The UCI Management Committee has announced that there will be 10 dates in nine countries in the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano. 

Next year there will be 10 events in nine countries on three continents on the calendar, with seven rounds for cross-country, downhill and four-cross. 2012 will also see the introduction of the cross-country eliminator, in which several rounds will go towards a final ranking. This format of racing will also feature for the first time on the programme of the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships. 

Pietermaritzburg, South Africa will host the first round of the World Cup, as it did this year. Fort William (GBR), Mont-Sainte-Anne (CAN), Val di Sole (ITA) and La Bresse (FRA) once again feature on the 2012 calendar. A new triple event will be organised in Val d’Isère (FRA), site of the 2009 World Ski Championships. This will be the final cross-country event of the World Cup season, and the last time these specialists will meet before the 2012 London Olympic Games. 

La Bresse will host a cross-country race in honour of Julien Absalon, multiple World Champion and double Olympic Champion, who lives just 15km from the French World Cup venue. 

The final downhill and four-cross events will take place in a new venue, the Hafjell Bike Park (NOR), which hosted the 2010 European Championships. 

There’s no Dalby for cross-country fans next year, which is a shame. Instead Houffalize in Belgium will host that round, after an one year absence. Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, hosts an event for the second time. The US round remains to be confirmed.

The UCI Management Committee today also approved the first four events of the new UCI Mountain Bike Marathon series for 2011/2012. This series, which will be qualifying for the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships, will begin after the 2011 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon Worlds, which will be held in Montello (ITA) on June 26th.