Romania will organize a European Cycling Championship for the first time!
Recently, Cătălin Sprinceană, President of the Romanian Cycling Federation, signed with Enrico della Casa, President of the European Cycling Union, the contract for the organization of the first European Cycling Championship ever organized in Romania!
The Romanian Cycling Federation announces the organization of the European Mountain Bike Championship for the events:
XCO (Olympic Cross Country), XCR (Cross Country Team Relay) and XCC (Cross County Short Track) for the Elite, U23 and Junior categories, between May 8-12, 2024, at Cheile Grădiștei, in Brașov county.
Just a few months before the Olympic Games in Paris and just a few days before the closing of the qualifications for them, Romania will host one of the most important Mountain Bike events in 2024, which will bring to the start the strongest riders from all over Europe. Among them is Vlad Dascălu, who will try to defend his European title obtained this year, but also Ede Molnar, newly European champion at XCE (Cross Country Eliminator).
Enrico della Casa, the president of the European Cycling Union, stated the following at the signing of the contract for the organization of the first European Cycling Championship in Romania:
"Granting the role of organizing such important sports events as the European Mountain Bike Championships requires a rigorous evaluation of the sports organizations that submit their applications by the Union Européenne de Cyclisme; for these reasons, I had no doubts in the award phase.
It will be an event that will undoubtedly bring many benefits to the host area, in this case the delightful location of Cheile Grădiștei with its history, traditions and excellent hosts. The European MTB Championships, which will take place less than three months before the Paris Olympics, will attract the attention of media and fans from across the continent and beyond, promoting cycling and the geographical area itself. Television coverage by Eurovision, a major European broadcaster, will help spread the event to a wide audience.
I thank the Romanian Cycling Federation and President Alexandru-Cătălin Sprinceana, the owner of the Cheile Grădiștei tourist complex and the National Sports Agency for making it possible to organize the European MTB Championships 2024 and for their contribution to the success of the event. I also thank Mr. Eduard Novak, the former Minister of Sports, for initiating this opportunity, but also Mrs. Elisabeta Lipa, the president of the National Sports Agency, for believing in and continuing this wonderful project."
Important names from Romanian Mountain Biking will be involved in the organization of this large-scale event, such as Tudor Oprea, coordinator of the National Mountain Bike Team, representative of Romania at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, but also the organizer of the MTB Triad, in the role of Project Manager and Răzvan Jugănaru, multiple National Champion in cycling, founder of the Mountain Bike MTB Academy school and organizer of events in the Riders Club calendar, including the Carpathian MTB Epic, a stage competition organized in the past also at Cheile Grădiștei, in the role of Course Director . The two will be joined by Cătălin Sprinceană, having a double role, both that of President of the Romanian Cycling Federation and that of direct organizer, through the organizational experience accumulated in the last 12 years.
The partners of the European Mountain Bike Championship 2024 are: the National Sports Agency, Auchan Romania, Cheile Grădiștei, all under the patronage of the European Cycling Union (UEC).
The Romanian Cycling Federation draws the line at the end of 2023, after a full and fruitful season for both athletes and event organizers. To date, the Romanian Cycling Federation can be proud of two European Champions in the Mountain Bike discipline, Vlad Dascălu in Cross Country Olympic and Ede Molnar in Cross Country Eliminator, along with 18 other titles of Balkan Champions and 11 titles of Balkan Vice-Champions. Moreover, our country hosted the Balkan Downhill Championship and the XCO Mountain Bike Championship in 2023.
