Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — A qualifying leg of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Mountain Bike World Championship is set to take place at the annual ‘Dirt Weekend’ from November 6 to 8 in Nuvali, Laguna.
The event is one out of 12 UCI qualifying legs in the world, and the only one to be held in Asia.
‘Dirt Weekend’ will feature four mountain bike events, and is expected to draw over 1,500 riders from all over the world.
The showpiece event is the UCI Cross Country Marathon World Series, where top finishers in the race can move up to the 2016 World Cross Country Marathon World Championship in France. The course in Nuvali runs for 70 kilometers and filled with technical descents and obstacles meant to mimic mountain terrain.
The UCI Cross Country Olympic is a shorter version of the aforementioned event but is a registered class 3 UCI race where elite riders can earn UCI points.
The Four Cross Race will feature four riders racing at the same time through a trail filled with jumps, drops, and obstacles. The top finisher will proceed to the next round of the competition.
While the Dirt Weekend Cross Country race, is expected to draw in around 1,000 riders for a 35 kilometer ride around the dirt trails of the property.
“Why we looked at the Philippines is because they have a great venue, we have been coming here for the last three years, they have a great venue, they have a great idea behind it,” said UCI technical delegate Geoff Kronenburg.
“A few countries have put in a bid to be a world championship qualifier and we selected the Philippines, and possibly even next year and then the next three years, simply because they have the best infrastructure and the best ecosystem to support what we want to do.”
Interested riders can register both online and on fox stores until October 25.
