The drastic lockdown measures have one primary goal: to prevent the pandemic peak from skyrocketing too high, because then even the Swiss healthcare system would collapse. There is unanimous agreement that the infection curve must be flattened. But flatter also means longer. In other words, we will not (yet) have returned to normality in summer 2020, which in turn will lead to significant changes in mountain biking.

In June, when the mountain bike season gets underway in the Alps, the toughest phase of the coronavirus crisis should be over and many areas will gradually return to normality. Hotels will reopen, as will restaurants, but the current basic rules will continue to apply: Keep your distance, no gatherings, wash your hands. The aim is to avoid a second wave of the pandemic.

Operation of mountain railroads and shuttles suspended

In principle, these health requirements are not a problem for mountain biking. But there will still be significant restrictions. For example, the mountain railroads will not be operating in summer 2020. Shuttles will not be riding either, as it is impossible to maintain the required safety distance in the gondolas and transport cabs. This will have a significant impact on places such as Lenzerheide, Sölden, Davos and the Aosta Valley in particular.

On the other hand, sales of e-mountainbikes will increase significantly again in 2020 due to the lack of ascent aids. This is because mountain bikes with an electric drive will be the only realistic prospect for mountain bikers who have previously used cable cars and shuttles to make their ascents easier.

Zero season for the sport of cross-country biking

The sport of mountain biking at grassroots level will soon move into an orderly, shuttle-free mode. The situation is different in competitive sport, where the postponement of the Olympic Games or the cancellation of the Tour de Suisse are merely the first harbingers. Cross-country races will not take place in summer 2020 because the starting fields are too cramped and the safety rules for spectators cannot be adhered to. In other words: no World Cup, no World Championships, no Swiss Cup, no Swiss Epic. The 2020 season will be written off as a zero in cross-country sport. This will be a bitter pill to swallow for racers and teams, but also for organizers and sponsors. The situation for downhillers is more difficult to assess. In principle, the competitions could still take place, albeit without spectators at the side of the course.

The summer of 2020 will be bitter for the event industry as a whole. The realists have already canceled their events for this summer, while the optimists have postponed them to a later date in the fall. Because a second wave of the pandemic is to be prevented, no major events will be permitted this summer. In mountain biking, this includes festivals, season openings and test events in particular. Sad but probably a fact: without these events, summer 2020 will be relatively dull.

Mountain biking is experiencing an unexpected boom

Admittedly, these forecasts for the summer of 2020 are gloomy. But if we want to flatten the pandemic curve now and prevent a second wave as a result, then they are not pessimistic, but rather realistic. But you can also look on the bright side: Mountain biking will be one of the sports that can be practiced in the summer of 2020, even if restrictions remain as strict as ever - unlike team or indoor sports. Mountain biking will therefore experience an unexpected boom this summer. There will be more mountain bikers on the trails, in bike stores and in bike hotels than ever before after the lockdown.

But perhaps we'd better stay on the ground when it comes to predictions. After all, the last few weeks have shown us that, firstly, things turn out differently and, secondly, than you think.