2012 IXS Downhill Cup CHanges And Schedule Announced

Already in its tenth year, the iXS Downhill Cup series has grown up and presents itself in a new look. Not only the logo has been redone, it also comes with a new online presence.
 
With the four series under the flag of iXS running for some years already, the layout of the cup had to be dusted off. This has been done with the design of a new logo and the redevelopment of the website. But it's not only the look that has changed, there are also changes within the series as well. The organizers have revised the time table at some stages, but most significant are the changes within the rules of the iXS European Downhill Cups.
 
Five years after its inauguration the cup has left its childhood days behind and established itself as one of the most prestigious series of the world. As a result it will only be open to licensed riders in the future. But the growth in popularity is only one factor triggering that decision, it is also influenced by different national rules. Due to national rules in some countries, the added costs to open the cup to non-licensed riders are extremely high due to added insurance costs and other efforts. In some countries it is even impossible to let unlicensed riders participate. As bridging the gap between national series and the Worldcup has always been the cups main purpose, this step is bringing the cup closer to the Worldcup than before. As a result extra training times for the Top 80 Elite Men and Top 10 Elite Woman categories will be added. Based on the world ranking list, the best 80 men and best 10 women will enjoy an additional three hours training time. Start numbers for the European Cup will therefore only be available on Fridays before each race.
 
There will also be a new system for registration, as a change for the better for those who knew the old system. Due to increased fees for foreign bank transactions paying via PayPal will be the only way to pay in the future. This will cut costs and make funds available quicker for the organizers of the various events. Late registrations and late payments are not possible any longer, registrants have to pay immediately via PayPal and will show up on the list of competitors in real time after they completed the registration.
 
The registration list and starting as well as results lists will be available online in the future, so people can check them at the races with any mobile device connected to the internet.
 
The section with the rider's online profiles has been extended as well. Next to the results riders can upload a picture as well as information about their team, sponsors, bikes and parts used. The profiles can be changed and completed any time. Within the next weeks all participants will be invited to update their data. All existing accounts will still be valid.

2012 IXS Downhill Cup Schedule

Uci launches 2012 European Series In Cooperation With IXS

The iXS Downhill Cup organisation has been working very closely with the UCI for several years now. This cooperation has now been strengthened even further with the iXS European Downhill Cup recognised as the official UCI European Series.

A number of UCI decisions have received a lot of coverage from a wide range of media recently and there has been much discussion about the sport’s future. Even if the reasons behind developments are not 100 percent clear to laymen, it should be emphasised that the International Cycling Union has done a lot for the Downhill discipline in recent years. There has been a World Cup series for two decades now and its value is priceless, despite some ups and downs. Without a doubt, not everything is perfect but the success story can only be continued through a constructive partnership.

And that’s exactly what the iXS Downhill Series organisation is trying to capitalize on by continuously expanding the cooperation. It is, furthermore, taking advantage of the opportunity to provide the UCI with important grass-roots input – in other words from competitors, teams and, of course, the individual venues – based on the experience gained from putting on up to 20 races a year in order to reach a general consensus.

In this context an important step for the future was gaining official UCI European Series status for the iXS European Downhill Cup. In the final analysis the UCI is gaining a partner who has been actively involved in the sport for 10 years and has generated unbroken success for the Downhill discipline not only at national level in Switzerland and Germany but also at continental level.

Peter van den Abeele, Off-Road Disciplines Manager, says in this regard: “We are pleased to have such a reliable partner who has been working for many years to continuously improve race events in accordance with UCI wishes and is further developing mass audience awareness of the sport through targeted PR work.”

Andreas Stöckli, event manager at iXS Sports Division, is also very positive about the close partnership: “Recognition of our Cup as the official UCI Europe Series confirms the significance we’ve developed together with our race organisers over the last four years. The goal was to create a prestigious series located between the World Cup and the national race series to thus provide athletes with an easier but nevertheless professional means of entering the world elite.”

Next year the iXS European Downhill Cup will be held in seven different countries, taking place at top level venues offering the relevant country’s most challenging courses. 2011 saw a high media profile being achieved, for example the five half-hour reports broadcast by Red Bull’s in-house TV channel Servus TV.

Last season saw 2 570 competitors from 41 countries at the starting lines of the various iXS Downhill Series. In this context the European Cup is focusing more strongly on top world professionals, as confirmed by the participation of major teams. Among others, many names from UCI elite teams appeared on the start lists, including world rank Top 20 riders such as Troy Brosnan (AUS), Brook MacDonald (NZL), Cameron Cole (NZL), Markus Pekoll (AUT), Brendan Fairclough (GBR) and Florent Payet (FRA). In order to further increase attractiveness for top class international riders there are plans to raise the media profile even more and to adjust the rules to reflect top athletes’ needs more. All additional information is available at ixsdownhillcup.com

iXS 2012 European Downhill Cup dates:

• #1        28.-29.04.2012           Rivera - Monte Tamaro (SUI)
• #2        26.-27.05.2012           Leogang (AUT)
• #3        16.-17.06.2012           Innerleithen (GBR)
• #4        04.-05.08.2012           Pila (ITA)
• #5        11.-12.08.2012           Špičák (CZE)
• #6        08.-09.09.2012           Châtel (FRA)
• #7        22.-23.09.2012           Todtnau (GER)