We’ve just got a press release from the UCI, stating that the RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be presented by Red Bull, with the energy drinks company providing full and free coverage of all the cross-country, downhill and eliminator events.

This means there’ll be live streaming of the races at Red Bull’s website. The UCI and Red Bull promise they’ll “collaborate closely to ensure that coverage of these events will be more dynamic, innovative and viewer-friendly, providing fans with unforgettable images of racing action.”

UCI President Mr Pat McQuaid welcomes the latest partner for the new-look mountain bike series: “The RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano has been given a boost for 2012, and with RBMH on board, we can be sure that top quality images of this series can reach fans throughout the world. This exciting World Cup series deserves innovative media coverage of the highest standard. With RBMH we have found the perfect solution. This new partnership can only serve to further develop our leading mountain bike series.”

If you’re too young to know who Gary is, he was one of Britain’s brightest talents during the 90s when mountain bike racing was a high profile sport. Here’s a great video of Gary winning a round of the Grundig world cup in 1994 at Mammoth Mountain www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTdMEZkZyTI. And we’ve just heard that Gary Foord will commentate on the UCI World Cup weekend along with Rob Warner. Both talking over the cross-country and downhill races should make for a very interesting mix. We for one certainly can’t wait to hear their first broadcast. Check out this excited audio interview with Rob Warner following the breaking news.

The world cup kicks off soon. After the opening Pietermaritzburg round on 18 March, all eyes will turn to the Belgian municipality of Houffalize one month later, where the cross-country eliminator (XCE) format will make its entry onto the World Cup circuit.

Relatively new to Europe, the XCE provides spectacular confrontations as four competitors race each other over a lap of around 1km. The popularity of this format was confirmed at World Cup test events last season in Dalby Forest (GBR) and Nove Mesto na Morave (CZE). This year, the format will be held at three rounds: Houffalize, Nove Mesto na Morave and La Bresse (FRA).

Due to its rising popularity, the UCI has also added XCE to the 2012 World Championships programme.

We’re sure, based on previous experience, that Red Bull will do a stellar job of covering the racing, and take coverage of our sport to a new level. What do you think?