2020 World E-Bike Series and the first-ever UCI
 E-Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Cup 
start from Monaco

All set in the Principality to welcome the trailblazing WES Season Opener presented by SMEG

Monaco (P.ty) Friday 6 March 2020 – For the second year in a row, WES World E-Bike Series Round 1 will take place in the hills around the Principality of Monaco, headquarter of the World Series. The race area, between the Monegasque and the French territory, has an enormous heritage in mountain biking and saw the first-ever international E-Bike race sanctioned by the UCI starting from the WES paddock last year.
 
The greatest news of WES second season is the enhanced XC discipline which clinches the title of UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Cup, the first World Cup in E-MTB history.
 
“The UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Cup is a historic event in the cycling sphere. This evolution in competitive cycling is giving a platform to the industry, racers and regular riders to mix and develop this emerging sport. The future is exciting for the discipline and by choosing the same terrain as the UCI Downhill Cup in 1993 demonstrates the potential of the event.” – Kieran Page, WES Sporting Manager

UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Cup course
WES Monaco Round XC trail consists of 6 fast-paced laps of a technical circuit of almost 3 km in length, totalling approximately 20km and up to 1,100m of climbing. Each lap includes a single long ascent of the Crete des Assalins, peaking at 844m above sea level, which is 122m higher than the finish line and proper circuit start at State St. Bernard (722m) and 140m above the lowest point of the circuit, La Goretta at 704m.
All competitors start simultaneously and the first rider (with separate Men’s and Women’s categories) to cross the finish line is the winner. New 2020 feature is the Qualirace, taking place on the Friday before the race which determines the starting order based on a one-lap individual time trial. The fastest 50 participants qualify for the final race on Saturday.

WES Holeshot and Power Lap
Following a fast mass start, XC riders get into the first corner to win the “WES Holeshot”, awarded to the fastest rider, among Men and Women.The “WES Power Lap” is a brand-new feature introduced for the first time in the upcoming Monaco Round and will award a single race trophy to the rider completing the fastest lap overall. Both trophies also feature the final standings and a special award at the end of the season.

WES Gravity course
The Enduro race is pretty much renewed this year, as the competition turns into “WES Gravity”, an even more challenging, technical and compact format that sees an additional climbing stage to last year’s Monaco edition, a different special stages order from 2019, and interesting modifications to the longest stage to grant thrilling racing.
 
In WES Gravity, riders must cover liaison stages in a set amount of time to make it to the start of four timed special stages, raced individually. The four stage times of each rider are added up and the final results are taken from this cumulative time. WES Gravity at Monaco Round covers 26km with 1250m climbing throughout the day and a compulsory passage in the paddock between stage 2 and 3. 
 
Both disciplines promise drama and spectacle as the world’s best riders battle it out for the victories in WES’ second season. The field for WES Round 1 is diverse, with 44 competitors (a maximum of 50 per race is allowed) from 10 nations lining up to race in the brand-new XC World Cup and in Gravity, Men and Women’s categories. Mountain biking stars, such as local hero Frenchman Nicolas Vouilloz (10-time Downhill World Champion) and Swiss Olympian Nathalie Schneitter will participate again this year in the series, the latter wearing the first-ever E-MTB rainbow jersey from the UCI World Championship in Mont-Sainte-Anne last Summer. Multiple Olympian and 2010 XC World Champion José Antonio Hermida is joining WES in 2020 to race the first-ever UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup. Among the new entries in the series, former MotoGP and WorldSBK racer, 250cc World Champion, Marco Melandri will line up at the start of both WES races.

Let’s sit back and wait for the start of WES Monaco Round Presented by SMEG tomorrow, Saturday 7 March to witness the beginning of another breathtaking season!

2019 WES Monaco Round Podium Finishers:

XC Men:

1. Jérôme Gilloux – E-Team Mavic / La Roue Libre / Moustache
2. Gustav Wildhaber – CUBE Action Team
3. Nicolas Casteels – Vojo Mag Specialized

XC Women:

1. Nathalie Shneitter – Trek/e-MTB News
2. Sofia Wiedenroth – CUBE Action Team
3. Alba Wunderlin – Bergstrom

Holeshot: Rémy Quillévéré – E-Team Haibike Schwalbe Enduro Men:

1. Nicolas Quéré – Team Giant
2. Nicolas Vouilloz – Team Lapierre
3. Kenny Muller – E-Team Mavic / La Roue Libre / Moustache

Enduro Women:

1. Chloé Gallean Team Lapierre
2. Jessica Bormolini Scott MrWolf E-Bike Store Racing Team
3. Sofia Wiedenroth CUBE Action Team