2028 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will once again be held in Saalfelden Leogang. The bike park pioneers from Salzburger Land were able to convince the UCI with their application.
Third Mountain Bike World Championship in Saalfelden Leogang
After an all-around successful World Championships 2020 and the World Championships 2012, the fight for the desirable rainbow jerseys will be held for the third time in the Epic Bikepark Leogang and Austria's largest mountain bike region Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn. From 30 August to 3 September 2028, Saalfelden Leogang will once again become the global epicenter of mountain biking. So far, officially confirmed are races in the disciplines Downhill, XCO, XCC and E-MTB which will be held on the challenging trails in the Epic Bikepark Leogang. Whether additional disciplines will be included in the program is currently not yet confirmed.
In Saalfelden Leogang, the UCI's decision is welcomed with great delight by Marco Pointner, World Championships organizer and CEO of Saalfelden Leogang Touristik: "We are thrilled that the World Champs 2028 will once again be hosted by us in Saalfelden Leogang. The World Champs 2020 was a complete success for Saalfelden Leogang and its region and the fact that we got chosen again, confirms our successful work. We are once again delighted to welcome both the mountain bike pros and the fans for these World Championships. This has great charisma for mountain biking in the region and beyond to all of Austria as well as internationally."
Kornel Grundner, World Championships organizer and managing director of Leoganger Bergbahnen, is also already looking forward to 2028 with anticipation: "The UCI's decision confirms the investments and work we have been doing here for more than 20 years. We want to continue to develop our bike park together with the scene and the world's best athletes and have been able to hold two successful World Championships and countless World Cups so far. Even though there are still a few years to go, we are already looking forward to the next big mountain bike highlight at Epic Bikepark Leogang."
All other UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in the coming years will take place in Scotland (2023), Vallnord (Andorra, 2024), Valais (SUI, 2025), Val di Sole (ITA, 2026), Haute Savoie (FRA, 2027).
New chance for the local hero?
The fact that the 2028 World Championships will once again be held in Saalfelden Leogang also offers the reigning World Champion of 2022 and local hero Valentina Höll a new opportunity to win the home World Championships: "I am incredibly pleased that Leogang has been given the 2028 World Championships. There will certainly be a lot going on again for us bikers in terms of infrastructure, and I'm already very excited about that. In six years I'll be 26 years old and at the perfect downhill age. Until then, I will hopefully manage to get down a run at home without crashing. I'm really looking forward to it."
