Nove Mesto ready to welcome 50,000 MTB fans

The 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships for the cross-country Olympic (XCO), cross-country Eliminator (XCE) and cross-country team relay (XCR) disciplines will take place in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic.
Namibia will be represented by three riders in the XCO classes. First up will be Herbert Peters in Friday’s junior men’s race (17:00 local time).
On Saturday, Tristan de Lange will compete in the under 23 men’s race (11:00 local time), followed by Michelle Vorster in the elite women’s category four hours later.
Petr Vanek, the chief of the organising committee, recently spoke to UCI.ch about the first UCI MTB Worlds to take place in the Czech Republic.

When was the idea of hosting the Worlds born?
The first thoughts about the Worlds came after the first UCI World Cup in Nove Mesto, back in 2011. Nobody expected that it would be such a great success. But we had to wait to hear from the UCI about the idea of splitting cross-country and downhill. A
After the UCI gave us the "green light" we did not hesitate a minute.
For us it is a great honour to host the very first UCI MTB Worlds in the Czech Republic.

What makes Nove Mesto special as a location for the Worlds?
It is definitely the Vysoina Aréna itself that gives everybody – athletes, journalists, spectators, organisers – great comfort. Logistics are not a problem in the Aréna, it is great, so you can put more energy into racing matters instead. Also, I think we can offer an attractive course that is easily accessible for spectators.
And Nove Mesto has its own sports history, with cross-country skiing and biathlon races taking place here for many years.
People from around the region are used to coming and watching the sport live here.

Nove Mesto has won many awards for its UCI World Cup events. What makes it so good?
It is unbelievable, it makes us very proud. It is more or less because of the points I have just mentioned, but I think that our team is doing this because they love the sport of mountain biking. Our team is doing its job as well as possible and wants to make everybody happy. The fact that the Czech Republic is surrounded by the great mountain bike nations has contributed to the discipline’s growth in our country and the development of excellent riders who attract fans wishing to see them live in action.

Talk to us about numbers….
It has been two years of preparation, with a budget of 1.35 mil EUR. We have 600 people in total working on the event, including 207 volunteers, 50 policemen, 100 security personnel, 20 rescue / medical personnel and five announcers.
There are three spectator stands in the woods, and a total capacity of 20,000 spectators per day, plus seating for 8500 people in the grandstand at the start/ finish area.
So far, 17,000 tickets have been sold per day – every day more tickets are sold. We expect 50,000 spectators in total over five days of racing.
Another 1500 cyclists are expected to participate in the side events, like the XCM, night race, kids race etc.
These are just some of the numbers that have been keeping us busy!

How big is cross-country mountainbiking in the Czech Republic?
It is not about XCO, it is about mountain biking itself. Last weekend there were 22 different MTB events! Cycling is the most popular activity for people in the Czech Republic.
Your closing words?
Everything is ready! We’ve started working on the site. I hope that everybody will enjoy the show!
• The event’s official website is www.mtb2016nmnm.com.