enduro race, which has a format similar to that of car rallies, includes 5 special stages, while the e-Enduro will have 9. The races are scheduled for Saturday, September 14. We have reserved Sunday as a backup day in case of weather-related issues. I would like to thank the approximately 140 volunteers who will support us, and I am glad that many organizers of Italian enduro races have come forward to lend a hand.“
The event will officially begin on Thursday, September 12, with the evening opening ceremony and a parade of athletes from the various national teams through the streets of Canazei. Official practice on the race course will take place on Friday, September 13, and the two races, enduro and E-enduro, are set for Saturday, September 14. On Sunday, September 15, the public and enthusiasts will have the opportunity to participate in the “Ride, Test & Explore” day, during which they can visit the paddocks, meet the athletes for autographs, and ride on the marked race course.
“Trentino has been a leader in the off-road sector for many years, and not just that,” commented Massimo Ghirotto, president of the off-road commission of the Italian Cycling Federation (Federciclismo), followed closely by Paolo Castelli, a member of the Trento Committee of the FCI. “Being able to host the first Enduro World Championship in Italy is a source of pride for our Federation. It is an event that will go down in history. We hope that our Italian athletes can make a good impression.“
