The race is part of the new UCI calendar and will raise the profile of Girona and the Costa Brava’s promotion of cycling as a means of transport and a great way to discover the region.
Sea Otter Europe, Europe’s great bike festival, to be held in Girona and the Costa Brava from 24 to 26 September, has announced the addition of an electric bike World Cup event. The World E-Bike Series – the electric MTB World Cup organised by the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) – is an international circuit launched in 2019 in Monaco, which, this year, will consist of six events, one of which will be held in Girona as part of the festival.
The prestigious event will be one of the main new features in the sporting calendar for this year’s edition, bringing to the city the best cyclists in the world in the discipline, who will be looking to score UCI points and take the top spots in the World Cup.
With this announcement, along with the activities dedicated to electric bikes and the successful Demobike programme, the Sea Otter Europe Costa Brava-Girona Bike Show reaffirms its commitment to promoting sustainable mobility. This commitment is in line with the objectives of Girona’s Urban Mobility Plan and the tourism products promoted by Costa Brava and Pirineu de Girona destinations, which encourage the use of bicycles as a means of transport and a great way to discover the region.
The presentation was made by the mayor of Girona, Marta Madrenas, the minister for sport of Girona Provincial Council, Jordi Masquef, the regional representative for sport, José Pujols and the director of Sea Otter Europe, Albert Balcells.
The phenomenon of electric bikes in urban spaces
An E-bike world cup that reaffirms the territory commitment to sustainable mobility
Use of electric bikes is becoming increasingly common in a society that has found this means of transport to represent the values that define urban mobility of the future. The public is increasingly aware of environmental issues, which has resulted, in cases such as Girona, in limits to the movement of cars in main city centres, as well as the extension of cycle lanes to encourage this type of travel.
The success of electric bikes in urban areas is due to several factors: the comfort they offer for getting around, the fact that they can go at fast speeds while maintaining a high level of safety, and the great improvements made to batteries, which mean charging times are reduced and range is increased for longer journeys.
Making the potential of e-bikes accessible to the public
An excellent way to introduce Sea Otter Europe’s visitors to the potential of electric bikes is through the Demobike programme, for which more than half a thousand bikes will be available for test riding on the same circuit that will host the World E-Bike Series competition. For the 2019 edition, 72% of the bikes that were tested during the festival were e-bikes, and this year they are expected to have even greater presence. For the time being, leading brands such as Bergamont, BH, BMC, Bulls, Cannondale, Canyon, Corratec, Cube, Fischer, Ghost, Haibike, Intense, KTM, Lapierre, Massi, Megamo, MMR, Moustache, Orbea, Riese and Mueller, Scott and Specialized. have already confirmed they will be taking part in Sea Otter Europe’s Demobike.
On the same course, where fans will be able to test the performance of the best electric bikes on the market, the high-level competition will also take place bringing together Olympic medallists such as José Antonio Hermida, Marco Aurelio Fontana and Nathalie Schneitter. Also taking part in the competition will be the reigning E-XC World Champion, Mélanie Pugin and two-time world runner-up, Jérôme Gilloux.
The World E-Bike Series circuit brings together eight electric motor manufacturers and 19 bike manufacturers competing to deliver the best performance on the track. The competition doesn’t only take place on the ground, however, but also in the factories themselves, where R&D teams work on a daily basis to enhance the performance of commercial electric bikes.
Check out the full calendar HERE