Cyclists from 17 countries in Europe have confirmed their presence at the first Mountain Bike European Championship hosted by Romania. The event, scheduled for May 8-12, will bring world champions such as Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Puck Pieterse, and Victor Koretzky, as well as Romanian stars Vlad Dascălu and Ede Molnar to Cheile Grădiștei.

Nearly 200 riders from 17 countries, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark, have confirmed their presence at the competition in Romania, but the organizers say their number is expected to grow to about 400 by the time registrations close. 

They will compete in Cross Country Olympic (XCO), Cross Country Team Relay (XCR), and Cross Country Short Track (XCC) for the Elite, U23, and Junior categories.

According to the Romanian Cycling Federation, the costs of organizing the event amount to over EUR 350,000, which covers the actual costs of organization, the accreditation process, timing, as well as the live broadcast of the event via Eurosport and the Eurosport app - to a number of over 8 million potential viewers.

Cătălin Sprinceană, the president of the Romanian Cycling Federation, said: “The stakes are high both for cycling and Romanian sports in general, as well as for the country's image in the world, but also for tourism. From a sporting point of view, we have the chance to inspire, motivate the new generation of riders and defend the European Champion title won by Vlad Dascălu last year. On the other hand, Romania will be talked about, and the beautiful images from here will be seen all over the world, which will mean good country marketing and an opportunity to make tourists curious about visiting us.”

The 3.4 km long route on which the competitions will be held was set up with the support of the Cheile Grădiștei Fundata resort. Teams of between 4 and 10 people worked 20 days on the route, starting in November 2023, to prepare it for the competition.

“This route will represent Romania's entry ticket into the arena of European players on the cycling competition market, and we hope to bring a World Cup Stage to the Cheile Grădiștei route in the future and/or a European Youth Championship, maybe even in 2027. We also aim to quickly bring the European Mountain Bike Marathon Championship to the country,” Sprinceană said.

Cycling, especially MTB, has enjoyed a steady growth in Romania over the last 20 years, with an explosion of mass events in the last 6-7 years. The Cycling Federation's calendar this year has a record number of over 80 events, and the number of licensed cyclists has exceeded 1,000.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the organizers)