2020 Mountain Bike World Championships: when and how to watch

Everything you need to know about the dates and TV times for the 2020 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup rounds and the UCI World Championships too.

Loic Bruni performs at the UCI MTB World Championships in Monte Sainte Anne, Canada on September 1, 2019.

2020 Mountain Bike World Championships dates and key times

  • 7-11 October at Leogang, Austria

Currently due take place 7-11 October at Leogang, Austria.

What about Covid?

Nobody is allowed to follow the event on-site and fans are asked to stay at home.

A brief overview of the most important Covid-19 safety measures:

  • During the accreditation process, all persons involved in the event are divided into staff/helping hands, media and athletes/teams, so that the various groups do not come into contact with each other at the event.
  • Athletes/teams will stay in their own bubble.
  • Athletes/teams, as well as media representatives, must have a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours.
  • Everyone involved must keep a distance of 1.5 meters and wear masks both indoors and outdoors.

After consulting the UCI, organisers officially announced the schedule for the 2020 Mountain Bike World Championships on 7-11 October.

With bike racing events forever getting postponed, re-rescheduled and ultimately cancelled, it would be a brave soul who committed to any meaningful international bike racing in 2020. But there is current strong belief that this year’s World Champs will actually take place. Even if it’s effectively ‘behind closed doors’  (no spectators, in other words).

Current 2020 Mountain Bike World Championships schedule

Leogand was always set to host the Downhill World Champs but, as you can see below, they are also now tasked by the UCI as hosts of the Cross-Country World Champs that were supposed to happen in Albstadt, Germany in June.

  • Wednesday, October 7: XC Team Relay
  • Wednesday, October 7: E-MTB
  • Thursday, October 8: XC Juniors
  • Friday, October 9: XC Under 23 Men
  • Friday, October 9: Pump Track
  • Saturday, October 10: XC Under 23 Women
  • Saturday, October 10: XC Elite Women
  • Saturday, October 10: XC Elite Men
  • Sunday, October 11: DH Juniors
  • Sunday, October 11: DH Elite Women
  • Sunday, October 11: DH Elite Men

How are Leogang now hosting a quadruple World Championships?

Organiser Marco Pointer: “The UCI contacted us and asked if we saw an opportunity to integrate the Cross-Country and E-MTB competitions of the World Championships from Albstadt into our Downhill and Pumptrack World Championships. After we checked everything internally, it was clear to us that we could tackle a quadruple World Championships and that we wanted to take on the challenge.”

Who are the reigning World Champions?

Myriam Nicole, DH Elite Women
Loic Bruni, DH Elite Men
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, XC Elite Women
Nino Schurter: XC Elite Men

How to watch Mountain Bike World Championships online

You can also watch from the comfort of your sofa – the World Cup and World Championship events are broadcast globally on Red Bull TV.

Viewers have increased year on year – in 2015 the numbers hit 1 million for the first time.

The World Champs are run under the UCI – Union Cycliste Internationale – and winning the World Champsionships is a prestigious honour.

Whereas the World Cup is a series of races undertaken over the course of a race season, the World Champs is one race. Winner takes all on the day.This all-or-nothing aspect pretty much guarantees exciting racing and although the result is arguably technically less impressive than winning a World Cup season (oddball, flukey winners can – and do – happen) there is something undeniably special about being able to put in a killer performance when it matters. There is such a thing as a World Champ specialist. Take Loic Bruni for example.And no racer can call themselves truly legendary unless they have won at least one World Champs.The other difference is that riders compete for the country as opposed to their team sponsor.

Previous MTB World Champions

Great Britain’s biggest success is in the women’s downhill mountain bike category – with British wins over six consecutive years, and an all GBR podium in 2015.

World Champs, Downhill, Women

  • 2006: Sabrina Jonnier
  • 2007: Sabrina Jonnier
  • 2008: Rachel Atherton (GBr)
  • 2009: Emmeline Ragot
  • 2010: Tracy Moseley (GBr)
  • 2011: Emmeline Ragot
  • 2012: Morgane Charre
  • 2013: Rachel Atherton (GBr)
  • 2014: Manon Carpenter (GBr)
  • 2015: Rachel Atherton (GBr)
  • 2016: Rachel Atherton (GBr)
  • 2017: Miranda Miller
  • 2018: Rachel Atherton (GBr)
  • 2019: Myriam Nicole

World Champs, Downhill, Men

  • 2006: Sam Hill
  • 2007: Sam Hill
  • 2008: Gee Atherton (GBr)
  • 2009: Steve Peat (GBr)
  • 2010: Sam Hill
  • 2011: Danny Hart (GBr)
  • 2012: Greg Minnaar
  • 2013: Greg Minnaar
  • 2014: Gee Atherton
  • 2015: Loic Bruni
  • 2016: Danny Hart (GBr)
  • 2017: Loic Bruni
  • 2018: Loic Bruni
  • 2019: Loic Bruni

World Champs, XC, Women

  • 2006: Gunn-Rita Dahle
  • 2007:  Irina Kalentieva
  • 2008: Margarita Fullana
  • 2009: Irina Kalentieva
  • 2010: Maja Wloszczowska
  • 2011: Catharine Pendrel
  • 2012: Julie Bresset
  • 2013: Julie Bresset
  • 2014: Catharine Pendrel
  • 2015: Pauline Ferrand-Prevot
  • 2016: Annika Langvad
  • 2017: Jolanda Neff
  • 2018: Kate Courtney
  • 2019: Pauline Ferrand-Prevot

World Champs, XC, Men

  • 2006: Julien Absalon
  • 2007:  Julien Absalon
  • 2008: Christophe Sauser
  • 2009: Nino Schurter
  • 2010: Jose Antonio Hermida
  • 2011: Jaroslav Kulhavy
  • 2012: Nino Schurter
  • 2013: Nino Schurter
  • 2014: Julien Absalon
  • 2015: Nino Schurter
  • 2016: Nino Schurter
  • 2017: Nino Schurter
  • 2018: Nino Schurter
  • 2019: Nino Schurter