UCI Snowbike World Championships 2024: Critical voices on the premiere of the Snowbike World Championships

The first UCI Snowbike World Championships took place on 10 and 11 February. The winners of both the Super-G and Dual Slalom categories were able to don the coveted rainbow jersey. The event in Châtel, France, came as a surprise to many. The UCI had only announced the World Championships at the end of 2023. "The communication is once again typical of the UCI," says racer Johannes Fischbach, who could have easily imagined taking part. After all, it has never been so easy to get hold of one of the coveted rainbow jerseys. This is also proven by the starting field: with a few exceptions, there were no world-class riders among the 43 male and 7 female starters.

The Super-G category kicked things off. The principle is the same as in Olympic skiing or snowboarding. The start is individual. The starters have to manoeuvre their bikes past set gates. Morgane Such won the women's event. "I've ridden on snow before, but I hadn't prepared myself specifically," said Such in the BIKE interview. Pierre Thévenard, who specialises in such races, won the men's race. The most prominent starter was Danny Hart. The super-G was also the qualifier for the dual slalom the next day. Here, two racers competed in a knockout system. Pierre Thévenard won the men's race again, while Lisa Baumann from Switzerland won the women's race.

The Snow World Cup is a hotly debated topic in the downhill scene. Many are annoyed that there are still no UCI World Championships in popular and established categories such as Enduro. The judgement of scene insider Marcus Klausmann is particularly harsh: "The shame threshold has been reached," says Klausmann. For him, biking and snow don't go together. Former racer Guido Tschugg has a similar view. "The problem is also the unfair conditions. In the Super-G, the last to finish always lose out because the piste is then deep and slow," says Tschugg. However, the UCI is not deterred. In response to a BIKE enquiry, it writes: "The UCI is aiming to hold the Snowbike World Championships annually in the future. Rumour has it that the federation is even interested in making the snow category an Olympic event.

The UCI's response to FREERIDE's enquiry was vague to non-existent. We asked the following questions by email enquiry:

1. why has the UCI decided to organise a Snowbike World Championship?

2. what does the UCI hope to gain from this, is a series (World Cup) conceivable?

3. why were there so few celebrity racers on the starting list?

4. what lessons were learnt from the Premier event?

Unfortunately, the UCI did not answer any of our questions in concrete terms, but instead gave us the following statement.

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) celebrates the historic premiere of the UCI Snow Bike World Championships in Châtel, a landmark event that featured exciting competition between top riders such as Morgane Such, Pierre Thévenard, Danny Hart, Vincent Tupin, Morgane Charre, Veronika Widmann, Lisa Baumann and iconic ambassador Cedric Gracia and opened a new chapter in cycling history. The UCI would like to thank the organisers and the venue for their crucial role in this unprecedented success.
This landmark event underlines our unwavering commitment to the development of Snow Bike as an exciting new discipline. We are particularly pleased to congratulate the first ever UCI World Champions in Snow Bike, who will proudly wear their Snow Bike rainbow jerseys, symbolising their exceptional achievements and the spirit of excellence in this ground-breaking international competition. Looking to the future, the UCI aims to organise the Snowbike World Championships annually and warmly welcomes applications from potential host cities who want to be part of this exciting journey.
The UCI looks forward to the future growth of Snow Bike and the dynamic competitions it promises as we continue to celebrate and build on this historic foundation. - (Email response from UCI Press Office)

Marcus says: "At some point, the shame threshold is reached"

Interview with Marcus Klausmann

Marcus Klausmann is a 15-time German downhill champion and racing fan. He knows the scene and is known for his clear-cut judgements. We spoke to him about the UCI Snow Bike World Cup.

FREERIDE: Marcus, have you been following the Snowbike World Championships?

Markus Klausmann: Yes, and I was a bit embarrassed. Biking in the snow looks stupid. That's how it was then and that's how it is now.

You've also competed in snow downhill races.

Yes, that's true. The idea of snow downhill races is old and has never worked. I remember a race many years ago. Back then, Siemens sponsored the race and 6000 euros in prize money attracted well-known downhillers, including Cedric Gracia. There were six of us at the start and we battled our way down the mountain. It looked lame, because cornering in the snow always looks lame. Nevertheless, it was dangerous as hell because of the spikes on the tyres.

The news about the World Championships came as a surprise. A snap decision by the UCI. What was their motivation?

