We can help develop Indian ability: UCI sports director Peter Van den Abeele
Crans-Montana, Switzerland: When mtb made its Olympic launching at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the males’s race was 47.7 kilometres long. Cut to the 2024 Paris Games, the training course was simply 4.4 kilometres, with 8 laps to race.
Technological innovations have actually changed the sporting activity. Bike layouts and carbon fiber structures make equipments lighter and more powerful while advanced suspensions help motorcyclists deal with the off-road surface. These modifications have actually made the sporting activity quicker and a lot more affordable. What hasn’t altered is the enthusiasm of the motorcyclists and followers which got on display screen at the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships below.
Peter Van den Abeele has actually observed this development first-hand– as an Olympian at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Games, and currently as UCI Sports Director, driving the development of the self-control.
“The sport has gone through massive changes,” Peter claims. “When I was competing in the cross-country Olympics, one lap was 12 km. In my time, races lasted nearly three hours; now they’re around an hour and 25 minutes. We reduced the course length, and that’s what made mountain biking what it is today. Big destinations, massive crowds, faster races. It’s a great action to watch.”
At this year’s World Championships, UCI has actually incorporated all layouts, with 27 world-title races throughout 7 magnificent locations in the Alpine canton ofValais Crans-Montana is holding the Olympic cross-country (XCO) occasions in a magnificent towering setup. Valais 2025 is the greatest version in background, made to motivate youngsters, increase females’s engagement, and drive sustainability.
“It’s the first time we’ve bundled so many mountain bike formats. Of course, the two main ones are cross-country, which is the Olympic, and downhill. Then there are others — marathon, pump track, enduro, e-mountain bikes, etc.”
One of UCI’s top priorities is to broaden the sporting activity pastEurope “Talent is everywhere — you just need to detect and groom it. Africa is a good example. They took second place here (Roger Suren of Namibia) in the men’s junior cross-country Olympic. Mountain bike is easy to do and safe also. It’s easily accessible off road and that goes for India as well.”
India, previously this year, won its very first continental medal in hill cycling at the Asian Championships in China– bronze in the combined elite cross-country relay, behind China andKazakhstan “That’s amazing. You need to go step by step with junior talents. Our team at UCI’s World Cycling Centre here can definitely discuss bringing such talents from India to train here and prepare them for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It’s a great pathway to look at,” he stated.
Switzerland is a giant in hill cycling, with 10 Olympic medals. At Tokyo in 2021, the Swiss brushed up the females’s cross-country platform– motivating UCI to decrease optimum entrances per nation to 2. “It’s very popular here, and when you host such a big event in a popular destination, it attracts more people and fans,” claims the Belgian.
Mountain bike is biking in its most stunning type, riding in nature, dealing with high climbs up, rapid descents, and technological surface, integrating endurance, power, and dexterity.
“People come to the mountains to spend the entire day. Here, they can walk right next to the course. That’s something we try to make possible in the Olympic format — spectator crossings, accessible trails. You can watch the racing and also enjoy the mountains.
“Many go up to the lake where there’s a spectator zone with a big screen, food and drink. People walk from the start to the top of the mountain, then return for the finish. It’s super practical for the sport, and the expo area is extremely attractive. That’s why the sport has become so big, strong, and appealing to partners as well.
“Families arrive with bike racks, parents bring young kids, and they get involved. That’s often how a youngster starts the sport. Walking the course, you see far more children off-road than on the road.”
Peter has actually competed throughout mtb, BMX, cyclo-cross, and roadway biking.
“I call mountain biking the laboratory of cycling, where innovations and new technologies are tested. When I was an athlete, I said if you do off-road and then go to the road, you can make it because you gain technical skills to handle the bike and endurance. Now people believe it. Many riders, especially women, are competing across disciplines.”
