Tough break for SA MTB World Cup
24 June 2009
Nissan's title sponsorship of the International Cycling Union's Mountain Bike World Cup ends after 2009. A replacement title sponsor is yet to be found, which has led to the 2010 series being downsized, and far-flung South Africa, Australia and Canada losing out.
"It's come as a big shock for us," Alec Lenferna, director of the Pietermaritzburg event, said of the news that South Africa would miss out next year.
"I was phoned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Friday to tell me that the loss of Nissan as a sponsor after 2009, with no replacement, had forced the UCI to downsize the series virtually only to Europe and Great Britain.
"The United States has been added to the schedule for 2010, but only because the World Championships are in Canada a few days later, and the world's top riders and officials will be travelling to North America anyway."
No notice
Lenferna was disappointed at not being given any notice by the UCI of the possibility of the Pietermaritzburg round for 2010 being at risk.
"It's a huge blow for mountain biking in particular, and cycling in general, not only in South Africa, but in Africa," Lenferna said.
"This continent has been the missing piece in the World Cup puzzle for almost two decades, and after only one chance it gets unilaterally removed, with not even an option for us to find a local sponsor to keep it on the schedule."
Pietermaritzburg hosted the first round of the 2009 Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in April, and it proved a hugely successful event, drawing excellent crowds as one of only three "triples" on the 12-stop World Cup, comprising downhill, cross-country, and four-cross.
UCI praise
The UCI acknowledged the strong support from the South Africa public, which saw approximately 17 000 enthusiasts taking in the action.
In a post-event 15-page report, the UCI also praised the organisers, the city of Pietermaritzburg, the region of KwaZulu-Natal and the local mountain biking community.
The victory of Pietermarizburg local Greg Minnaar in the downhill, and a third place for KwaZulu-Natalian Burry Stander in the cross-country, added further shine to the event.
Statistics released by the UCI last week showed that the Pietermaritzburg round of the 2009 World Cup had gained 939 hours, 41 minutes and 31 seconds of global television coverage, which translates to an estimated 2.134-billion viewers in 188 countries. Combined with the huge crowd support at the event and the high standards of organisation and racing, it put Pietermaritzburg on a par with the top World Cup host venues.
2010
Lenferna said: "Cycling South Africa share my frustration and I have asked them to make urgent representation to the UCI to at least give us an opportunity to try and keep the South African event on the 2010 schedule by finding funding to cover the costs that would have come out of that Nissan International sponsorship. We have to have a local sponsor to cover the event costs anyway."
He added a note of optimism when he explained: "We have been asked by the UCI to bid for the 2013 World Championships. And they told me that the 2010 cut-back is purely budgetary related, and that Pietermaritzburg is on the provisional schedule for 2011 and 2012.
"A lot of work went into securing the rights to host a World Cup here. I'm making sure we do everything in our power to try and save it."
Australia and Canada
Along with South Africa, Australia, which had hosted a World Cup round for the past few years, and will host the World Championships later this year, has also been left without a major international event in 2010. And Canada, a traditional host of two World Cup rounds, has also been eliminated from the 2010 roster, although the country will have some consolation in hosting the World Championships.
The 2009 World Cup comprises 12 events in 11 countries. There are eight rounds for each of the three disciplines – cross-country, downhill and four-cross. The 2010 World Cup will be trimmed to nine venues in eight countries. There will be only six rounds for each of the three disciplines.
Pietermaritzburg has the BMX World Cup to look forward to in August, and in 2010 it will be even bigger when the city hosts the BMX World Championships. South African cycling fans will be hoping 2010 includes a return for the Mountain Bike World Cup.
SAinfo reporter
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