With Lenzerheide and Gstaad, two professional and committed destinations had applied to Swiss Cycling to host the major events. "After the presentations and site visits, we carried out a detailed internal evaluation," says Thomas Peter, Head of Competitive Sports at Swiss Cycling. This evaluation resulted in Swiss Cycling choosing the Lenzerheide vacation region as the official Swiss venue for the World Cup races from 2015 and the World Championships in 2018. "We feel that this decision confirms the consistent implementation of our bike strategy over the last three years," says Bruno Fläcklin, Tourism Director of the Lenzerheide vacation region.

Swiss Cycling will now submit the official bid to the UCI. The detailed preparation of the bid dossier and an official inspection with UCI representatives will follow in the coming weeks. An exact date for the final decision is not yet known at this time.In terms of infrastructure, offerings and marketing, Lenzerheide has been pursuing a targeted, strategic direction for years that focuses on bike sports and tourism in summer. Following the successful Swiss Mountain Bike Championships, which took place in the Lenzerheide vacation region at the beginning of July, and the positive feedback from officials and athletes, the destination feels encouraged to consistently implement the bike strategy at event level too. Initial discussions with various service providers and partners have been fruitful. Lenzerheide Bergbahnen, the destination municipalities, Lenzerheide Tourismus and Lenzerheide Marketing und Support AG are behind the project. The Cantonal Office for Economy and Tourism has also pledged financial contributions. The World Cup races have a budget of 1.5 million francs, while the World Championships are estimated to cost twice that amount.