How To Watch The 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cups | Nove Mesto XC Races

by | May 9, 2023 | Bike Racing News, Bike, Bike Events & Racing, Events, Sports, UCI MTB World Series 2023

Get all the info you need for watching the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and additional info for the Nove Mesto Na Morave XC World Cup!

With Discovery Sports, ESO, and Play Sports Network taking over the organizing, promoting, and broadcasting of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cups for 8 years starting from 2023, there are big changes coming about for the riders and fans of “World Series” as it is now collectively referred to!

Alongside the usual Downhill and Cross Country events, we also now have Enduro and Marathon racing being awarded “World Cup” status, and the first ever marathon World Cup will take place alongside the XCC and XCO this weekend in Nove Mesto.

Over the course of the season you can expect 8 rounds of World Cup Downhill, 8 Enduro World Cups, 9 XCO/XCC World Cup events, and 4 Marathon World Cups across 3 continents, 10 countries, and 15 venues.

2023-Uci-Mountain-Bike-World-Cup-Calendar
2023 UCI MTB World Cup Calendar

Where to watch:

There will be various places to watch the live streams of particular races of the World Cup in 2023, whereas in the past it used to be on Red Bull TV.

2023 will see an addition of U23 XCO racing, Junior Downhill, and Elite Semi-Final Downhill events being live streamed (and will all be free to view on UCI MTB World Series YouTube). Enduro and Marathon World Cups will not be live streamed but will have highlights videos published to YouTube after the events.

“Live broadcasts of the downhill, cross-country Olympic and cross-country short-track elite finals and coverage of all major races from each of the 13 race weekends will be available globally on GCN+*. “

Unfortunately GCN+ is geoblocked in South Africa as SuperSport holds the broadcasting rights. Using a VPN will allow you to watch through GCN+ otherwise see the end of this post for the schedule and channels to watch on.

GCN+ can be accessed worldwide through a monthly or annual subscription. Racing coverage and content is available live and on demand via the GCN App, all web browsers, Amazon FireTV, Samsung Smart TV, AndroidTV, Chromecast, Apple AirPlay and Apple TV. “

Great Racing Expected At Love Pesto World Cup
We cannot wait to watch the UCI XCO World Cup season kick off in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. (c) Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool

Most affordable way to watch?

An annual subscription to GCN + (done via the cellphone app but then can be used on web or TV App) is R719,99. To subscribe monthly would be R124,99 per month. With 5 months of Downhill and XC racing (from May to October), you can save a bit by subscribing monthly (R625 for 5 months) to watch the live broadcasts of the Elite Downhill and XC Finals.

There are plenty of other live races from the road scene as well as feature films that can be viewed on GCN+ so you may see value in going for the annual sub to have access to that content beyond the 5 months of racing.

Races can also be watched Live and On Demand through Discovery+ though it is more expensive.

Where To Watch Uci Mtb World Cup
Where to watch UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Races.

Who are the South Africans who are racing?

This week we kickoff the XC and Marathon World Cups in Nove Mesto Na Morave, a staple of the XC World Cup circuit. These are the South Africans who will be lining up to race!

XCO:
Alan Hatherly – Cannondale Factory Racing

Candice Lill – Faces / Seattle Coffee Co.

Daniel Van Der Walt – Computer Mania MTB Team (u23)

Johan van Zyl – Computer Mania MTB Team (u23)

Tyler Jacobs – Computer Mania MTB Team (u23)

XCM:
The first ever MTB Marathon World Cup will have Amy Wakefield taking to the start line in the women’s race! At round 2 in Finale Ligure, Italy, we will see Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje competing as well.

Could This Be Alan Hatherly'S Year To Win A World Cup Xco?
Could this be Alan Hatherly’s year to win a World Cup XCO? (c) Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool

Who was on top in 2022?

You can find the overall standings from the 2022 World Cup XCO and XCC below. It is worth noting that Tom Pidcock is planning to line up in Nove Mesto this weekend and the man is as fast as ever having won the Strade Bianche just a few weeks ago.

How To Watch The 2023 Uci Mountain Bike World Cups | Nove Mesto Xc Races
2022 XCC Overall Standings Men
How To Watch The 2023 Uci Mountain Bike World Cups | Nove Mesto Xc Races
2022 XCC Overall Standings Women
How To Watch The 2023 Uci Mountain Bike World Cups | Nove Mesto Xc Races
2022 XCO Overall Standings Men
How To Watch The 2023 Uci Mountain Bike World Cups | Nove Mesto Xc Races
2022 XCO Overall Standings Women

About Nove Mesto na Morave

“The mountain bike history of this place stretches back to 2011 when the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup was held here for the very first time. It has maintained its strong position in the World Cup calendar: since Nové Město joined the series, no other venue has been voted in the annual UCI poll as the Best Event of the Cross-country season.” – UCI MTB World Series

Nove Mesto na Morave is located in Central Czech Republic and is roughly 600m above sea level, so not a high altitude affair.

The tracks

“The short track course will be made use of on Thursday as U23 riders will have their racing premiere there. Traditionally, the Elites will start into the short track race on Friday. The track is the same as in 2018 when Short Track as discipline debuted in the World Cup: wide track, fast surface, one technical section with several long jumps. Be reminded of the reverse direction of the race, and the “doubled” home stretch that is split in half by a left-hand turn. We are sure to see dramas on the finish line this year!” – UCI MTB World Series

As for the XCO Course, we can expect the usual technical affair Nove Mesto is known for. Czech out the video below for the 2022 highlights and refresher on what the course is like!

The marathon course is 120 km long with 2500m of elevation gain. It is made up of two 60 km laps, with a mix of gravel, trail, and asphalt sections.

Event schedule

11 May

17:30 – Short Track (XCC) U23 Women

18:15 – Short Track (XCC) U23 Men

12 May

18:00 – Short Track XC Women (SS CH206)

18:45 – Short Track XC Men (SS CH208)

13 May

08:00 – XC Marathon 120km men and women

08:45 – Junior Men XCO

10:30 – Junior XCO Women

15:00 – World Cup XCO U23 Men

17:00 – World Cup XCO U23 Women

14 May

11:30 – World Cup XCO Elite Women (SS CH206)

15:00 – World Cup XCO Elite Men (SS CH247)

Find more info here on the event and series

Event Coverage