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For Swiss mountain bike fans it is no surprise that the 2024 World Cup will no longer stop in Lenzerheide GR. Due to the 2025 World Cup in Crans-Montana USA, the Valais are as usual on the calendar for a main rehearsal in the year preceding the World Cup.
But apart from the logical Swiss castling, the new World Cup calendar is a revolution. Half of the eight races take place abroad. In Europe, traditional destinations such as Leogang (Ö) are being eliminated. Of the six European events, only four remain.
Cycling legend Thomas Frischknecht (53) is team boss of Nino Schurter (37) in the Scott racing team and says: “Most World Cup teams come from Europe. The fact that half of the races take place abroad is not exactly an advantage. Because our market is in Europe, including that of our sponsors.” But there are also top teams from the US – such as Trek, Jolanda Neff’s employer.
New marketing from the American TV giant
Behind the calendar revolution are the new marketers at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. The Americans got involved at the beginning of this year and want to promote mountain biking on the giant company’s TV channels (including Eurosport).
In 2024 there will be two races in Brazil on two consecutive weekends at the start of the season. At the end of the season there was the second “double header” abroad with the US and Canada, also in a row. This way, the budgets for the trips would at least remain within limits, says Frischknecht.
The Olympic Games and the Football World Cup will take place in Europe in 2024
Ex-professional Ralph Näf (43), as Thömus team boss of Alessandra Keller (27), Mathias Flückiger (35) and Lars Forster (30), can also live with the calendar revolution. Because he says: “The focus of our year remains in Europe. Because we have the Olympic Games in Paris and the World Cup in Andorra. In addition, there are the ÖKK Bike Revolution races in Switzerland, which are directly below the World Cup.”
But the two Swiss team bosses are still somewhat worried about the future. Because Warner Bros. may expand further from 2025. Plans are circulating for races in Australia and Asia. Frischknecht: “If more events in Europe were canceled as a result, we would have a problem.”
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
