UCI MTB World Cup 2023: How the first World Cup season went under Warner Brothers Discovery

The news hit like a bombshell. In 2022, the UCI announced that it was taking off with media giant Warner Bros. Discovery. The manufacturers hoped for more coverage, the riders hoped for more money and the fans hoped for even more extensive reporting.

"Mountain biking has definitely become more visible to the masses, and that's a good thing," says Marco Pointner from Saalfelden Leogang. However, fans of the World Cup have had to accept that the World Cup replay is now only available as a paid subscription on GCN and no longer free of charge as previously on Redbull.tv. Instead, there has been live coverage on free TV on Eurosport since this year.

In addition to a slightly different look without the flutter tape, some new live commentators and the introduction of a semi-final for the downhillers, the Enduro race format was integrated into the World Cup. A format that is difficult to broadcast and which should now be enhanced with exciting summaries. "For me, the enduro riders are the losers. They were promised a lot, but little has happened," scene insider Marcus Klausmann told us in an interview.

The UCI and Warner Brothers have also been criticised for increasing the entry fees. "Riders who don't have a financially strong team behind them will find it very difficult," says privateer downhiller Stefan Garlicki. According to our information, the fees are set to rise even further. The number of races is also to be increased for 2024. "2023 should be seen as a pilot project, a lot of things went wrong there. I'm looking forward to 2024," says downhiller Nina Hoffmann optimistically.

Voices from the scene

Many things have become more professional: for example, the pit lane and the start/finish area are now more presentable. The live broadcast (XCO) focusses very much on the top 5 riders. I think that's a shame. It also seems as if certain riders are being shown more often for commercial reasons. The increased entry fees will not be without consequences. There will also be even more races in 2024.
Max Brandl, XCO rider (Lexware Mtb Team)

Attempts are being made to organise everything more professionally. This is partly successful, but a lot is still going wrong. For example, the communication about what's on free-to-air TV and when - nobody can see through that. I liked the idea of the semi-finals at the beginning, but they bring a lot of hectic into the day. For us and especially for the mechanics. Unfortunately, the increased entry fees have no effect on the prize money. What a pity!
Nina Hoffmann, downhill racer (Santa Cruz Syndicate)

In my eyes, the premiere was a success. I like the semi-finals for the downhillers because: even more entertainment. The TV broadcast in German-speaking countries will reach even more people - which naturally pleases us as a tourist destination. But not everything went so well. The Enduro World Cup needs to be improved in terms of the course and audience friendliness.
Marco Pointner, organiser, Saalfelden Leogang

Unfortunately, I can't think of many positive things. The entry fees have exploded. We pay around 1000 euros per race for the team. Not including the costs for the team stand etc. With this pricing policy, the UCI is excluding smaller teams in the long term and making the World Cup more elitist. Triple events with Enduro, DH & Cross Country are, in my opinion, beyond the spatial capacities of the venues.
Daniel Berhe, Team Manager (Lexware Mtb Team)

The commentary

Live commentators are supposed to fire up the atmosphere and provide the audience with background knowledge. BIKE editor Laurin Lehner thinks this has only been moderately successful so far. One comment.

I don't know about you, but for years my favourite thing to watch was the English livestream. Cult commentator Rob Warner provided entertainment there for years - both in the cross-country and downhill races. He joked, shouted, cheered or swore and let the viewers in front of the screens get very close to the racing action.
With the new marketing company Warner Brothers, Rob Warner and the free live stream on Redbull.tv are now history. At the start of the season, I watched the World Cup with the German-language commentators on Eurosport and found it difficult. Everything was wooden and emotionless. Not at all what our sport is all about. I came to the conclusion: you can hardly listen to that.
But they could make our sport even more popular. You think: at last a long-awaited dream is coming true, broadcast on free TV. At last we can show how spectacular our sport is. But it's no good if the commentators don't do what they're supposed to do. Namely captivate and inspire the audience and inform them with exciting facts.
Sabine Spitz has done a lot for the sport, but unfortunately she can't match the level she has shown on the race track in the commentator's chair. The entertain-you factor is missing. Perhaps a third commentator would be the solution for the downhillers. Ideally another ex-racer with a lot of background knowledge, for example the German series champion Marcus Klausmann. In short: it has to get better!
Laurin Lehner, BIKE editor

The season finale of the XCO, XCC and DH World Cup will take place in Mont Sainte-Anne (CAN) from 5 to 8 October. Watch it on Eurosport or with a GCN subscription; €6.99 per month or annual subscription from €39.99.