Cycling: The XC Eliminator discipline, which was only introduced two years ago, seems to be on the verge of extinction and, according to all assumptions, will no longer be part of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in the coming year.

The Mountain Bike Commission of the World Cycling Union (UCI) met last week on the subject. While the proposal to include the sprint in the ranking of Olympic XC was still on the table, the commission surprisingly decided against it and took a stand against the discipline.

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According to Simon Burney, coordinator of the MTB endurance disciplines at the UCI, finances were the main reason for eliminating the sprint from the World Cup schedule. Personnel, required technology, etc. take up so much budget that it doesn't seem to be profitable. In addition, the application to include the discipline in the program of the Olympic Games was rejected. Burney himself is not satisfied with the decision, but in the future they want to concentrate fully on the XC and downhill disciplines in order to promote and represent them in the best possible way.

This career has strong parallels to the Fourcross discipline. In 2011 it was removed from the World Cup for the same reason and has been self-sufficient ever since. However, with its own world series, the 4X Pro Tour, the sport lives on at a high level. The XC Eliminator could experience a similar situation. Burney is hoping for his own series outside of the World Cup, but adds that there will also be a World Championship in the coming years.

This point in time seems extremely unfavorable for the drivers. In the meantime, a true specialization has developed around this discipline, which is still very young. Many sponsors will not like the resignation from the World Cup and so there is a high probability that they will withdraw from the sport. It will now be difficult for drivers like Daniel Federspiel, Paul van der Ploeg and Simon Gegenheimer. They are faced with the decision of standing behind their sport and supporting it, or finding a connection in XC or marathons.