Three days of racing, an excellent accompanying programme, bike testing and many other attractions drew more than 16 000 spectators to the Vysočina Aréna. And the organizers of the event that had a fierce competition – Ice Hockey World Championships in Prague – appreciate this very much.
The NMNM World Cup director, Petr Vaněk, said: “We would like to thank all fans that found their way to the Vysočina Aréna to support not only Czech riders, but also racers from all around the world. It has been a great honour for us, and also a
testimony of our good work and ability to offer an event that is attractive for spectators. We appreciate this, especially since competing for attention with the ice
hockey World Championships is not equal battle.”
Vaněk also added: “The team of organizers considers this year’s event as a great
one. „It is obvious that guys from Warner Bros. Discovery have given our sport a
good direction. The emphasis on attractivity for spectators – both in TV and along the track, huge amount of audio and video materials that makes the events along the entire track and behind the scenes available to the widest public, visually clean and dramatic experience – all of these are aspects that help our sport develop and go forward. This year, we also got lucky with the weather in Nové Město; the rain in the first days of the event wetted the Ochoza forest more than sufficiently, but this also meant that the track was not dusty at the weekend. The temperature was neither high, nor low, it was just ideal weather for both the riders and spectators, too.”
Accompanying events were a huge success as people enjoyed the chance to meet stellar guests: people lined up in queues to get a photo and signature of Peter Sagan and Eva Adamczyková, Vašek Kolář’s show was amazing, and Daniel Stach, Míra Lenc and Michal Berka provided perfect commentary. Imposing 1,200 loans of bicycles were made during the Test Fest.
The good news for fans of world mountain biking is that the organizing team in Nové Město is currently in an advanced stage of negotiations with the promoter of the series in relation to organisation of the event in 2025. If everything works out, Nové Město na Moravě could welcome another event of the UCI World Series on May 23- 25, i.e. exactly one year from now. Petr Vaněk and his team are thinking even further ahead; the rumour has it that there are plans for an even bigger cycling event in the next few years.
