European Mountain Bike Championship Begins in Novi Sad – First Such Tournament in Serbia

The European Mountain Bike Championship began at the Petrovaradin Fortress with the Team Relay Final (XCR) race, which was followed by the official opening ceremony.

On that occasion, the audience was addressed by Enrico Della Casa, President of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC), Radomir Pavlovic, President of the Cycling Federation of Serbia, Tournament Director Nemanja Vajs and Ognjen Cvjeticanin, a member of the City Council for Sport and Youth, who officially opened the championship.

– The European Mountain Bike Championship is being held in Serbia for the first time, specifically in Novi Sad. Although we have hosted numerous big and important sports events before, the idea for this tournament to be held in a city in a plain seems contradictory. However, it is not. In the past two years, it is this place that hosted an international mountain bike tournament which contributed points to the recently finished Olympics. We gained precious experience there and proved that the city and the Novi Sad Cycling Club had serious capacities to take on the responsibility of professionally organizing this big event – Cvijeticanin said and pointed out that the presence of 503 participants from the whole Europe and a large number of local and foreign media was an opportunity for Novi Sad to show its best face and for it to be put on the map of European cycling.

Enrico Della Casa pointed out that the Novi Sad tournament saw the record number of participants in a tournament organized for 21 years.

– Novi Sad is ready to host the national teams of 35 countries and to organize the races at a high technical level, in one of the most beautiful and important locations in Europe. I am looking forward to the upcoming races and, on this occasion, I want to thank everybody who contributed to the realization of the tournament – said Enrico Della Casa.

The European Mountain Bike Championship is being held between August 12 and 15 in Novi Sad, making Serbia the first country in the region to get the opportunity to organize this important sports event. What makes this championship unique is the track on the Petrovaradin Fortress, which partly runs along the ramparts, leading to the underground tunnels, with the competitors racing right past the spectators, which will be a new experience for many of them, the city said in a press release.

It is added that the mountain bike tournament is a sports event that is meant for everyone, both the cyclists and fans of cycling, as well as families with children, the young and the old. Entrance to the fortress is free.

The tournament is organized by the Cycling Federation of Serbia, the Novi Sad Cycling Club and the Vojvodina Association of Cycling Clubs.

European Cyclists Federation Brussels

Biciklistički savez Srbije

Union Européenne de Cyclisme

Novi Sad Cycling Club

Vojvodina Association of Cycling Clubs

European Mountain Bike Championship

City of Novi Sad

City Council for Sport and Youth

Enrico Della Casa

Radomir Pavlovic

Nemanja Vajs

Ognjen Cvjeticanin

Petrovaradin Fortress

Team Relay Final

cycling races

mountain biking