The short Swiss cycling year has a second highlight. Around three weeks after the Road World Championships in Aigle-Martigny, the European Mountain Bike Championships will take place in the canton of Ticino. Originally, the continental title fights were to have been held in Graz, Austria, in mid-May; the event had to be canceled due to the pandemic. Now the European Championship medals in the Cross Country and Eliminator disciplines will be awarded from October 15 to 18 in the municipality on Monte Ceneri - just one week after the World Championships in Leogang. The European Championships will therefore be a World Championships rematch.

The Veloclub Monte Tamaro has plenty of experience in organizing top-class mountain bike events. In 2003, the world championships were held in Rivera on Monte Ceneri; the then 17-year-old Nino Schurter won the silver medal in the junior category. Since 2014, the destination has also regularly organized competitions as part of the national "Proffix Swiss Bike Cup" racing series. The most prominent member of VC Monte Tamaro is National Councillor Rocco Cattaneo, the President of the European Cycling Union (UEC).Swiss Cycling would like to thank VC Monte Tamaro for its commitment. "It is highly relevant for the development of the sport and for our athletes that the European Championships are being held. I am delighted that a renowned Swiss organizer has agreed to host the championships at short notice," says Co-President Patrick Hunger.
The European Mountain Bike Championships have been held since 1989. The title fights on Monte Tamaro are the fifth on Swiss soil. Switzerland last hosted the European Championships seven years ago. In 2013, the competitions were held in Bern and on Bern's local mountain, Gurten.