UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships:

the world's most important mountain bike race at Elba Island

The UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships are getting closer and closer: on October 2^nd, all MTB and outdoor sports enthusiasts will gather at Elba Island which will become the biggest protagonist of the main MTB competition. The most important champions of the two wheels and the greatest representatives of the world Marathon discipline will compete for the title.

"We are very proud to be able to host the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships at Elba island," said Niccolò Censi, Coordinator Tourism Associate Management of the island. "In addition to the sea, enchanting beaches, woods and breathtaking views, on the island you can enjoy extraordinary biking, mountain biking and e-biking experiences on the more than 400 kilometres of cycle paths that have become destinations of choice for bikers from all over the world, both in spring-summer and autumn-winter".

The UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships is organized annually by the International Cycling Union and award the title of world marathon champion, one of the mountain biking disciplines, in the male and female Elite categories. The rainbow race on Elba can count on the organizational support of ASD Capoliveri Bike Park and all the island's authorities.

For the 2021 UCI MTB Marathon World Championships Elba Island - Tuscany - Italy, a brand new and spectacular 35 km route has been studied and designed, repeated three times, located on the Monte Calamita promontory in the south-east of the island, amidst vegetation, the colors and scents of the Mediterranean maquis, steep climbs, technical single tracks, fast fire breaks, old mule tracks and white roads. The route enhances the essence of mountain biking: a true open-air gym for lovers of this sport that consecrates Elba as an elite destination for bikers and outdoor sports enthusiasts from all over the world. International athletes of the calibre of Leonardo Paez, the reigning mtb world champion, Alban Lakata three time world champion, Alexey Medvedev, Samuele Porro and Juri Ragnoli have had the opportunity to come to the island in recent months to test the gravel roads.

The Island of Elba is therefore preparing to become a reference point for mountain bike professionals and for all cycling enthusiasts, at all levels, with trails and ups and downs overlooking the sea for professionals and itineraries through mountains and mines; a true tourist, seaside and sports paradise immersed in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of the Tuscan Archipelago MaB. The island will be ready to offer an unprecedented event, with a unique formula never proposed for the Marathon.

There is a wide range of MTB and road cycling routes available in Elba to suit all needs. Enthusiasts can ride many trails or try the complete tour of the island, which has 165 km and over 4,100 metres of altitude difference.

In addition, choosing and "experiencing" in advance the routes to be tackled is becoming easier and more immediate thanks to ElbaSmartExploring, a digital mapping project of the island that makes the bike and trekking routes that unfold across the entire territory available on Google Street View.

The project began in 2018 as the first work of systematic digital mapping of a territorial area, experimenting with some new features: firstly, the opportunity to choose the route and be guided with ease using Google Maps, and then the possibility of virtually exploring the entire outdoor offer of the island, even at 360° with special viewers, with the Street View application, to plan your own excursions. The mapping was then completed with the bike routes, both for MTBs and road bikes: from those for enthusiasts who want to get back into shape to those more suitable for professionals looking for more demanding challenges; from the most suitable routes for cycle tourists who want to visit the island on two wheels to families who want to alternate active moments immersed in the nature of the Mediterranean forests with beach life.