La Bresse wins best UCI DH event and Fort William best UCI 4x event for 2011.

Words: Ben ‘Friday Tea-Boy’ Winder.

Every year at the end of each racing season, there is an award for the Best world cup round in each discipline. It gets judged by the riders, the UCI Mountain Bike teams, the media, the sponsors and the UCI officials.

And the winner of the best Downhill World Cup round, 2011 goes to…La Bresse!

Here’s what the UCI said about this round:

‘La Bresse (France) who joined the World Cup calendar just two years ago was voted best downhill event of the season. The smooth organisation, unique atmosphere and the thousands of spectators that turned out for this event ensured its popularity within the mountain bike community. The short, old school track which renders tight results was also cited. Last year’s winner, the well established Fort William (GBR), also proved popular in second place, noted for its great loud, big and boisterous crowd and long demanding track. The small ski resort three hours north of New York City, Windham (USA), took third place with a particular mention for the excellent organisation as well as the welcome and enthusiasm of the local population and its local community support/work.’

And the winner of the best 4X World Cup round, 2011 goes to…Fort William!

This is what the UCI have to say about the 4X winner:

Ten years of World Cups / World Championships has seen Fort William rise as the most popular Four-cross event of 2011. The new track is providing great racing and clearly seduced everyone. Val di Sole (ITA) which in 2008 hosted the Mountain Bike World Championships, was also well liked and took second place. The Austrian resort of Leogang in third place is creating a buzz with its permanent track, designed by the German Four-cross rider, Guido Tschugg. Leogang will host next year’s Mountain Bike World Championships.