On February 10 and 11, 2024, the first snowbike world champions will don the rainbow jerseys in Châtel, France. In my eyes, this is ridiculous, and it's not the first blog on this topic. Five years ago, the UCI held out the prospect of a Snowbike World Cup, which, hardly surprisingly, never got off the ground. Now the cycling world federation is launching the next pipe-dream in line with the motto, the main thing is to get some disciplines out of the ground. The statement that the disciplines are inspired by alpine ski racing further demonstrates a lack of imagination.

Nothing against snowbiking per se

As I wrote five years ago in my blog, I still have nothing against snowbiking today, be it for fun or as an exotic race format. Events such as the Snowbike Night Rides on the Flumserberg, the Ride the Night in Davos or the Glacier Downhill Race in Saas Fee are a great change for all those mountain bikers who want to legally thunder down a ski slope on their beloved two-wheeler.

As a serious racing format, however, snowbiking is no good. Winters are becoming more volatile, and there is no large market, be it tourism or the bike industry, and it will not develop, even if UCI President David Lappartient claims this when making the announcement.

A hit below the belt

On the other hand, there is enduro racing. The sport has been practiced at World Cup level for over ten years. Before that, the discipline was already ten years old and continued to develop year on year. It is the discipline that embodies the mountain biking that we do; pedaling up somewhere or riding up on cable cars and then having maximum fun downhill. There is a big market behind it and most bike tourism offers actually embody Enduro.

Since 2013, when the Enduro World Series was held for the first time, athletes and organizers have wanted official world championships. For a long time, the UCI didn't give a damn and only granted the discipline official world championship honors in 2025. Instead, official world championships in snowbiking were simply thrown in the face of enduro. A discipline that is neither established nor has a tradition, let alone is not even practicable for a wide range of riders. As an enduro enthusiast, you feel like you've been taken for a ride.

The words of former downhill superstar Cédric Gracia don't make it any better: "We're going to experience something completely new in the world of cycling. It's all about technique, analyzing the snow, reflection and strategy. It's going to be incredible!" 

Really incredible, Cédric. An incredible shot in the arm. 

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