In the heart of Sion, the "CM MTB Valais 2025" association, consisting of Valais/Wallis Promotion, the Valais Cycling Federation, Swiss Cycling and the host destinations, officially launched preparations for the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. In exactly three years' time, Valais will host an event that will go down in history. For the first time, world championships in seven mountain bike disciplines will be held at nine venues within two weeks in the same region. "It is both a challenge and an opportunity to be the first to organize a major event in this format. Valais is ideally suited for this. We are delighted to be able to host this major mountain bike festival," says Julien Hess, Director of the "CM MTB Valais 2025" association.

Homologating new trails, designing new routes

On Tuesday morning, Julien Hess presented the project at Sion Town Hall, accompanied by members of the association and representatives of the nine venues: Crans-Montana (cross-country), Région Dents du Midi (downhill), Grächen (e-MTB), Leukerbad (enduro), Verbier and Val d'Anniviers (marathon), Monthey (pump track), Zermatt (short track) and Sion (opening ceremony and entertainment). Afterwards, a fresco of the official logo of the 2025 World Championships was inaugurated in front of the town hall, with all participants symbolically laying a paving stone.

The ceremony was also attended by Jolanda Neff, Olympic cross-country champion, downhill World Cup winner Camille Balanche, up-and-coming Valais athlete Thibaud Contesse and former Valais mountain biker Michel Rey. "It's great that, after Lenzerheide in 2018, we can bring the sport of mountain biking even closer to the population with a world championship in another Swiss region," said Jolanda Neff. Camille Balanche is also very excited: "A world championship in our own country in this new format is an excellent showcase for our sport, especially for those disciplines that are less in the media spotlight."By hosting this event, Valais is reinforcing its desire to position the region as a leading mountain bike destination. Several major projects will be implemented between now and 2025 to make the canton even more attractive for mountain bike fans all year round. Plans include the homologation of new trails and the creation of three regional routes. The first, "Valais Alpine Bike", has already been available on Schweiz Mobil and wallis.ch since this spring. Steve Morabito, President of the Valais Cycling Association and the "CM MTB Valais 2025" association, explains: "From 2023, the focus will be on sustainable projects to encourage young people to cycle and to get women interested in biking. We also want to form a Team Valais2025 to promote young locals."

The World Championships are a perfect fit for Valais

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The organization of these combined world championships will give a new dynamic to the development of mountain biking. Thomas Peter, Managing Director of Swiss Cycling, is delighted with the prospects: "Switzerland is one of the leading mountain biking nations. Biking has been gaining in popularity for years thanks to its continuing sporting successes. And the fact that a world championship of historic relevance is now also being held in Switzerland will further strengthen this trend."

Valais offers topographical conditions for all levels and disciplines, making it the perfect place to host this new format of world championships in a single region. "With over 2000 kilometers of marked heterogeneous mountain bike trails, the region is attracting more and more athletes. It was therefore clear to us from the outset that we wanted to be involved in organizing this event in our canton. A major event like this will showcase the advantages of Valais and raise the canton's profile as a mountain bike destination," explains Raphaël Favre, Director of Brand Activation at Valais/Wallis Promotion.wallis2025.ch