Warner Bros. Discovery reveals TV coverage and commentator details for the 2023 MTB World Cup season
The UCI Mountain Bike World Series promises a revolution in MTB viewing with more cameras, including first-person view drones and all-new expert analysis
Mountain bike fans are set to be treated to a completely new way of enjoying live mountain bike TV coverage this season. The all-new 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Series has announced their coverage and broadcast team for what is shaping up to be the best mountain bike season ever.
The UCI Mountain Bike World Series in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery has announced live coverage of all major races from each of the 13 mountain bike race weekends, which will all be available globally on GCN+, Eurosport, and Discovery+. It will also see viewers having first-time coverage of all mountain bike disciplines including cross-country Olympic, cross-country short track, cross-country marathon, and downhill mountain biking.
Warner Bros. Discovery also aims to grow the sport and ensure that mountain biking reaches a whole new audience. As well as broadening the reach they say their new coverage will revolutionize the way mountain biking is watched, with more cameras on course, including first-person view drones. Warner Bros. Discovery aims to deliver a whole new mountain biking viewing experience that will completely transform each event, with entirely new angles and every major moment captured.
Fronting the new coverage will be a brand new talent of mountain bike experience and knowledge headed up by Kate Mason, who will anchor each of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series events. Kate will be joined by legendary racer Cedric Gracia as an expert commentator for downhill mountain bike racing, with Bart Brentjnes doing the same role for cross-country. They’ll also be joined by reporters Josh Carlson and Hayley Edmonds, with Ric McLaughlin completing the team as the lead commentator.
Cedric Gracia, visiting the Cube studio in London for the launch event, said: “I am extremely excited, of course. We are going to add new technology into this beautiful sport, drones following races, incredible views, put your seatbelt on because it’s going to be flat-out.”
And it’s not just the elite finals that will enjoy coverage this season, with free-to-air live streams of the U23 cross-country races as well as the Junior and Semi-Final downhill races on the UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel, plus UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel, GCN+, Eurosport, Discovery+ and GMBN Racing. Cross-country marathon and enduro will also have race day highlights shows hosted on the UCI Mountain Bike World Series Youtube channel, alongside in-depth bike checks, course previews, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
Coverage starts with a bang in the Czech Republic on (11-14 May) with the UCI Cross-Country World Cup in Nové Město na Moravě, whilst the UCI Downhill World Cup coverage starts its season in Lenzerheide, Switzerland (8-11 June).
You can find out more on the UCI Mountain Bike World Series at www.ucimtbworldseries.com and 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, and various TV providers.
Paul Brett joined BikePerfect as a staff writer in 2022. He has been an avid cyclist for as long as he can remember, initially catching the mountain biking bug in the 1990s, and he raced mountain bikes for over a decade before injury cut short a glittering career. An award-winning photographer, when not riding a bike, he can be found at the side of a cyclocross track or a downhill mountain bike world championship shooting the action. Paul was the founder, editor and writer of Proper Cycling magazine, and he's traveled the world interviewing some of the biggest names in mountain biking and writing about some of the biggest cycling brands.
Current rides: Canyon Inflite, Specialized Diverge, Marin Alpine Trail 2