I have no idea. Cycling and snow don't go together. What amateur biker would think of putting spikes on their tyres and riding down snowy slopes? The ski resorts wouldn't allow that either. I can imagine that the UCI sees a gap in the calendar here and wants to close it. There is also talk that they want to make this category Olympic. Organisationally, that would certainly be feasible without a great deal of effort. The bikers could then start on the same slope as the skiers and snowboarders.

But you don't seem to see a future for this format.

No, it looks unspectacular and nobody can identify with this type of biking. Added to this is the lack of equal opportunities in training. This is a UCI action enforced with a crowbar. You only have to look at the start list. It's never been so easy to win a rainbow jersey and yet nobody went. Danny Hart was the only world-class downhiller to start there.

Do you think the other downhillers boycotted the Snow World Championships?

Yes, at some point the shame threshold is reached. Some prominent drivers have expressed their displeasure on social media. I don't think anyone wanted to make a fool of themselves. I think most of them were simply embarrassed.

What other scene insiders say

It feels like the snow is getting less and less every season, ski races are being cancelled as a result and now the UCI thinks it has to organise a snow world championship. That doesn't make sense to me. I used to race on snow. There were mass starts that were quite spectacular because everyone fought their way down the mountain with a knife between their teeth. The pictures I've seen of the World Championships, on the other hand, seem unspectacular. Also because the Super-G is started individually. There was more excitement in the dual slalom, but the format doesn't come close to the action of a fourcross race. And as you know, the UCI removed the discipline from the programme many years ago. - Guido Tschugg, former dual slalom and fourcross racer

I love crazy races like this, but unfortunately I only found out about it by chance a month beforehand. A race like this needs a certain amount of preparation time. In the end, it turned out as I had feared: hardly any well-known riders were at the start. Why this cold start? No test event, no qualifying race, a world championship straight away? I don't understand it. In my eyes, however, the race format has potential. If the UCI decides to organise the snow races on an annual basis, well-known riders will also be at the start and enhance the event. - Johannes Fischbach, World Cup racer (EDR-E), city downhiller

Going down the piste on a downhill bike for fun was very cool back then in Scuol. The speeds are insane. I rode a few snow downhills myself in the 90s and 00s. It was always fun, but rarely - if ever - to be taken seriously. More like a lottery. For a fair race, you need piste preparation like in the Ski World Cup. In other words, ice. The tyres then need long spikes - and proper mudguards so that you don't slash yourself with your own tyres.
There used to be a series that was run on Ski World Cup tracks. I was there in Garmisch. The piste was amazing, but the mass start race was absolute chaos. Most of them had their trousers cut up by the spikes, some even had their legs cut up. Here too: Great fun, but anything but a serious sport. So I think it's a bit questionable to organise a snow world championship 20 years later when hardly anyone knew anything about it, let alone could prepare for it and for which there were no qualifications. Of course, there were other interests behind it. Did I want to take part myself? Nope. An official world championship should be for the best riders in the world. I'm no longer one of them.
Does this sport have a future? Well, I'm of the opinion that there is more suitable sports equipment for the snow, which is also more fun there. But if you think about what cool obstacles you could build out of snow or ice, then it gets more interesting. Imagine what jumps would be possible at these speeds... Fabio Wibmer sends his regards... As it happens, I know a company that could build something like this. - Claudio Caluori, ex-racer and former World Cup commentator

There was a winter downhill series in Switzerland around 1997 where I was able to take a few victories. It was unpredictable for the organisers to make the effort and then the conditions were often unsustainable for a race.
In order to organise fair races, it is important to prepare the piste optimally to Ski World Cup standard, hard, icy piste and lots of safety nets. This is extremely expensive. In addition, the permitted 6mm metal spikes are very dangerous for the riders, so mudguards like those used in motorbike speedway should be mandatory.
Why the UCI would get involved in something like this is a mystery to me. Maybe they've never heard of climate change and ski slope rules.
I heard from the participants of the World Cup that the snow conditions were good, but the organisation was a bit chaotic. The only people who were able to train on the course were the French, who had organised the French Snowbike Championships the week before. - René Wildhaber, Mr Megavalanche

More crazy races at a glance

1st Mountain of Hell

The name says it all. The race (approx. 3400 metres) starts on a glacier and leads over snow, mud, rocks and single trails. Be sure to watch the web videos of the mass start. Awesome!

2. speed & style

It's a mix of tricks and time trials. A kind of dual slalom course is peppered with jumps. The clock is ticking, but tricks on jumps are rewarded with time. So it's all about the combination and the tactics.

3rd City Downhill

Narrow alleyways, stairs, cobblestones: in city downhills, the course leads directly through the city - usually in South America. The lack of camber zones and kerbs make the races very dangerous.